SAN FRANCISCO - The flight home at the end of a three-city, nine-game, cross-country road trip is pleasant for no one. The Nationals were scheduled to land at Dulles International Airport at 2:20 a.m. this morning, but by the time they bused back into the city to retrieve their cars and then head home, they were looking at something like a 3:30 a.m. walk through the front door. If nothing else, at least they boarded that flight Wednesday night in San Francisco with the positive vibes that came...

SAN FRANCISCO - The hits would come, Davey Martinez insisted, as long as the Nationals kept giving themselves opportunities and had the right approach in key situations. The first-year manager is a relentless optimist, but he surely had developed more than a few doubters over the season's first month, especially over the last week while his club flailed away at what few scoring opportunities they had on the West Coast. And then, in a sustained display unlike anything else they had offered up...

Orioles right-hander Alex Cobb (0-2, 15.43 ERA) makes his first start as an Oriole at home and he will do so against his former team. For the first time ever Cobb pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays as the clubs open a rain-shortened, two-game series. Cobb has failed to complete the fourth inning in his first two starts, which came at Boston and Detroit. He went a combined seven innings allowing 20 hits and 15 runs (12 earned). He has allowed a .500 batting average (20-for-40) in those...

SAN FRANCISCO - The Nationals figured the best way to end their four-game losing streak was to send Max Scherzer to the mound for today's series finale at AT&T Park. Turns out the better strategy was sending a lineup featuring several backups and recent call-ups up to the plate against Jeff Samardzija and the Giants bullpen. Behind an onslaught of two-out hits with runners in scoring position, the Nationals blasted Samardzija and company during a 15-2 victory that, if nothing else, allowed...

The tarp has come off the Camden Yards field about three hours after the grounds crew unrolled it. A much better forecast for tonight's game. The Orioles are waiting for Tim Beckham to make a final decision on whether to undergo surgery after they placed him on the disabled list today with a left groin strain. Beckham saw Dr. William Meyers earlier today in Philadelphia - the sports hernia specialist who repaired a torn muscle in Nick Markakis' abdomen in January 2012. A similar procedure on...

As he joins his fourth major league team today, Jace Peterson will hit the ground running for the Orioles. He's going right into the starting lineup tonight, batting ninth at second base. Since opening day he has been called up by the New York Yankees, designated for assignment by New York, re-signed by the Yankees, DFA'd again and claimed on waivers by the Orioles. All that happened in a 16-day span. "Definitely been a wild ride," Peterson said this afternoon in the Orioles clubhouse....

The Orioles could be without third baseman Tim Beckham for a much longer period than the minimum 10 days of his assignment on the disabled list. Beckham saw a specialist today in Philadelphia and is expected to undergo surgery, perhaps by Thursday morning, after the Orioles put him on the DL with a strained left groin. Beckham is weighing his options, which would include rehabbing the injury. The procedure apparently would be similar to sports hernia surgery, but little information has filtered...

Attention, attention: Class is in session. Even though it's late April, Paul and I are heading back to school - the School of Roch that is - as MASNsports.com's Orioles beat writer Roch Kubatko joins us on the latest episode of the "MASN All Access" podcast. The Orioles are in a slump. Everyone knows that. They have lost three straight, are 1-9 in their last 10 games and are in last place 11 1/2 games back in the American League East. Are there any rays of sunshine in sight? Roch tries to...

SAN FRANCISCO - Bryce Harper is about to become the third Nationals player to have a youth baseball field named for him. The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation announced today it will be dedicating Bryce Harper Field at the Takoma Community Center in Northwest Washington in early May. The project was made possible through financial contributions from Harper and the Dream Foundation, in partnership with the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. "I am excited and honored to participate in...

Jace Peterson is making his Orioles debut tonight as the Orioles begin their series against the Rays at Camden Yards. Peterson is starting at second base and batting ninth. The Orioles haven't announced the roster move, but Tim Beckham is expected to go on the disabled list. Trey Mancini is in left field. Chance Sisco is batting second. Alex Cobb faces his former team tonight after allowing 12 earned runs (15 total) and 20 hits over seven innings in his first two starts with the Orioles. He's...