ST. LOUIS - There was a time, not all that long ago, when the thought of the Nationals having three players voted into the starting lineup of the All-Star Game was laughable. Even when they had talented players, the Nationals never had the kind of fan base in D.C. or the overall recognition of baseball fans around the world to merit the kind of overwhelming support needed to win All-Star voting. So pause for a moment right now and appreciate this fact: Three members (at least) of the National...

Manager: Craig Counsell (3rd season) Record: 44-40 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: 1B Eric Thames (.243 with 21 HR, 41 RBIs); 3B Travis Shaw (.291 with 17 HR, 59 RBIs); SS Orlando Arcia (.288 with 8 HR, 27 RBIs); RHP Jimmy Nelson (6-4, 3.43 ERA); RHP Corey Knebel (1.13 ERA, 13 saves) Season series vs. Orioles: First meeting (2-1 in 2014) Pitching probables: July 3: LHP Wade Miley vs. RHP Brent Suter; 2:10 p.m., MASNJuly 4: RHP Ubaldo Jiménez vs. RHP Jimmy Nelson; 4:10 p.m., MASN2July 5: RHP...

Entering Sunday before the 2017 All-Star teams were announced, Anthony Rendon was batting .298 with 16 home runs and 60 RBIs, already the most he's had for the first half of a season in his career. His .399 on-base percentage, .555 slugging percentage and .954 OPS led all qualifying National League third baseman. And his 3.4 WAR currently ranks first among all major league third basemen, third overall in the league and fifth in all of baseball. Oh, and have you seen what he can do with his...

When he was sitting with an ERA of 6.60 in mid-June, you had to wonder if Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman would ever turn around his season. He may be doing that right now. Today, he followed up Tuesday's start of 5 1/3 scoreless in Toronto with seven scoreless in the Orioles' 7-1 win over the Rays. The Orioles avoided being swept as Gausman allowed just two singles and fanned nine while improving to 5-7 with an ERA of 5.61. He's allowed no runs and six hits in 12 1/3 those last two...

From the sense of panic among Nationals fans these days, you would think the team is in last place, rather than on a pace to win more than 90 games. Let's calm down and let general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dusty Baker do their jobs. It's far too early for predictions of collapse. After Trea Turner broke his wrist, joining previous leadoff man Adam Eaton on the disabled list, Nats fans on Twitter started posting messages of gloom and doom. Perhaps the best was, "Leading off the the Nats...

ST. LOUIS - The Nationals need a win tonight to avoid getting swept by the Cardinals and dropping their sixth game in the last eight days. The good news: They have Max Scherzer on the mound. The bad news: They'll be facing Carlos Martínez, with something less than their "A" lineup. Scherzer brings his league-best 2.06 ERA, 0.783 WHIP and 151 strikeouts to his hometown, looking to carry his dominant success from June into July. He has pitched quite well against the Cardinals during his...

Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman pitched a gem. Manny Machado hit a blast. Those were the highlights this afternoon as the two former Orioles first-round picks led the club to a 7-1 win over the Rays at Oriole Park. Using a fastball that nearly hit 100 mph and a, at times, swing-and-miss splitter, Gausman threw seven scoreless innings, allowing only two singles. No Rays runner reached third against him. He walked two and fanned nine to tie a season high in strikeouts and come within one of a...

The Orioles' top draft pick from 2016, right-handed pitcher Cody Sedlock, went on the disabled list for the Single-A Frederick Keys on Saturday with a right elbow flexor strain. The No. 27 overall selection last year, Sedlock is 4-4 with 6.46 ERA. He got off to a great start for the Keys, pitching to an ERA of 1.64 over his first four starts, but has allowed five runs or more in six of his past nine starts. Earlier today, O's executive vice president Dan Duquette was my guest on 105.7 The...

Jonathan Schoop saw his infield coach in the parking lot this morning and became suspicious. Why was Bobby Dickerson arriving at this time? Why did Schoop need to stop inside manager Buck Showalter's office, per Dickerson's instructions, as if he were about to be reprimanded? This is how Schoop found out that he was chosen to his first All-Star Game, the only Orioles representative unless they have someone included in the fan's Final Vote. Schoop, 25, will be a reserve on the American League...

The Orioles are prepared to make a roster move today with reliever Jimmy Yacabonis in the clubhouse. They could option Alec Asher to Triple-A Norfolk after he threw 32 pitches yesterday and allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings. Update: The Orioles have made that roster move official. As for the lineup, Joey Rickard remains the left fielder and has moved down to ninth in the order. Seth Smith is in right field and leading off. Caleb Joseph is catching and Rubén Tejada gets another start at...