Nationals manager Dusty Baker has Michael A. Taylor back in the starting lineup for Saturday's late afternoon tilt with the Reds. It will mark Taylor's first start since June 20. He has missed the last few games due to an undisclosed injury. Taylor pinch-hit and struckout late in Friday's series opener against the Reds. "He's doing better," Baker said. "He's in there today. We decided it was better to keep him out and he hit yesterday in the cage. Much to my surprise I didn't know he...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Stefan Crichton has arrived at Tropicana Field, meaning he's the latest in a series of moves by the Orioles to freshen a tired bullpen. How the Orioles will accommodate Crichton on the 25-man roster remains to be seen. Update: Crichton has officially been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. To make space on the 25-man roster, Miguel Castro has been optioned to Double-A Bowie. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop is batting third today, the third time in his career he's started in...

The Nationals look for a series victory today against the Reds after last night's dramatic comeback win. Down 4-0 and 5-1, the Nats slowly chipped away to ultimately drop the Reds 6-5 in 10 innings on a Bryce Harper RBI single. It was the Nats' 19th comeback victory of the season, meaning they have pulled off this feat for 43.2 percent of their wins this season. Brian Goodwin, who hit two homers in the game, said this club just has a penchant for not giving up, regardless of the...

There were no shortage of noteworthy developments in last night's 6-5 10-inning win. We've already addressed a few of them - the game-winning rally, Brian Goodwin's two-homer night, Stephen Strasburg's struggles in the humidity - but let's run through some more items of interest before turning the page to today's game ... * The Nationals bullpen was good. Really good. Like, five scoreless innings good. When Strasburg was pulled after five innings and 95 pitches, the notion that the Nats'...

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg was unable to get off to a good start Friday. He struggled in the first inning, allowing four runs on five hits as the Reds raced out to a 4-0 lead. The Nationals eventually came all the way back and stunned Cincinnati 6-5 in 10 innings. As Strasburg watched the comeback, he had a chance to reflect on the rough beginning. "Tough one. Obviously first inning was not great but I can try to go as long as I can and as hard as I can and they picked me up," Strasburg...

It takes a certain kind of mentality to bat second in the big leagues, where the job often is less about producing yourself and more about making sure the big boppers behind you get the best opportunities to produce with runners on base. That feeling is only magnified when the guy batting second is a rookie with 130 career plate appearances and the guys batting third, fourth and fifth are All-Stars and MVP candidates. Brian Goodwin has learned this in the last few weeks, a stretch during which...

When the Orioles announced two more draft pick signings on Thursday afternoon, that brought their total to 29 signed picks out of the 41 they selected in the recent First-Year Player Draft. That is an impressive total to have wrapped up this soon. This will definitely benefit the individual players. By signing fast, they can get their pro careers started sooner and begin learning the pro game and impressing their new organization faster. Signing quickly is almost always good for the player. So...

Brian Goodwin went 3-for-4 with two homers and two walks as the Nationals dropped the Reds 6-5 in 10 innings. His biggest hit might have been the single with two outs in the 10th that got Trea Turner to third base to continue what turned out to be the game-deciding inning. Bryce Harper followed with a RBI single to win it for the Nats, who notched their 19th comeback win of the season. Goodwin's two solo shots came in the first and seventh innings of his first multi-homer game in the majors....

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles were fed a steady diet of opposing left-handed starters early in the season. As they draw closer to the break, there's been a pronounced shift to the right side, where each series seems to lack a southpaw. It doesn't really matter to Trey Mancini. He's going to be in the lineup no matter who's facing them. Mancini destroyed the notion, as if it were a belt-high fastball, that he'd work in a platoon role if he broke camp with the team. That there wouldn't...

The Nationals waited 10 innings to produce their first hit with a man in scoring position all night. The wait was worth it. Bryce Harper's laser of a single to the warning track in right field brought home Trea Turner from third base and gave the Nationals a 6-5, 10-inning victory over the Reds to cap a night that included plenty of frustrating moments but ended in jubilation for the home team. The Nationals had been 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position throughout the game, squandering...