The Nationals have swept a couple of two-game series this season, but they've yet to sweep a three-game series. This wouldn't be a bad time to break through that barrier, would it? After taking both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader, the Nats now have a chance with a win tonight over the Phillies to sweep the three-game set (condensed from the original four-game plan). They're sending Erick Fedde to the mound instead of Stephen Strasburg, who initially was scheduled to start tonight but was...

In a letter to fans from principal owner Mark D. Lerner, the Nationals today announced a plan to extend protective netting, which currently ends at each dugout, to just prior the left and right field foul poles at Nationals Park. The new Ultra Cross Knotless Dyneema protective netting will offer a better viewing experience while also providing a higher degree of protection for fans from flying baseballs and bats that go into the stands. The new netting is expected to be installed during the...

The Orioles will welcome back Mike Mussina for a ceremonial first pitch on Sunday, June 30, in celebration of his upcoming induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame later this summer. Mussina, 50, played 18 Major League seasons from 1991-2008, including his first 10 seasons with the Orioles. He currently holds the best all-time winning percentage by a qualifying Orioles pitcher with a minimum of 140 decisions (.645), and ranks among the club's all-time leaders in strikeouts (second,...

Mike Mussina is coming back to Baltimore before heading to Cooperstown, N.Y. The Orioles announced today that Mussina will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before their June 30 game against the Indians at Camden Yards. Mussina spent the first 10 seasons of his 18-year career with the Orioles after they selected him in the first round of the 1990 draft out of Stanford University. He currently owns the best all-time winning percentage by a qualifying pitcher in franchise history with a...

SEATTLE - It appears the Orioles dodged a bullet yesterday when their best player, Trey Mancini, got hit by a pitch in the left elbow. But while there were no broken bones, there was a contusion and he should return to the lineup soon. While Mancini is likely going to fall short of being voted an All-Star starter, it appears he has a good chance to wind up on the American League team for the first time next month. The preliminary voting for the game ends tomorrow at 4 p.m. Eastern time. At that...

Broken Nose. Black Eye. Swelling around the eye. Seven Innings of shutout baseball? No problem if you're Max Scherzer. One of those ailments would have been enough of an excuse for lesser pitchers to ask for the day off or skip a start. Not Scherzer. Ever. The right-hander kept the Phillies at arm's length for 21 outs, allowing only four hits, as the Nationals completed the doubleheader sweep with a 2-0 win. Brian Dozier smacked his second homer on the day to give the Nats the early lead in...

When his pitching days are over and the countdown to Cooperstown begins, Max Scherzer will look back at a handful of starts that defined his career. He'll remember the two no-hitters. He'll remember the 20-strikeout game. He'll remember the time he became the first major leaguer in three decades to begin a season 13-0. And he'll remember "The Black Eye Game," the game in which the right-hander took the mound with a huge shiner surrounding his right eye after he broke his nose during a...

Slowly but surely, Davey Martinez has begun to entrust high-leverage situations to Tanner Rainey. But this was the highest-leverage situation to date, considering the score, the opponent and the overall stakes. With the Nationals up 3-1 in the top of the eighth Wednesday afternoon, and the top of the Phillies lineup set to bat, Martinez handed the ball to Rainey and watched to see how the rookie reliever would handle the pressure. The answer: He handled it quite well, pitching out of a...

Despite a broken nose and a black eye, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer went ahead with his start Wednesday night in the second game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jean Segura singled to lead off the first inning. But Scherzer got the next three batters out, including Rhys Hoskins, who took a called third strike. Brad Miller singled with two outs in the second inning, but Scherzer induced a fly out to left field by Andrew Knapp to end the frame. Scherzer struck out two...

OAKLAND - Well, the Orioles lost another game and got swept in a series today for the seventh time. But they very likely didn't lose their best player to the injured list, and while Trey Mancini could miss a game or two, it shouldn't be much more than that. Mancini - batting .304/.359/.558 with 18 doubles, two triples, 16 homers and 35 RBIs - left today's game in the top of the first. A 3-1 pitch by Oakland right-hander Chris Bassitt came up and in on him and plunked him in the left elbow....