Here's one thing that's going well for the Nationals right now: Erick Fedde as a reliever. Long touted as the organization's top starting prospect, Fedde has made a smooth transition to the bullpen over the last two weeks and is thriving in his new role. It's only four total outings, but Fedde has yet to allow a run in eight innings of work, with only three hits surrendered in the process. "I have a newfound confidence right now," he said. "And I'm just trying to ride it out." So are...

We are now less than three weeks from June 3, the first day of the First-Year Player Draft. That is going to be a huge day and night for the Orioles, who will make the first pick in the first round for just the second time in club history. The draft began in 1965. In 1989, the Orioles made LSU right-handed pitcher Ben McDonald the top pick in the first round. The Orioles have never had the No. 2 pick and selected No. 3 just once and took Manny Machado there in 2010. Almost every mock draft...

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...