HOUSTON - A pair of evenly matched first-place clubs attempting to get healthy before the end of the regular season clash in the rubber match of a three-game set tonight at Minute Maid Park. The pitching matchup is outstanding with Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg (10-4, 3.24 ERA) facing off against Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel (11-2, 2.58 ERA). Keuchel is very good at home: 35-19 with a 2.89 ERA and 405 strikeouts in 77 games. He is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two career starts against...

It was a slump, but it didn't last long. All hitters go through them and Trey Mancini recently found that he was dealing with one. Before the series with Oakland that started Monday and ended yesterday, Mancini was 2-for-26 his previous seven games. He went 0-for-11 in the series versus the Angels. His average dropped from .297 to .282. But manager Buck Showalter has said each time this year when Mancini has been challenged by a cold streak at-bat it didn't last long. He always broke out of...

HOUSTON - The experience that Edwin Jackson brings to the mound for the Nationals in his second tenure with the club is paying dividends. Despite a 6-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday, Jackson continues to demonstrate his ability as a starter by going deep into games without getting flustered. Jackson allowed a solo homer to Jake Marisnick, and that very likely would have been the only run he would have given up if Michael Taylor and Andrew Stevenson had not miscommunicated on Jose...

HOUSTON - Edwin Jackson did his job, and the Nationals still had a shot. They were down 2-1 heading to the bottom of the eighth Wednesday night. But the Astros went after the Nats bullpen and tallied four runs in the frame, highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Alex Bregman as Houston evened the series with a 6-1 win. Right-hander Shawn Kelley gave up the Bregman shot, his 11th homer allowed in 25 games this season. Manager Dusty Baker explained what he saw from Kelley in the at-bat...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter receives another chance to tweak his rotation as his club enjoys part of its off-day before flying to Boston for a weekend series against the first-place Red Sox. Getting out of Fenway Park without any controversies would be a bonus. Is it in the realm of possibility? Ear plugs might not be a bad idea. And please, no Red Sox quips. You're just asking for trouble. Showalter is firmly committed to providing rest whenever he's able to do it, especially for Dylan...

HOUSTON - The Nationals got on the board first in the third inning against Astros starter Mike Fiers. With one out, Andrew Stevenson doubled to right-center field. The hit came a half inning after he was unable to come up with a hot shot to right field that turned into a Marwin Gonzalez double. But starter Edwin Jackson didn't allow the Astros to score thanks to a lineout to left field by Carlos Beltrán that ended the threat. Back to the third-inning Nats rally: Howie Kendrick followed with...

After playing over four hours, blowing leads of five runs and two runs, but winning on a walk-off extra innings homer, the Orioles emerged with a victory today but also some concern over their closer. And not necessarily because left-hander Zach Britton finally blew a save for the first time since Sept. 20, 2015. But because after the game it was revealed that a left knee injury has been bothering Britton recently. He will have an MRI on the knee tomorrow. "Gosh, I've probably had it since...

This isn't the Miracle on Ice. More like the Wonder on Wednesday, or perhaps the Glory on Grass. This is the Orioles winning a series after taking the opener and squandering a five-run lead today. Call it whatever you want, I'm sure there were a few choice words flying from the stands. Zach Britton blew his first save opportunity in two years as the Athletics fought back to tie the game in the ninth inning, but Miguel Castro stranded a runner on third base in the top of the 10th and Manny...

The Orioles lost leads of 6-1 and 7-5, but they didn't lose this game. In fact, they won it in walk-off fashion, but it took awhile. After Oakland tied the game in the ninth off Zach Britton, the Orioles won it in the 12th inning when Manny Machado led off with a homer to left-center that just made it into the stands. That gave the Orioles an 8-7 win as they improved to 10-2 in extra innings. Machado hit No. 28 on a 1-1 slider from Simon Castro. He has seven homers and 18 RBIs over his last 11...

HOUSTON - Right-hander Max Scherzer will not make his next start Friday, according to Nationals pitching coach Mike Maddux. Scherzer's neck is still sore and not responding as well as he had hoped. On Tuesday, there was some optimism that Scherzer would be able to come of the disabled list for Friday's series opener against the Mets. But Scherzer told reporters it would be "days, not weeks" that he would be pushed back because of the neck problem. Manager Dusty Baker and Maddux hope that...