He entered via the passenger's seat of the bullpen cart, his feet propped up on the dashboard, his glove covering his mouth to conceal the laughter underneath it all. It was the top of the eighth inning, it was 11:57 p.m., and Sean Doolittle was back pitching for the Nationals after two months on the disabled list. And, as he promised all along, he rode in on the cart, becoming the first pitcher from either the home or visiting team at Nationals Park to partake of the recently unveiled...

It began with a rain delay. It ended after another rain delay. In between, the Nationals played two baseball games with the Cubs, saw Max Scherzer throw a complete game, inducted Jayson Werth into their Ring of Honor, saw Bryce Harper launch a go-ahead home run off the bullpen cart, saw Sean Doolittle become the first pitcher ever to enter Nationals Park via said bullpen cart and saw Greg Holland record the save at 1:42 a.m. in front of perhaps 200 fans. Oh yeah, the Nationals also swept a...

The Orioles have been swept in a series of three or more games 15 times this season. They'll need a victory this afternoon at Tropicana Field against Tampa Bay to avoid adding to that. The Orioles have been swept 10 times in three-game series and five times in a four-game series. They've had 10 of those sweeps come on the road and five at home. The most recent was last weekend when they lost three straight at Kansas City. Tampa Bay (77-64) has beaten the Orioles by 14-2 and 10-5 scores this...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles close out their three-city, triple time zone road trip this afternoon with rookie left-hander Josh Rogers on the mound while Alex Cobb is pushed back to Tuesday night at Camden Yards. A blister can only be filed down so far and so many times. Cobb had a "touch and feel" throwing session yesterday to make certain that he could grip the ball properly and release it without any discomfort. The Orioles are off Monday and he was targeting the series opener...

During a season where we have now seen the Orioles lose 101 games, we've seen plenty of nights where the team has looked bad. The last two nights at Tropicana Field might rank right up there. On Friday night, in a 14-2 loss, the Orioles trailed 6-0 in the third inning. They were held to six hits and stuck out 15 times and O's pitchers walked 11. At least they didn't give up any unearned runs. That would wait until the first inning in last night's 10-5 loss. An ugly bottom of the first ended...

There will be those who look at Jayson Werth's name on the façade of the upper deck down the first base line at Nationals Park, unveiled tonight and there to stay as long as this stadium lives, and question whether the outfielder was worthy of such an honor. Those people probably have always scoffed at the $126 million contract the Nationals gave Werth way back in December 2010 and still don't believe it was the right move for the franchise. But if you watched the ceremony that took place...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter can more easily accept the losing, though he's nowhere near embracing it, if the effort is strong, the play is crisp and the ultimate goal is within sight. If it's all for the good of the rebuild. What transpired in the first inning tonight at Tropicana Field is unacceptable, much like the 11 walks issued by Orioles pitching in the series opener. Showalter won't excuse it. Being in a rebuild mode isn't an invitation to become sloppy. The...

This was going to be a long, aggravating day and night at the ballpark no matter what took place on the field. Such is life when you're attempting to play a doubleheader after failing to even complete 1 1/2 innings the previous night due to rain, with more rain certain to fall in different waves during the course of this day and night. But for all the aggravation, there was at least this bit of consolation for the Nationals and their fans: They were going to get to see Max Scherzer pitch. And...

Hope you didn't stray too far from your TV, cause we're already back for the nightcap of today's doubleheader. Yes, it's starting a little later than planned thanks to the 2-hour, 10-minute rain delay before the opener. And yes, there's a chance for more rain later tonight before this one is completed. But hey, at this point why complain anymore? Nothing any of us can do to change it. The Nationals had a clear pitching advantage in the opener, with Max Scherzer facing Jaime Garcia, who...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter met with Adam Jones to explain the outfielder's absence from the lineup, which is expected to continue through Sunday's series finale against the Rays. Showalter indicated that Jones will play again this month. Jones, meanwhile, said he's going to handle the situation "with a smile." "It's a great opportunity for some guys to get some big league experience," he said after taking batting practice and shagging fly balls. "It's good...