For the Orioles: Julio Lugo 2B Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 1B Luke Scott LF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Garrett Atkins DH Cesar Izturis SS Chris Tillman RHP For the Yankees: Jeter SS Swisher RF Teixeira 1B Rodriguez 3B Cano 2B Posada DH Granderson CF Cervelli C Russo LF CC Sabathia LHP Draft update: The Orioles selected Cherokee County High School shortstop David Blanchard in the 41st round, Western Oregon State College left-hander Jacob Petitt in the 42nd, UC Los...

Nationals left-hander John Lannan gets the call tonight in Game 2 against the Pirates. I caught up with Lannan as he prepared his game plan for Pittsburgh and asked him how he prepares for each game. "I like to go out there and know what I am going to do beforehand. That is why I like to do scouting reports. I like to use the catcher and the pitching coach's help, but I like to be prepared myself so I don't have to rely on them too much. "This gives me more confidence as well. I...

The Orioles have selected Palm Beach State second baseman Austin Knight, a Baltimore native, in the 37th round. Knight, a switch-hitter who graduated from Boys Latin, has committed to play at the University of South Florida. Anyone familiar with him? I'll take a scouting report. Read more about him here. The story mentions how Knight will play this summer in the "Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League." The Orioles also took Southeastern University utility player Joseph Donaldson in the...

The Frederick Keys, who are closing in on the first half Northern Division championship in the Carolina League, have even more good news on the way. Their talented, young second baseman, L.J. Hoes, should be back in the lineup soon. The 20-year-old, right-handed hitter has not played since May 15th. He's been out with an illness but is feeling better now and has been taking batting practice and ground balls for about a week. "I'm very excited to get to this point and get healthy again. ...

Preliminary overnight Nielsen ratings show that the Nationals game on MASN has set a new record high rating for the network, earning a 7.1 HH rating as more than 165,000 households in the Washington region tuned in to watch an historic pitching performance. Among the key demographic of adults aged 25-54, the game earned a 4.4 HH rating, also a MASN record. For the night, the Nationals game on MASN was the third highest-rated program on television in the entire Washington market. The only two...

If the reports are true - and they likely are - that Jake Arrieta is Baltimore bound to start Thursday's game against the Yankees, I have no real problem with that. We reported in this space yesterday that Tim Bascom was going to join the Norfolk squad and that could lead to Arrieta in Baltimore and that is about to happen. It's about time really. Maybe the O's were holding Arrieta out to avoid Super Two status, although they'll never say that, but he sure has been pitching well. The...

Draft update: The Orioles selected Stanford third baseman Adam Gaylord with the third overall pick in the 31st round. Gaylord, a junior, batted .232 with two doubles, one homer and nine RBIs in 31 games (eight starts). He didn't commit an error. The Orioles chose College of Southern Nevada right-hander Joe Robinson in the 32nd round, Notre Dame right-hander Steven Mazur in the 33rd and British Columbia shortstop Samuel Starr in the 34th. Jake Arrieta apparently has become the latest player...

Before Tuesday's game, Nats Buzz caught up with some Nationals fans to talk about the debut of Stephen Strasburg. As you already know, the crowd was electric, collectively hanging on every pitch and creating a playoff-like atmosphere that gave all of us goosebumps. The crowd met every strike with roars of approval and every strikeout with a standing ovation. The fans were very much a part of the game and the win. "When the fans are into every single pitch, we as players feed off of...

If my math is correct, the Orioles have 20 more rounds to complete on the final day of the first-year player draft. And if that's the highlight of my day, I might cry. A few items to pass along: A club official told me via text message that Nolan Reimold sat out the last two games at Triple-A Norfolk because he needed "a couple days rest, but nothing is wrong." We'll see if he's back in the lineup tonight. If not, then I'll start wondering if something is wrong. I talked to Troy Patton...

Scouting directors have turned the corner and are heading home in the First-Year Player Draft. There are thirty rounds now in the books and today the clubs select for rounds 31 through 50 when the draft resumes at Noon. O's scouting director Joe Jordan talks about his goals for today and those final 20 picks. "Obviously the (draft) board has been decimated, but we're going to look for whose got top end. Do we have the ability to chase another guy or two? "If there are rosters that need...