SAN FRANCISCO - Decisions, certainly the big ones with long-lasting ramifications, aren't made minutes after a ballgame ends, when emotions are still running hot and the opportunity for reflection has yet to arrive. So Dusty Baker wasn't about to make any definitive statements about Jonathan Papelbon's future role in the Nationals bullpen in the wake of Thursday night's near-calamitous bottom of the ninth at AT&T Park. "I don't know," Baker said. "You're asking me some questions,...

SAN FRANCISCO - Tanner Roark gave them the seven strong innings they needed from their starter. The lineup delivered a quick burst of two-out hits off Johnny Cueto that put the Nationals in position to lead nearly the entire night. But no victory is compete until the ninth inning is complete. And anyone who has followed the Nationals recently knows just how difficult it has been to complete that ninth inning with a lead intact. The Nationals did manage to do it tonight and pull off a 4-2...

With their one-game trip to Minnesota now behind them, the Orioles can now set their sights on the Toronto Blue Jays and a big weekend series at Rogers Centre. It's a matchup of two of the top teams in the American League East. The Orioles have been rather streaky since the All-Star break. They won the first two out of the break, then lost four in a row, won five in a row and now have lost three in a row. Their offense, so dynamic in June, has looked much less than that lately. The Orioles...

Ubaldo Jimenez allowed one run in five innings last night at Target Field in Minnesota. Wasn't pretty, wasn't easy, wasn't suitable for framing, but he held the Twins to one run in five innings as fans everywhere braced for disaster and were making alternate plans. The fifth inning spoke volumes about Jimenez. Strikeout, strikeout, walk, single, strikeout. Hope you enjoy a nice stroll on the tightrope. The rotation beyond Jimenez last night is Kevin Gausman, Yovani Gallardo and Chris Tillman...

SAN FRANCISCO - Trea Turner is starting in center field again tonight for the Nationals, the rookie's third straight game at the position he had never played professionally until a six-game tryout at Triple-A Syracuse a month ago. That shouldn't come as a huge surprise, given Turner's offensive performance the last two days in Cleveland - 4-for-8 with two doubles, three RBIs, a walk and a stolen base - and his adequate play in the outfield. But manager Dusty Baker isn't committing to the...

On the night that struggling right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez pitched well, those that followed him to the mound in Minnesota could not say the same. The Twins scored four times in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie and beat the Orioles 6-2 at Target Field. The Orioles fall to 58-43 with three straight losses that have followed a five-game winning streak. They were trying for a season sweep of the Twins, but must settle for a 5-1 mark. Pitching for the first time since July 8, Jimenez was shaky in a...

SAN FRANCISCO - Denard Span isn't having a great season, not by his standards. But the 32-year-old outfielder is healthy again after an agonizing 2015 with the Nationals that included three different surgeries, never-ending rehab and then the uncertainty that accompanied that once he hit free agency last fall. So as he prepares to face his former club this weekend, Span has come to appreciate the opportunity he was given by the Giants, who despite his health questions over the winter were...

The Orioles play a makeup game at Minnesota tonight for the postponement there on May 9. They play at Target Field tonight in the final game of the season series between the teams before they head to Toronto for a big American League East weekend series starting Friday. Tonight, we find out if Ubaldo Jimenez (5-9, 7.38 ERA) can beat the odds and pitch well in this game. He has not pitched since July 8, recently left the club to be on paternity leave and has struggled badly most of the year. Can...

SAN FRANCISCO - Hello from AT&T Park, simply one of the finest venues in baseball, where the Nationals and Giants tonight open a four-game weekend series between a pair of first-place clubs sporting identical 59-42 records. Between the strong matchup on the field and the specter of Monday's trade deadline looming, this is obviously a big weekend. The Nationals come here with some significant question marks, but Dusty Baker has chosen to answer one of those (who is leading off and playing...

Manager: John Gibbons (9th season) Record: 57-45 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: 3B Josh Donaldson (.301/.411/.589 with 25 HR, 74 RBIs), LF Michael Saunders (19 HR, 46 RBIs), DH Edwin Encarnacion (27 HR, 87 RBIs), RHP Aaron Sanchez (11-1, 2.72 ERA), LHP J.A. Happ (13-3, 3.27 ERA), RHP Roberto Osuna (21 saves, 1.99 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: 5-4 Pitching probables: July 29: RHP Kevin Gausman vs. RHP Marco Estrada, 7:07 p.m., MASN July 30: RHP Yovani Gallardo vs. LHP J.A. Happ, 1:07 p.m.,...