As the Nationals head out on a long road trip, Daniel Murphy is heading down to Florida to start playing in extended spring training games. Murphy, now in the final stages of rehab from October microfracture knee surgery, is scheduled to fly to West Palm Beach on Monday and begin getting at-bats with others from the organization who remain at the club's complex for extended spring training. The veteran second baseman has been with the big league club throughout the season's first 2 1/2 weeks,...

BOSTON - The Orioles have recalled pitcher David Hess from Triple-A Norfolk today and optioned left-hander Donnie Hart to the Tides in the latest adjustment to the bullpen. Hart was used in the last two games, allowing an unearned run in 2 2/3 innings, and wouldn't be available for the rest of the series. And the need for a second southpaw isn't as pronounced for the three-game set against the Tigers that begins on Tuesday at Comerica Park. Hess, 24, was scratched from yesterday's start in...

BOSTON - Craig Gentry is in center field today, Adam Jones is the designated hitter and the temperature for today's game is plummeting. A clubhouse guard said it's snowing six miles outside the city and headed this way. Tim Beckham remains at second base with Jonathan Schoop on the disabled list. Schoop said this morning that he's optimistic about returning after 10 days. For the Orioles Trey Mancini LF Craig Gentry CF Manny Machado SS Adam Jones DH Danny Valencia 3B Chris Davis 1B Tim...

The weather was absolutely delightful yesterday when the Nationals beat the Rockies 6-2. The weather is most definitely not delightful today as the two clubs wrap up their four-game series. It's overcast, the temperature has been dropping all morning and will continue to drop through the afternoon, and there's rain in the forecast. It's just a question of when the rain arrives. For now, it doesn't appear to be a threat to the start of the game, only later in the game (if at all). But even...

One element of the minor league system that has been an advantage for the Nationals is the close proximity of each affiliate to each other and to Washington, D.C., and most importantly, Nationals Park. Countless times, the Nats have utilized their high Single-A location in Woodbridge, Va., the Potomac Nationals, to rehab their major league players. Even low single-A Hagerstown is just over an hour away from D.C., and if the Suns are home instead of the P-Nats, players can get access to live...

Some Sunday morning news and notes before the Nationals and Rockies wrap up their four-game series ... * It didn't lead to any actual runs scored for the Nationals, but there's no denying Max Scherzer's fifth-inning single Saturday served as something of a wakeup call for a slumbering offense and fired up the entire dugout. The Nationals trailed the Rockies 2-1 and hadn't found any way to escape the doldrums that had been present throughout the series. Then Scherzer lined a 1-2 pitch from...

BOSTON - The Orioles' streak of roster moves on game days is up to seven with Jonathan Schoop going on the disabled list yesterday and Alex Cobb getting his official recall from Double-A Bowie. Will it grow to eight? The bullpen is the usual suspect, so let's go there first. Donnie Hart threw 17 pitches Friday night after being recalled and 22 yesterday while working twice in less than 24 hours. He retired four of five batters in his debut and allowed an unearned run yesterday over 1 1/3...

The Orioles have been outhit, outplayed and outclassed the first two days in Boston. They've lost by scores of 7-3 and 10-3, and their starting pitchers allowed 17 hits and 14 runs over 5 2/3 innings. Their run total of three was matched by their errors total of three on Saturday. Not a formula for success at Fenway Park - or anywhere for that matter. Right-hander Alex Cobb figures to pitch pretty well for the club, but his first start for the Orioles was about as rocky as it gets. Cobb was...

BOSTON - The MRI on second baseman Jonathan Schoop's right oblique this morning revealed a Grade 1 strain, which is a sliver of good news on an otherwise lousy day for the Orioles. Though Schoop was forced to go on the 10-day disabled list, he suffered a milder strain among the classifications and could return sooner than anticipated. "There's grades 1 through 5, with 5 being the most severe, and that was a 1," manager Buck Showalter explained after a 10-3 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway...

Michael A. Taylor wasn't surprised when he got the sign from Bob Henley. "I'm ready for anything," the Nationals center fielder said. "We did work on it in spring training, so I feel comfortable with it." "It" was the safety squeeze manager Davey Martinez called in the bottom of the sixth this afternoon, the Nationals and Rockies tied at that point with runners on the corners and one out. At a time when his team was searching for any way possible to score a key run, Martinez decided to...