PHOENIX - Max Scherzer likes to say that a starter's outings are most defined by his final 15 pitches. And so often that has been the case for the Nationals ace during his remarkable and sustained run of excellence. Sometimes, though, the most important pitches come earlier. Much earlier. As he proved tonight during the Nationals' 3-1 win over the Diamondbacks, Scherzer's first 15 pitches were far more important than his final 15. When Trea Turner led off the game with a home run to left,...

If you need a reminder or an explanation why the Orioles do everything in their power to play games despite threatening forecasts and weather, I give you today's single-admission doubleheader at Camden Yards and the potential to wreck a pitching staff. Both teams can bring up a 26th man and the Orioles chose David Hess, who also starts Game 1 against the Rays. Jimmy Yacabonis was recalled yesterday and could piggyback if needed. Miguel Castro threw 65 pitches on Thursday after replacing Chris...

With two home runs tonight, Orioles shortstop Manny Machado became the youngest player in Baltimore Orioles team history to hit 150 home runs. He drove in six runs in a 9-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. He connected for a two-run shot in the first and that was No. 149. He hit a grand slam in the seventh for an 8-1 lead and that was No. 150. "It is a great accomplishment," Machado said. "Beyond grateful. Words can't even describe how exciting that is in reaching that milestone. Doing it with...

The Orioles have chosen David Hess to start Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rays at Camden Yards, an unexpected move after he pitched Tuesday for Triple-A Norfolk. The short rest doesn't concern the Orioles, who are playing the hot hand. Hess, 24, is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in six starts and opponents are batting .189. The Orioles drafted him in the fifth round in 2014 out of Tennessee Tech. In Tuesday's outing, Hess held Durham to one hit over seven scoreless innings...

PHOENIX - Strikeouts may be up across baseball, but Max Scherzer is taking it to levels few ever dreamed of reaching. On the heels of a 15-strikeout performance in his most recent start, Scherzer already has eight of them through three innings tonight against the Diamondbacks. Not that the Nationals ace has been perfect, far from it. He had to pitch out of jams in both the first and second innings, stranding a runner on third base. And he served up a solo homer to David Peralta in the bottom of...

Kevin Gausman didn't exhibit the same dominant form tonight as he displayed in his last start in Oakland. He hoisted the bar pretty high. But making big pitches in tight spots proved just as impressive - and more profitable if counting wins. Manny Machado will profit later. Machado homered twice, including his eighth career grand slam in the seventh inning, and Gausman maintained his roll in the Orioles' 8-4 victory over the Rays before an announced crowd of 28,170 at Camden Yards. Gausman...

Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman once again gave his team a strong start, but shortstop Manny Machado will grab the headlines tonight. Machado hit a two-run homer in the first to give Gausman an early lead. Then he hammered a grand slam in the seventh to help the Orioles pull away for a 9-4 win over Tampa Bay in the series opener. The Orioles are 11-27 and have a three-game winning streak, their first since they won seven in a row from Aug. 23-30 of last season. Machado hit his 11th and 12th...

The Washington Nationals selected the contract of catcher Spencer Kieboom from Triple-A Syracuse on Friday and placed catcher Matt Wieters on the 10-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. Additionally the Nationals transferred outfielder Adam Eaton to the 60-day disabled list. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Kieboom, 27, returns to the Nationals for his first major league assignment of the season. He joins the Nationals...

PHOENIX - The Nationals, as expected, placed Matt Wieters on the 10-day disabled list today with a left hamstring strain, though the club has not yet announced what this morning's MRI of the catcher's injured left leg revealed. Wieters hurt himself rounding first base during the top of the second inning of Thursday night's 2-1, 11-inning win over the Diamondbacks, his left leg buckling. Afterward, he said he was hopeful the injury was confined to his hamstring, though the MRI was scheduled...

PHOENIX - It was only a few weeks ago when the Nationals kept needing Max Scherzer to be their stopper and put an end to losing streaks. Now they just want their ace to keep the team rolling while it's playing some exceptional baseball. Tonight the Nationals seek their 11th win in 13 games, a sustained hot streak that has allowed them to move from five games under the .500 mark to three games over. And who better to have on the mound than Scherzer, who comes into this game 6-1 with a 1.74 ERA...