In his mock draft from May 18, ESPN's Keith Law had the Orioles taking Oklahoma high school pitcher Dylan Bundy with the fourth pick in Monday's draft. In his mock draft out yesterday, Law now projects University of Virginia lefty Danny Hultzen to be the O's pick. He has Pittsburgh taking UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole with the first pick before Seattle takes Anthony Rendon of Rice and Arizona selects UCLA hurler Trevor Bauer. Law was a guest on my radio show this week on 105.7 FM in Baltimore...

The Nationals' three-game winning streak has come to an end, thanks to a 4-0 victory Friday night by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Washington managed just three hits off Arizona right-hander Josh Collmenter, while Michael Morse, the team's hottest hitter, went 0-for-4, including striking out for the game's final at-bat. It was the first time Morse had been held hitless in 12 games. Johnny and Phil ask Jim Riggleman his thoughts on the Nats' 4-0 loss to the Diamondbacks Nationals right-hander...

Derrek Lee went 2-for-3 with a walk last night at Double-A Bowie, proving that you don't have to be a prototypical leadoff hitter to bat first. Manager Buck Showalter and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail have discussed whether Lee is ready to come off the disabled list. We'll get confirmation later today. You can believe that Showalter wants him in tonight's lineup. Does Lee slip back into the third spot in the order once he's activated? That's the assumption. And does...

Zach Britton met with reporters after tonight's 8-4 loss to the Blue Jays. As usual, he didn't make excuses or sugar-coat his outing. He offered another honest critique. Here are some of his comments: "I don't think I did a good job out there. Falling behind too many hitters. Watch on video and the hits I gave up were all balls out over the plate (and) up. That's what a good-hitting team does, they hit those pitches. The last two outings I haven't executed well and those are the...

The Orioles and Blue Jays each had 10 hits tonight. That's pretty much where the similarity ended. "We had as many hits as they did. It certainly didn't feel like it," manager Buck Showalter said following tonight's 8-4 loss. "It took a while for us to get adjusted to what we knew he (Carlos Villanueva) was going to be doing. It was kind of frustrating early because he was doing exactly what we expected. We finally made the adjustment and got him out of there, but by then there was...

In his last three starts, left-hander Zach Britton has allowed 14 earned runs (16 total) and 25 hits in 16 2/3 innings. He's also walked eight batters. OK, it isn't quite as easy as he made it look when he first came up. Britton didn't really make a bad pitch to catcher J.P. Arencibia, who golfed it into the left field seats for a grand slam. But the rookie wasn't sharp and he's no longer breezing through the early innings. Down on the farm, Derrek Lee is 2-for-3 as Double-A Bowie's...

The homestand isn't off to a promising start. The Orioles are losing, 3-0, to the Blue Jays in the fourth inning. Two of the runs off Zach Britton are unearned after third baseman Mark Reynolds committed his 11th error, but Britton has allowed four hits, issued an intentional walk and thrown a wild pitch. Britton hadn't allowed an earned run in two straight starts covering 16 innings before surrendering nine runs and 19 hits in his last two outings covering 11 1/3 innings. He's having...

The Toronto Blue Jays have taken a 3-0 lead to the bottom of the third tonight against Zach Britton and the Orioles. This would probably be a bad time to remind everyone that Toronto went 15-3 against the Orioles last year and has won 20 of the last 26 games between the teams. They out-homered the Orioles last season 34-8 in the 18 games. It wasn't a longball tonight, but a Mark Reynolds' error that helped Toronto to two runs in the second. After a leadoff single by Juan Rivera, catcher...

Manager Buck Showalter was asked today if American League hitters are starting to make some adjustments against lefty Zach Britton, who is pitching tonight here against Toronto. Over his last two starts against K.C. and Oakland, Britton has allowed 19 hits and nine earned runs over 11 2/3 innings as his ERA has increased from 2.14 to 2.93. Buck Showalter talks about if it's time for Zach Britton to begin making adjustments "No. There are no secrets," Showalter said. "They had watched...

Adam Jones was in no mood to brag about his great catch against Seattle on Wednesday earlier today in the Orioles' clubhouse. He was asked what it was like to get national attention over the play where he ran back to the warning track and made a basket catch with his back to the infield to rob Miguel Olivo of extra bases. It was the Play of the Night on ESPN's "SportsCenter" and a top web gem on "Baseball Tonight." "I don't care. It's a great catch, but that was Wednesday and today...