The Nationals will attempt to stay above .500 as they welcome in the Baltimore Orioles for the start of three at Nats Park. The pitching match-up in game one features left-hander Scott Olsen (2-1, 3.15) against rightie David Hernandez (0-5, 5.84). I caught up with Scott to get a preview of his start against the Birds. He has been lights out recently. In Olsen's last five starts, he has allowed only 4 earned runs in 32 1/3 innings pitched for a 1.12 ERA. Is this your best run of your...

The Orioles won a game on Tuesday after falling behind, 3-0, to Cy Young winner Zack Greinke. I suppose that made a 4-0 deficit tonight against Scott Feldman seem a lot smaller. We'll see how they handle a 6-3 deficit. The Rangers jumped all over left-hander Brian Matusz in the first inning, but the Orioles fought back with three runs in the top of the second to cut the Rangers' lead to 4-3. Now Matusz has served up his second home run, a two-run shot by Vladimir Guerrero in the second...

Brian Matusz has given up two longballs over the first two innings tonight and Texas leads the Orioles, 6-3 after two frames. Matusz had allowed just two homers over 47 1/3 innings in his first two starts and Texas matched that in two innings. It's a roller coaster Matusz, who gave up six runs two starts ago vs. Minnesota and then pitched seven scoreless last Saturday vs. Cleveland. Tonight, Nelson Cruz hit a three-run shot in the first and Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run shot in the...

Using all the restraint I could muster, I waited until the end of my chat with minor league infielder Mike Flacco to bring up his more famous brother. "Have you talked to Joe much lately?" He hasn't. I'm sure that never gets old for him. Mike Flacco was kept at extended spring training while recovering from a fracture in his lower back. He was hoping to be assigned to one of the full-season affiliates after batting .272 with 14 doubles, five triples, three homers and 34 RBIs in 60 games...

The Frederick Keys have placed two middle infielders on the disabled list today as second baseman L.J. Hoes and shortstop Greg Miclat go on the DL, which must last at least seven days in the minor leagues. Hoes has missed several games now due to a form of strep throat and his DL stint is retroactive to May 18. Miclat, who missed two weeks in April with a broken nose, last night suffered a sprained foot sliding into second base in the third inning of a game Wednesday night. Hoes, a...

For the Orioles: Corey Patterson LF Ty Wigginton 2B Nick Markakis RF Miguel Tejada 3B Luke Scott 1B Matt Wieters C Adam Jones CF Lou Montanez DH Cesar Izturis SS Brian Matusz LHP For the Rangers: Elvis Andrus SS Michael Young 3B Ian Kinsler 2B Vladimir Guerrero DH Josh Hamilton CF Nelson Cruz RF Joaquin Arias 1B David Murphy LF Matt Treanor C Scott Feldman RHP

Every year when Ian Desmond blew out the candles on his birthday cake, he closed his eyes and wished one day he would make it to the big leagues. Drafted out of high school by the Expos in 2004, it took six years in the minors for Desmond to make his dream come true. On Thursday afternoon, Desmond talked about his baseball journey in taking questions from fans at the ESPN Zone in downtown Washington during the first Nats Q&A of the season. After the talk, Desmond signed autographs and...

Brian Roberts still intends to fly down to Sarasota and continue baseball activities, but it won't be this week. And I won't be here to greet him. Roberts is hospitalized after being diagnosed with pneumonia. He sent me a text message earlier today saying that he's feeling OK and will report to Ed Smith Stadium "hopefully sometime soon." When will this guy catch a break? I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. I hope this wasn't part of some elaborate scheme to avoid me. Usually, it's women...

The 40th Anniversary Celebration of the 1970 World Series is still several weeks away (set for Saturday, June 26), but the Orioles have announced an exclusive luncheon with members from the 1970 team that you might want to plan for now. As part of the celebration, the Orioles will host a gala luncheon for fans, also on Saturday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. At the luncheon, fans will have the opportunity to meet members of the 1970 team, participate in a Q&A session, and get their...

You know it's extended spring training when... ...Mike Gonzalez is getting his signs from Dashenko Ricardo. Gonzalez played catch with Ricardo, who spent most of last season at rookie-level Bluefield, before taking the mound for today's game against a collection of Twins minor leaguers. With Ricardo behind the plate, Gonzalez allowed a single and walked a batter in his scoreless inning. He struck out two, including the last batter on a 89 mph fastball. The leadoff hitter reached on an...