The chances of Matt Wieters making the All-Star Game are still up in the air, but he literally won Sunday's 2-1 win against the Nationals with his arm and bat.

Wieters hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning two-run home run and then threw out Ian Desmond, who was stealing second, for the final out of the game.

Wieters was 2-of-4 Sunday and he's still batting .254. Wieters' hopes for an All-Star bid, as I wrote last week, are contingent on a lot of things that are probably out of his reach. Texas manager Ron Washington will need to carry three catchers, and it's not a complete given Wieters will be that third guy behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer and leader Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers.

Wieters, the team's lone All-Star selection a year ago, won't make a big public spectacle if he doesn't make the game. He's a team-oriented guy and, after shining at the plate in college and the minor leagues, he can't be happy with his perpetually average major league batting average. It's unclear whether Wieters, nearly four seasons into his career, will ever really be a .300 hitter in an Orioles uniform. He might not need to be. But, he needs to build on his power numbers and run production and continue to be one of the best defensive players at his position.

Posted June 24, 2012