If you look at the stats of Nick Markakis this year, he's exceeded his usual numbers in batting average, on base and OPS. His career average is .298 and he's batting .305 now. His career on base figure is .371 and now he's at .401 and his OPS this year of .850 exceeds his average OPS of .835. But after hitting 18 homers with 101 RBI in 2009, Markakis would hit just 10 homers with 51 RBI this year at his current pace. Manager Dave Trembley said today he is not concerned that Markakis'...

Luke Scott had his left shoulder packed in ice when the clubhouse opened to the media. He isn't in tonight's lineup, but he could come off the bench if needed. Scott is going to hit off a tee and take some cuts at soft tosses this afternoon. "I'm going to go test it out and start building it up," he said. "It feels good right now. It feels much better than what it did, but when you swing the bat, of course, that will tell the tale. I haven't swung a bat in two days." Manager Dave...

For the Orioles: Corey Patterson LF Julio Lugo 2B Ty Wigginton 1B Miguel Tejada 3B Matt Wieters C Adam Jones CF Garrett Atkins DH Lou Montanez RF Cesar Izturis SS Brad Bergesen RHP For the Athletics: Davis CF Barton 1B Sweeney RF Suzuki C Cust DH Kouzmanoff 3B Gross LF Rosales SS Ellis 2B Gonzalez LHP Brian Roberts is taking ground balls at second base and throwing to first. I know baseball activities when I see them.

Matt Wieters caught Adam Jones' throw in the sixth inning last night, made a sweeping tag of Oakland's Ryan Sweeney for the final out, grimaced and bent at the waist. Wieters straightened up, took a few steps and bent at the waist again. This would have been a good time for fans to slip into panic mode. Wieters isn't tearing the cover off the ball, but the Orioles don't need him tearing a muscle or ligament. Head athletic trainer Richie Bancells and manager Dave Trembley bolted from...

I know we're all driving ourselves crazy trying to pick Strasburg's debut date. It's a can't-miss event and sometimes it's hard to plan life around baseball especially with so many unknown factors. For season ticker holders Gavin and Rebecca Birch, it's especially hard. The couple is expecting their first child, a daughter, on June 5th. Gavin's been agonizing about the potential conflict for months, though it intensified as the next homestand became a target date in recent weeks. ...

When Garrett Atkins came to the plate in the third inning last night, he had just one hit in his last 18 at bats and just one RBI over his previous 24 games. Now he has one home run. He drove a 1-2 pitch from Trevor Cahill 374 feet to left center field to end a 145 at bat drought without a longball. "Obviously, its frustrating, you don't want to have a zero in any column, really. That's a big one, so, you know, was just able to put a good swing on it tonight. I wasn't trying to do...

The idea would have seemed preposterous a month ago. Send Brian Matusz to the minors? Did someone leave the cap loose on the Elmers? I noticed that a few readers were pondering the possibility last night, asking about the length of his leash. I get the same question about Garrett Atkins and have fielded it, at various times, about Chris Tillman, Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken and David Hernandez. This team doesn't need a manager, it needs a dog walker. As I noted last night, there didn't...

WOODBRIDGE, Va. --- Potomac Nationals 21-year-old catcher Derek Norris is gradually recovering and feeling better after getting hit in the head by a 95 mile per hour fastball Friday during a game in Salem, Virginia. Norris was taken to the hospital Friday after being hit on the batting helmet by a pitch, according to a release from Potomac. Norris lay motionless on the field for nearly 10 minutes after he was hit. By the end of the night, Norris was conscious and moving his extremities at the...

For the second start in a row, Brian Matusz gave up four runs in the first inning. But he said when he took the mound tonight at Camden Yards the last thing on his mind was that outing at Texas where he allowed seven runs in 2 1/3 innings. "For me, I don't hold on to feelings from previous outings. I got into some trouble in the first and almost got out of it. Just made a bad 1-2 pitch and left it over the plate. I was trying to go in on him." He was referring to a 1-2 pitch in the...

Manager Dave Trembley doesn't seem overly concerned about Brian Matusz, who's allowed four first-inning runs in back-to-back starts and fell to 2-5 with a 5.76 ERA. "I think it's a combination of him pitching in the middle of the plate, the ball up, and he's not getting his two-seamer across," Trembley said. "He's throwing a lot of four-seamers and he likes to pitch in to right-handed hitters with his four-seamer. I think we saw that last year when he came up, especially the first time...