Burnett claimed off waivers, game update (O's win 6-2)

WASHINGTON - Reliever Alex Burnett has been claimed off waivers. We will know later today where he's headed. The Orioles designated Burnett for assignment on May 23 to create room for Kevin Gausman on the 40-man roster. Gausman is starting against the Nationals Tuesday night. Burnett, 25, made two appearances with the Orioles, allowing three earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. He was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in nine appearances with Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles signed him off waivers from the Blue Jays on April 12. As for today's game, the Orioles extended their lead over the Nats to 4-1 in the fifth inning. Adam Jones led off with a double, took third on Chris Davis' single and scored on Matt Wieters' sacrifice fly. Davis was thrown out trying to advance to second base. Wieters has five hits and four RBIs in the last two games. Gio Gonzalez has thrown 93 pitches through five frames, so his day is nearing the end. Update: Jason Hammel retired nine in a row before Denard Span led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple into the right field corner. Ryan Zimmmerman singled with one out. Orioles 4, Nats 2 Gonzalez is done after 5 2/3 innings. He allowed four runs and eight hits, walked four and struck out two. He threw 109 pitches, 67 for strikes. Gonzalez had a 1.67 ERA in four May starts before today's game. Here's more from Tommy Hunter on the comebacker from Jose Bautista that he fielded with his bare hand: "You do it every once in a while, but it's usually pretty stupid and it's not something you try to do because it's pretty stupid. I make money with this hand. It's pretty important. You give that play 10 times, I'm going to have gator arms nine out of 10. I just got lucky and snagged it. "The ball was crushed. I'm going to throw that out there. That ball was absolutely (crapped) on. And I threw it pretty hard, so velocity and solid contact usually doesn't create a lightly hit ball." Update II: The Cubs claimed Burnett off waivers. Wieters has singled twice today, giving him six hits in the last two games. His average is up to .246. Hammel has allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts. He's thrown 76 pitches, 57 for strikes. No Orioles starter had completed six innings in the last four games. Today's attendance: 41,260. That's a sellout. Update III: Yamaico Navarro produced another RBI single, his second today, to give the Orioles a 5-2 lead in the seventh. Navarro has two RBIs today, his highest total since collecting three for the Pirates on April 30, 2012 vs. the Braves. He didn't have an RBI with the Orioles until today. The Orioles have scored at least five runs in their last 10 road games for the first time in franchise history, according to Elias. Update IV: Jones singled to score Manny Machado and increase the lead to 6-2 in the eighth. Machado led off with a single, making him 3-for-4 with a walk and raising his average to .336. He began the day needing three hits to tie Detroit's Miguel Cabrera for the major league lead with 75. He got 'em. Hammel is back out for the eighth. He's allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts. He's thrown 91 pitches, 66 for strikes. The seven innings and seven strikeouts are season highs for Hammel. Update V: Darren O'Day worked the bottom of the ninth inning in a non-save situation, which also proved to be a drama-free situation. Orioles 6, Nats 2. Hammel allowed two runs and eight hits in eight innings, with no walks and eight strikeouts. He threw 107 pitches, 77 for strikes. Hammel hadn't gone eight innings since June 22, 2012 vs. the Nats. No Orioles starter had struck out eight batters this season. In his last two starts, Hammel has allowed two runs and 14 hits in 14 2/3 innings, with two walks and 14 strikeouts. The Orioles went 4-2 against the Nats last season, with all their wins coming by one run.