Jake Arrieta turned in his second-shortest outing tonight, leaving after 3 2/3 innings and being charged with six runs. The last run scored when Jason Berken hit Jayson Werth with the bases loaded. Arrieta allowed six hits, walked three, struck out three and hit a batter. He threw 91 pitches, 56 for strikes. PItch counts have been an issue with Arrieta, but he took it to the extreme tonight. That 37-pitch second inning set quite a tone. Arrieta allowed eight runs and six hits in 3 1/3...

I don't think he did it to tick off those that revel in stats, but manager Buck Showalter is batting Adam Jones second tonight for the second time this year. Jones came up with a solid single in the first tonight off Jason Marquis and then grounded out in the third. He is now 3-for-7 on the year when batting in that spot. Is that what they mean by small sample size? Yes, that is incredibly small. But I like Jones batting second and probably mentioned that two, 20 or a hundred times this...

Second baseman Ryan Adams saw two pitches in his first major league at-bat, getting ahead 1-0 before bouncing to third base on an 88 mph fastball from Nationals starter Jason Marquis. Adams was hitting .303 with 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs and eight RBIs for Triple-A Norfolk, but the Orioles are paying closer attention to his defense. He committed four errors with the Tides, and the reports apparently have been encouraging. "I think it's as much for Ryan selling himself to the...

If you're an Orioles fan and you're watching tonight's game, I bet you flinched in the top of the first inning. Or maybe you experienced a brief panic attack. Jake Arrieta struck out the first two Nationals on 94 and 96 mph fastballs. Laynce Nix followed with a sharp one-hopper that caromed off Arrieta's right shin and rolled to the left side of the infield for a single. Visions of Brad Bergesen dancing in your heads? Arrieta was fine. Head athletic trainer Richie Bancells moved to the...

The Orioles today announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Ryan Adams from Triple-A Norfolk and recalled outfielder Nolan Reimold from the Tides. In addition, left-handed pitcher Troy Patton has been designated for assignment off the 25-man roster. Adams batted .303/.373/.434 in 39 games for the Tides and will make his major league debut with the Orioles. He batted .526/.550/.947 with two doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs in 17 spring training games as a non-roster...

BALTIMORE - As the Nationals travel to Baltimore for their first interleague series of the season, players still struggle to see a real rivalry between the two teams. There are many factors why that might be the case. The two teams share a television network and a Major League Baseball designated television territory. For years, fans in Washington traveled up Interstate 95 to watch baseball until they were granted a team of their own in 2005. Moreover, both teams have yet to play a...

BALTIMORE - Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo offered updates on injured players Ryan Zimmerman and Rick Ankiel during batting practice prior to Friday's interleague opener at Baltimore. Zimmerman is rehabilitating from abdominal surgery in early May. Rizzo said it is likely Zimmerman will leave for Florida in about one week, when the team returns from this extended road trip, which ends May 25 at Milwaukee. "We will get (Zimmerman) into baseball activities and then some game action,"...

Manager Buck Showalter said one reason Nolan Reimold is returning to the Orioles is because he was swinging better the last few games with Triple-A Norfolk. Reimold agreed with that assessment. "I feel good right now, physically I feel great," Reimold said. "I have been more comfortable at the plate the last week or so. It's a good time to come up." Reimold had hit safely in his last four Triple-A games, going 6-for-16 with a double, two homers and four RBIs. Overall, he was batting...

Ryan Adams started at second base last night for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides in Syracuse. He didn't know then that after the game he would be told he was coming to Baltimore to make his major league debut. Tonight, Adams will bat ninth and play second for the Orioles here at Camden Yards. He will make his big league debut after 458 minor league games in the O's organization. "I had no idea (I'd get called up)," Adams said. "I'd just been focusing on playing hard and taking care of what...

With interleague play here, there's no argument than the National and American League East divisions are the best of baseball's six. But, which of those divisions are the best? Generally, the NL East has more pitching, the AL East more offense, partly because of the DH. But, here's a position-by-position comparison: Rotation: The Phillies' Roy Halladay, the Marlins' Josh Johnson and the Braves' Tim Hudson are more dominant in the top three slots for the NL East than the Rays' David...