We are witnessing an outstanding season from a Nationals prospect unable to legally buy beer. If you immediately think this is yet another article about Juan Soto, I promise you it is not. Although he might deserve it, the 19-year-old Soto started the year at Single-A Hagerstown and is now batting cleanup in the major league. Yet somehow overlooked in the Soto tsunami, the Nationals have another prospect breaking out in their system in Carter Kieboom. Washington's first-round pick in 2016 out...

It has been a tough couple of weeks that has stretched into a difficult month for Nationals slugger Bryce Harper. But in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Orioles, Harper displayed some of the technique and strategies manager Davey Martinez wanted to see from his most important player. Martinez felt if Harper was put back in the leadoff spot, where he worked earlier in the season, that it would play a part in him working counts a bit more and seeing more pitches. Before Thursday's game, Martinez...

WASHINGTON - It was the kind of defensive play we have not seen from the Orioles much this year and one that was big in last night's game. But it didn't serve to provide the momentum to lead to a win, it just delayed the winning runs scoring until an inning later. The Nationals' sensational rookie, Juan Soto delivered, a two-run double off Mychal Givens in the eighth last night to break a 2-2 tie as Washington beat the Orioles 4-2 at Nats Park. The O's lost two of three in the series. But...

Hard as this may be to believe, the Nationals' season is nearly half complete. They've now played 72 games, a full 44.4 percent of the regular season. Just as hard to believe, the Nats have only played three games to date against the Phillies, their geographically closest division rivals. And they haven't even been to Citizens Bank Park yet in 2018 (that will finally happen next weekend.) So this weekend's head-to-head matchup on South Capitol Street provides the Nationals their first...

Manager: Gabe Kapler (1st season) Record: 39-33 Last 10 games: 7-3 Who to watch: CF Odúbel Herrera (.299, 12 HR, 41 RBIs), LF Rhys Hoskins (41 RBIs), 1B Carlos Santana (41 RBIs), 2B César Hernández (.262, 10 SB), 3B Maikel Franco (36 RBIs), RHP Zach Eflin (4-2, 3.43 ERA), RHP Aaron Nola (8-2, 2.55 ERA) Season series vs. Nationals: 1-2 Pitching probables: June 22: RHP Tanner Roark (3-7) vs. RHP Zach Eflin (4-2), 7:05 p.m., MASNJune 23: RHP Erick Fedde (0-2) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (8-2),...

Among the plethora of compliments bestowed upon Juan Soto in his first month in the big leagues, perhaps this latest one from the mouth of his manager tonight is most meaningful. "He's got unbelievable poise," Nationals manager Davey Martinez said, "no matter what the situation is." Martinez already knew that before Soto stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth tonight, the Nats' game with the Orioles on the line, and watched the 19-year-old deliver the two-run double that...

It was unusual to see right-hander Max Scherzer allow a pair of home runs and uncork a wild pitch in Thursday's start versus the Orioles. But the fact that matters the most is that the Nationals' ace gave his club a chance to win the game. And that is exactly what the Nationals did, dropping the Orioles 4-2 and winning the series, thanks to a timely two-run double from rookie sensation Juan Soto in the eighth inning. "Hey, we won the ballgame," Scherzer said. "That's what matters. That's...

WASHINGTON - Right-hander Kevin Gausman recorded a quality start and the Orioles became the first team this year to hit more than one homer in a game off three-time Cy Young Winner Max Scherzer. But that didn't get them a win tonight at Nationals Park. The Nats' 19-year-old rookie sensation Juan Soto delivered his latest big hit. This was a two-run double to left center in the eighth as the Nats broke a 2-2 tie and beat the Orioles 4-2 in front of 36,868. The Orioles fall to 21-52 and went...

When the Nationals really needed to deliver a late rally to pull out a close ballgame, they turned to Bryce Harper to set the table and Juan Soto to drive him in. Hey, these are strange times in the nation's capital. What used to work can't be counted on to work anymore. Sometimes you've got to try something different. Davey Martinez did just that tonight, moving the slumping Harper to the leadoff spot in the hopes he would draw more walks and not worry about driving in runs, then moving...

A familiar face is leading the National League's All-Star voting for outfielders: our old pal, Nick Markakis, who at 34 looks like he will finally get a very well deserved first trip to the mid-summer classic. I can't think of anyone more overdue for the honor. Markakis has spent 13 years in the big leagues playing in more than 1,900 games. As Orioles fans are well aware, nine of those years were spent in Baltimore, where he was drafted in the first round in 2003, played through the minor...