NEW YORK - Will the Orioles be able to play two games today? One has been impossible. The forecast shows partly cloudy skies but no rain, with temperatures inching toward the 70s. Which means hail. Watch for it. It can't get much worse than Monday night. The Yankees called off yesterday's game more than an hour before first pitch. They ripped off the Band-Aid. They waited more than three hours after the scheduled first pitch to call off Monday's game. They ripped off fans who sat through a...

It takes an awful lot for the Nationals to win a baseball game these days. It takes excellent starting pitching. It takes timely hitting from a lineup that seems to only score in one inning per contest. It takes effective work from the majors' least effective bullpen. And it takes clean defense, an occurrence most clubs can assume will be on display most nights but for this team represents the clear outlier. The Nats pretty much can't afford for any one of those four things to go wrong in...

The Nationals opened a key homestand this evening needing to play clean baseball and get things off on the right foot. Three batters into their series opener against the Mets, they couldn't turn a routine double play. And three batters after that, they gave up a grand slam to a former teammate and fan favorite. Yep, things are going swimmingly so far tonight on South Capitol Street. Wilson Ramos' grand slam off Jeremy Hellickson gave the Mets a 4-0 lead before many in the crowd had even...

Ryan Zimmerman hasn't stopped raising money to support research toward a cure for multiple sclerosis, and Monday's 10th edition of "A Night at the Park," his annual fundraiser, added approximately $300,000 in support. The Nationals first baseman's ziMS Foundation has been hard at work since 2006 in support of the 400,000 people affected by MS. Zimmerman's mother, Cheryl, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006, and he has made a concerted effort to raise both funds and awareness of...

Trea Turner is taking the field tonight in Woodbridge, Va., for his first game action in six weeks. Ryan Zimmerman was on the field this afternoon at Nationals Park for his first baseball activities in 2 1/2 weeks. Slowly but surely, the Nationals are getting healthier, and the next player on track to return from the injured list appears to be Turner, who tonight is beginning a rehab assignment with Single-A Potomac. Turner is scheduled to play shortstop and bat second tonight at Pfitzner...

NEW YORK - The Orioles and Yankees won't play tonight, with the decision to postpone the game due to rain and an unfavorable forecast coming much earlier than last night. The teams will engage in a day-night doubleheader on Aug. 12 with the opener starting at 1:05 p.m. Game 2 begins at 7:05 p.m. This is the fifth postponement for the Orioles, who are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Wednesday. David Hess starts Game 1 and Andrew Cashner gets the ball for Game 2. Hess would have pitched last...

NEW YORK - The Orioles announced today that minor league pitcher Zach Pop underwent successful surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery after yesterday's examination in Pensacola, Fla. Pop, 22, had appeared in eight games with Double-A Bowie and allowed only one run and seven hits in 10 2/3 innings. He walked four batters and struck out 11. The Orioles acquired Pop from the Dodgers as part of the...

There's a ballgame being played tonight in Washington, and that in and of itself is good news for the local club, which last set foot on the turf here 12 days ago. The Nationals have a six-game homestand against the Mets and Cubs, and they'll try to get things off on the right foot tonight against a New York team that has lost 10 of its last 16 and is facing an important week itself. The Nationals lineup is healthier than it was the last time they played here, with Anthony Rendon and Juan...

NEW YORK - The Orioles will try again tonight to make it through nine uninterrupted innings as they begin their series against the Yankees. Start on time and pray for drier weather. Renato Núñez is batting fourth as the designated hitter while stuck in slumps that stretch to 1-for-31 and 4-for-52. He hasn't drawn a walk since April 23. Tonight brings a favorable matchup on paper. More on that later. Joey Rickard is batting fifth against Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ and Chris Davis moves...

Left-hander Dan Jennings made his first appearance with the Nats April 30 and pitched 2/3 of an inning without allowing a run against the Cardinals. His second stint was May 1, against St. Louis again, and this time he was even better: one inning of scoreless relief with two strikeouts. But then he hit a rough patch. In his next three outings, Jennings allowed a combined five earned runs while recording only three outs. The 32-year-old surrendered the game-changing three-run shot to Rhys...