Manager: Bob Melvin (7th season) Record: 50-64 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: 2B Jed Lowrie (.271 with 33 doubles, 110 hits), LF Khris Davis (.242 with 31 HR, 80 RBIs), DH Ryon Healy (.255 with 21 HR, 63 RBIs), LHP Sean Manaea (8-6, 4.15 ERA), RHP Santiago Casilla (2-5, 16 saves). Season series vs. Orioles: 1st meeting (4-3 in 2016) Pitching probables: Aug. 10: LHP Wade Miley vs. RHP Chris Smith, 10:05 p.m., MASN2Aug. 11: RHP Ubaldo Jiménez vs. RHP Paul Blackburn, 10:05 p.m., MASN2Aug. 12:...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - When this road trip started on Monday night, the Orioles got an uplifting win. Manny Machado hit a grand slam in the seventh, Dylan Bundy fanned 10 and the Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2. But not a lot went right after that. The O's bats were shut down by former Oriole Parker Bridwell last night, and today the Orioles were held to four hits in a 5-1 loss. That is three runs and 12 hits the last two days as they lose the first series on the three-city West Coast road...

Ryan Zimmerman crushed a solo homer off of Marlins starter Adam Conley to lead off the second inning. His 25th homer of the season was also his 906th career RBI, which sets the all-time Nats/Expos franchise record. The previous record was held by former Expos third baseman Tim Wallach, who is currently the Marlins bench coach. Howie Kendrick and Wilmer Difo added back-to-back singles with two outs in the inning. But Nats starter Gio Gonzalez struck out. Gonzalez has allowed three hits and even...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - It was a series where the Orioles didn't get much offense and the trend continued this afternoon against a pitcher making his second major league start. The Orioles lost 5-1 in front of 36,202 to the Los Angeles Angels to drop the series after winning Monday's series opener. It's a disappointing end to a series that began with promise when Manny Machado's seventh-inning grand slam provided a 6-2 lead and win Monday night. But over the series' last two games, the Orioles...

Stephen Strasburg took a key step in his return to the mound for the Nationals this afternoon by throwing a simulated game, the most significant test the right-hander has put his elbow through since going on the disabled list 2 1/2 weeks ago. Strasburg said he threw 57 pitches over four simulated "innings," facing two batters (teammates Jayson Werth and Andrew Stevenson), and emerged with no concerns about the state of his elbow. "It feels really good," he said. "I'm definitely happy with...

Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth has been engaging in batting practice to start this homestand against the Marlins. He was seen taking swings last week during batting practice at Marlins Park, and that continued here at Nats Park. Werth has been on the disabled list since June 4 with a contusion that turned out to be a broken bone in his left foot. He has missed 57 games. Today he participated in a simulated game during early afternoon workouts, with right-hander Stephen Strasburg throwing...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Mark Trumbo is back in the Orioles lineup today for the first time since July 29. He was on the 10-day disabled list with a right rib cage strain. Over 103 games, Trumbo is batting .238/.300/.405 with 17 doubles, 17 homers, 50 RBIs and an OPS of .706. He is batting fifth as the designated hitter and struck out swinging his first time up in the second inning. "It feels really good (to be back)," Trumbo said this morning in the visiting clubhouse. "Really excited to get back...

When last we saw Gio Gonzalez on the mound, he was carrying a no-hitter into the bottom of the ninth at Marlins Park before Dee Gordon broke it up on an emotional night in Miami. Since then, Gonzalez has left the Nationals for a few days for the birth of his second son, Gabriel, and now he returns to the mound for his first appearance in nine days. And the opponent ... will be the Marlins again. As we saw last night with Vance Worley and A.J. Cole, the advantage doesn't necessarily change from...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is back in a down cycle with the bat. He is 2-for-21 his last six games with nine strikeouts as his average has dropped from .224 to .215. He is 1-for-7 in this series. I asked manager Buck Showalter this morning if he wishes Davis would become more aggressive at the plate and take fewer pitches? "Of course," he said. "I'm sure people see something in a game and they wonder about those things. If they saw all the work and conversations and...

With less than two months to go, there's not a lot of drama in the National League races. The Nationals most likely will play either the Cubs, Brewers or surging Cardinals in the Division Series, while the Dodgers will play the winner of the projected Diamondbacks-Rockies wild card game. The American League is more complex. Teams are bunched and a .500 record keeps a team thinking October. The Orioles are contenders even though they were seven games under on July 16. The Orioles' schedule...