O's lefty Michael Gonzalez pitched a 1-2-3, top of the sixth tonight here at Aberdeen, getting a strikeout and two groundouts. He threw 13 pitches, eight for strikes, in his seventh injury rehab performance. Gonzalez, whose fastball was clocked between 89 and 91 on the Ripken Stadium radar gun, felt quite good about his one-inning stint against the Lowell Spinners. Another gun reading had Gonzalez topping out at 94. "Every time I'm going out it feels a lot better, man. Breaking pitch is...

Game two tonight features Nationals right-hander J.D. Martin searching for his initial win of 2010 against right-hander Jon Garland of the San Diego Padres (8-5, 3.24). It is Martin's seventh start of the season, and he is looking for his first win since September 18, 2009 against the Mets in New York. Despite his last loss in Atlanta, Martin will not change his strategy to go after hitters from the start. "I am going to keep the same approach as I always do. I am going to try to get...

Michael Gonzalez just retired the Lowell Spinners 1-2-3 in a quick top of the sixth. He threw 13 pitches, eight for strikes. Gonzalez struck out number three hitter, Boston's first-round draft pick, Kolbrin Vitek on a 2-2 pitch. Then he got Bryce Brentz, batting fourth on a high chopper to short and then got the number five batter to ground out to short as well. His fastball ranged from 89 to 91 on the gun here at Ripken Stadium.

Michael Gonzalez is now warming up and will pitch for Aberdeen in the top of the sixth. The IronBirds still lead 3-0 and starter Justin Anderson gave up just three hits in five shutout innings.

Aberdeen scored a first-inning run tonight and leads Lowell 1-0 through two innings here at Ripken Stadium. The IronBirds Austin Knight, who went to high school at Baltimore's Boys Latin, singled with one out. Kipp Schutz then hit a ground single to right and Knight went to third on a misplay by the right fielder. He scored on a passed ball for a 1-0 edge. Schutz began tonight leading the New York-Penn League in batting at .403 and now has nine hits over his last 14 at bats. Aberdeen...

Lefty Michael Gonzalez, who will pitch here tonight at Aberdeen, will likely come into this game during the 6th or 7th inning. He is scheduled to follow starter Justin Anderson to the mound, unless Anderson gets knocked out early in the contest. Gonzalez could come in during an inning and will not necessarily enter for a clean inning at the start. This will be his third appearance at Aberdeen and his 7th on his injury-rehab assignment. He has allowed three runs on seven hits over 6 1/3...

We have a late addition to the Eastern League All-Star Game. His name is Adam Loewen, and he plays the outfield for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. We'll deal with "Fisher Cats" later. Loewen is batting .278 in 77 games, with 22 doubles, two triples, 10 homers, 49 RBIs and an .853 OPS. He's also 10-for-14 in stolen base attempts. That's quite an improvement over last season, when Loewen batted .236 with four homers, 31 RBIs and a .695 OPS with Single-A Dunedin, and his plan to...

Cue Vanessa Williams.... The Nats are teaming up with the Texas Rangers to promote an All-Star Final Man alliance. The two third basemen, Michael Young and Ryan Zimmerman, are asking you to send both of them to the All-Star Game. Young and Zimmerman also share the bottom spot on each ballot, which lists the candidates alphabetically. "Save the Best for Last" and vote Zimmerman/Young right now....and then vote over and over again. Voting ends Thursday at 4 p.m. Fans can also text N5 to...

Be sure to check out O's XTRA tonight at 6:30 on MASN before the O's-Tigers game. L.J. Hoes and Xavier Avery of the Frederick Keys will be interviewed live on set by Jim and Rick. These are two young and up and coming prospects in the O's system. Avery is batting .286-3-39 with 20 steals. Hoes, who missed some time with an illness, is back now and batting .255-1-23. Both are holding their own as first-year players in the Carolina League at the age of just 20 years old. I am in the...

The Orioles placed pitcher Kevin Millwood on the 15-day disabled list and activated Felix Pie for tonight's game in Detroit. Millwood's injury is described as a "strained right forearm (flexor mass)." Millwood is 2-8 with a 5.77 ERA in a team-leading 18 starts. Pie is 8-for-20 with two doubles and a home run for the Orioles, but he's been on the DL since April 16 with a torn muscle in his back. The 40-man roster is now at capacity with Pie's removal from the 60-day disabled list. For...