This turned into quite an eventful road trip for the Nationals. It began in Cleveland last week with a blown save by Jonathan Papelbon and a huge escape act by Blake Treinen the next night. It continued in San Francisco over the weekend with dominant performances by Tanner Roark and Max Scherzer, the official yanking of Papelbon from the closer's role, the acquisition of Mark Melancon as his replacement and a historic triple play that was necessary to escape a huge jam. And then it wrapped up...

PHOENIX - Max Scherzer doesn't like to evaluate his starts by what happens in the first inning, the second inning or just about any inning he takes the mound. For Scherzer, it's not about how he starts. It's about how he finishes. "I always say you can usually define your outing by the last 15 pitches that you throw," the right-hander said. "That's usually when the outing is decided, when you're going to either win or lose a ballgame. And today was a case of that." The final score - an...

The recently streaky Orioles look for a third straight win tonight when they host the American League Central-leading Texas Rangers at Camden Yards. Since July 17, the Orioles have lost four in a row, won five in a row, lost four straight and now have won their past two games over Toronto and Texas. At 60-45, the Orioles lead the AL East by one game over Toronto and two games over Boston. The Orioles are 38-16 at home and are 12-2-3 in 17 home series at Oriole Park. On the mound tonight,...

Following Dylan Bundy in the rotation means facing both the opponent and a raised bar. Bundy has taken no-hitters into the sixth inning in his last two starts. He walked off the mound last night to multiple standing ovations. Kevin Gausman would welcome the same results tonight, the same reception, though a team win always takes priority. Manager Buck Showalter has been peppered with questions about Bundy's latest flirtation with history and how he would have responded if it continued past the...

PHOENIX - He pitched eight strong innings, given a chance to stay on the mound longer than most modern starters might, given the situation. And he also delivered the two-run single that proved the margin of difference for most of the game. Needless to say, it was Max Scherzer's afternoon at Chase Field, and the rest of the Nationals just went along for the ride en route to an 8-3 victory over the Diamondbacks that completed a series sweep. Scherzer allowed just four hits and struck out 11 over...

The Orioles are starting Yovani Gallardo, Chris Tillman and Dylan Bundy for their three-game series against the White Sox that begins Friday night in Chicago. Manager Buck Showalter is pushing back Gallardo, who was listed as Thursday's starter against the Rangers before the Orioles traded for Wade Miley. He also wanted to give Tillman an extra day of rest. Former Orioles right-hander Miguel Gonzalez is starting Friday for the White Sox. He's 2-5 with a 4.06 ERA in 17 games, including 16...

Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy has made four major league starts. His teammate, Yovani Gallardo, has made 257. The veteran is impressed with the kid. How could you not be after Bundy's latest outing for the Orioles last night. Bundy had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings and gave up just one single over seven scoreless frames as the Orioles beat Texas 5-1 in the series opener at Camden Yards. "It's pretty impressive," Gallardo said. "Just from getting to know him a little bit this year,...

There wasn't much news to come out of today's pregame session with Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Showalter doesn't sound confident that Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard will be cleared to play before September. Rickard continues to wear a splint on his right hand due to a torn ligament in his thumb. He can remove the splint for short periods, but he's still required to wear it following Monday's examination. While Showalter believes that Rickard will return this season, he added that it's...

PHOENIX - The Nationals haven't announced who will start Friday night against the Giants, but it won't be Joe Ross. Manager Dusty Baker said today that Ross still needs to make another minor league rehab start before coming off the disabled list to face big league hitters. The time and place of that start is still being sorted out. "We're not sure yet," Baker said. "He'll probably go out and throw again. We'll see how he comes out of that. We need to get him some length and some quality...

The Washington Nationals swept the monthly National League awards for July with second baseman Daniel Murphy earning the NL Player of the Month and right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg honored as the NL Pitcher of the Month. Major League Baseball made the announcements on MLB Network on Wednesday. Murphy, who also earned the NL Player of the Month award for the month of May, finished July hitting .346 with a .372 on-base percentage and a .744 slugging percentage. In a month that featured...