Michael A. Taylor didn't expect it to take five weeks to return from a strained right oblique muscle. Then again, he also didn't expect to be summoned back to Washington this morning to replace an injured Bryce Harper. Nevertheless, Taylor found himself boarding a plane in Hartford early this morning bound for Washington, then hitching a quick ride to Nationals Park to be in the clubhouse in time for today's doubleheader against the Giants. Having already played both ends of Double-A...

In 12 games since joining the Orioles, infielder Tim Beckham is batting .531 (26-for-49) with seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and nine RBIs. He continues to lead off as the Orioles conclude their series in Oakland. According to STATS, Beckham is among three players to begin their Orioles career with a hitting streak of 12 games or more, joining David Newhan (15 in 2004) and Javy Lopez (13 in 2004). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Beckham is the first Orioles leadoff hitter...

Bryce Harper suffered a "significant" bone bruise inside his left knee but sustained no ligament or tendon damage, according to Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, who said the starting right fielder could return to play before the end of the season. That's a far more encouraging diagnosis than the Nationals initially feared late Saturday night when they watched Harper's left leg slip on first base, causing his knee to hyperextend before he fell to the ground in pain and had to be helped...

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Orioles can get back to the .500 mark if they win today at the Oakland Coliseum. They have taken two of three in this series. If they can make it three of four, they will leave Oakland with a record of 59-59. The Orioles bashed eight doubles among 20 hits in last night's 12-5 win. In this series they have scored 23 runs on 40 hits with 14 doubles, a triple and five home runs. The Orioles scored seven runs in the first inning last night, going 8-for-10 at-bat in the...

The Washington Nationals returned from rehab assignment and reinstated outfielder Michael A. Taylor from the 10-day disabled list on Sunday, and placed outfielder Bryce Harper on the 10-day disabled list with a hyperextended left knee. Additionally, catcher Pedro Severino was added to the Nationals' roster from Triple-A Syracuse as the 26th man for Sunday's doubleheader vs. the San Francisco Giants. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the...

It's a beautiful day in Washington, D.C. Given everything that happened yesterday, here and nearby, at least we've got that. The Nationals and Giants are playing two today, with the original game bumped up to 1:05 p.m. and the makeup of Friday night's game scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. Which means these teams will, in theory, be playing three games in 24 hours. The bigger news, of course, involves Bryce Harper. We hope to have some kind of update shortly, so please stay tuned for that. In...

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Orioles scored 12 runs on Saturday night. They had 20 hits. But they didn't hit a single homer. They did bash eight doubles, one off the team record, in the 12-5 victory over Oakland. Adam Jones continued his big series at the Oakland Colisuem, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Joey Rickard went 3-for-4 and scored three runs. Manny Machado drove in two. So did Chris Davis. But it was shortstop Tim Beckham, once again, who was most amazing of them all. He had his third career...

Following a three-hour rain delay, the Nationals lost right fielder Bryce Harper to a left knee injury when he slipped on first base as he tried to beat out a grounder in the first inning. Harper could not put weight on his left leg and was helped off the field by trainer Paul Lessard and Nationals hitting coach Rick Schu. The Nationals defeated the Giants 3-1, but the concern now is the status of their 2015 National League MVP for the rest of the season. Manager Dusty Baker said Harper...

The Orioles are 3-3 on their road trip as they conclude their series against the Athletics today with Jeremy Hellickson making his third start since the trade. He's allowed three runs in 13 innings. Kevin Gausman, Wade Miley and Ubaldo Jiménez are the starters for the series in Seattle that begins Monday night. The Mariners are listing Yovani Gallardo, TBD and Marco Gonzalez. I can't fill up my notebook in Seattle until I clean it out. At least in theory. I usually just change...

OAKLAND, Calif. - After coming up a run short and blowing a late lead last night, the Orioles started the game tonight like a team still smarting from that loss. They scored seven runs in the top of the first and produced 20 hits on their way to a 12-5 win over the Athletics in front of 29,742 at Oakland Colisuem. The Orioles hit eight doubles tonight, one off a team record. They had eight doubles in one game each in 1996 and 2009. The O's went 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position. The...