The Nationals offense returned to form Wednesday night in an 8-4 win over the Orioles, courtesy the big inning again. The Nats stamped their impression on Baltimore starter Asher Wojciechowski with five runs in the first inning and three more tallies in the fifth inning off of Richard Bleier. Both rallies were highlighted by big hits from veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki. Suzuki slammed a two-run homer to left field in the first frame and then added a two-run double to left field in the fifth...

The Orioles' Hanser Alberto began play Wednesday night ranked fourth in the American League and 10th in Major League Baseball batting .316. If only the teams that waived him over the winter knew he was capable of that. Alberto's .407 batting average against left-handed pitchers is the highest in MLB among qualifying hitters. If only those teams knew he would do that. After a winter that started with him playing for Texas, Alberto was claimed via waivers by the Yankees, then by the Orioles,...

It's been an eventful week for the Nationals. Actually, it's been an eventful month for the Nationals. Actually, it's been an eventful season for the Nationals. And we've almost reached the home stretch. Sunday is Sept. 1. The National League wild card game is Oct. 1. (But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.) There's still plenty of work to be done. The Nats lineup has been on fire (aside from the occasional shutout loss to a random Orioles starter). The rotation continues to lead...

Facing the Orioles, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer threw 89 pitches in his second start since returning from the injured list. It was a step forward from the 71 pitches he threw Aug. 22 at Pittsburgh. Scherzer got into the fifth inning of the Nationals' 8-4 win over the Orioles. "A little better," Scherzer said of his start. "Still trying to be under control. Really focused about making it through kind of five innings, trying to get up for a fifth inning tonight, and recover and see...

Jonathan Villar's daring on the basepaths, an aggressive approach that allows him to collect stolen bases and criticisms for running into ill-timed outs, isn't the same mindset that he's bringing into the batter's box. Not since the All-Star break. Not since the calendar turned to August. There's an element of restraint that's working for him. Villar began last night slashing .308/.381/.547 in 43 games in the second half, compared to .259/.326/.421 over 89 games in the first. He drew 16...

If you were wondering how long it would take the Nationals to brush aside Tuesday night's surprising shutout loss to the Orioles and get themselves back on track, the answer was: six batters into the bottom of the first inning tonight. That's all it took - six batters - for the Nationals to recapture the form they lost 24 hours earlier and storm out to a quick five-run lead. They still had plenty of work to do before they wrapped up an 8-4 victory over Baltimore, but the tone was set early...

WASHINGTON - Asher Wojciechowski struck out the first and last batter he faced tonight in the first inning. The stuff in between eventually would decide the outcome. All of it bad for the Orioles. The Nationals hit for the cycle in the span of four batters, scored five runs and made the Orioles settle for another split of a two-game series with an 8-4 victory in D.C. Juan Soto delivered a two-run triple, Kurt Suzuki launched a two-run homer and the Orioles' winning streak ended at three games....

The Nationals got off to the quick start manager Davey Martinez was hoping for tonight against the Orioles, grabbing a 5-0 lead in the first inning. With one out in the bottom of the first, Adam Eaton was hit by a pitch. Anthony Rendon doubled on a sharp line drive to center field. Eaton pulled up lame as he gingerly jogged into third base. He had to leave the game with what appeared to be an injury to his right leg. Gerardo Parra replaced him as a pinch-runner and took over in right...

The Arizona Fall league today unveiled its 2019 rosters, which included the Surprise Saguaros, highlighted by Nationals shortstop prospect Luis Garcia. At 19, Garcia will be the third-youngest player in the Arizona Fall League. He is No. 77 on the MLBPipeline.com top 100 prospects. The Nats will be well represented on the pitching staff with right-handers Jacob Condra-Bogan, Andrew Lee and Sterling Sharp, and left-hander Nick Raquet. Condra-Bogan is a 2017 32nd-round selection pitching for...

WASHINGTON - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said he's expecting left-hander John Means to start Friday or Saturday night in Kansas City. Means left the team Sunday and was placed on the family medical emergency list. He's been gone for the required minimum of three days. "We're hoping first or second day in Kansas City," Hyde said. "Still got a couple things to figure out, but if all goes well, first or second game." The club is listing Friday and Saturday as TBD, with Aaron Brooks closing...