The Nationals suddenly find themselves with a serious dearth of healthy infielders. Daniel Murphy is out of the lineup for the third straight day with a sore hamstring suffered in Tuesday's All-Star Game. Anthony Rendon was a late scratch due to flu-like symptoms. Add in Ryan Zimmerman, who has been on the disabled list since July 7 with a strained ribcage muscle, and the Nationals are taking the field for today's series finale against the Pirates without three of their regular starting...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles will take outfielder Hyun Soo Kim to New York following today's game. At this point, he's still managed to avoid a trip to the disabled list. Kim did an assortment of running drills this morning, including sprints, short bursts and moving backward, to further test his right hamstring. He felt slight discomfort only toward the end with one of the bursts from first to second base. Kim probably would go on the DL if he's unable to play by Wednesday. "He's...

After posting wins by scores of 4-3 on Friday and 2-1 last night, the Orioles go for a three-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon at Tropicana Field. The Orioles last three-game sweep in St. Petersburg was from May 6-8, 2014. Last month, from June 24-26, the Orioles completed their first-ever four-game sweep of the Rays, home or away, when they took four at Camden Yards. The Orioles are 9-2 this season versus the Rays and have won seven in a row in the season series. The O's team...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hyun Soo Kim is listed among the Orioles reserves for today's series finale against the Rays. Joey Rickard is in left field and Mark Trumbo is in right. Pedro Alvarez is the designated hitter. Caleb Joseph is catching. According to STATS, LLC, Zach Britton owns the second-longest save streak to start a season by a left-handed pitcher behind the Tigers' Willie Hernandez, who recorded 32 in a row in 1984. Britton's 29 saves to start a are tied for 10th all-time. For the...

It's going to be a scorcher this afternoon when the Nationals and Pirates take the field for their series finale, but at least it's going to be dry after last night's rain-delayed affair. The Nats are going for the sweep, not to mention a six-game winning streak sandwiched around the All-Star break. For the third straight day, they won't have Daniel Murphy in their lineup. Dusty Baker had indicated Murphy would likely be starting today at first base, and he both jogged and took batting...

Dusty Baker wanted the Nationals to finish the first half of the season strong. They did that. He wanted them to open the second half of the season strong. They've done that so far. And he wanted them to get to 20 games over .500, which they did last night after beating the Pirates 6-0. Clearly, these guys take their manager's challenges to heart. "That was our goal, to be 20-over," Baker said. "We were knocking on it a couple of times and we went backwards. Also, I challenged the team to...

It doesn't take long to figure out whether Stephen Strasburg or Max Scherzer have good stuff on any given night they take the mound. One inning of work often provides enough evidence to suggest either right-hander is primed for a big game. With Tanner Roark, the signs are less acute. Roark might retire the side in the top of the first, as he did tonight in the Nationals' 6-0 victory over the Pirates. And he might even do it on eight pitches, as he did tonight. But unlike his counterparts in...

Manager Dusty Baker gave veteran Stephen Drew the chance to start Saturday. Protecting Daniel Murphy and his sore hamstring for one additional day, Baker placed Drew at second base in Saturday's game against Pittsburgh. It marked Drew's 49th appearance in the club's first 92 games. In the role that he was used to for so long in his career, starting and playing an entire game, Drew delivered with three doubles and two runs scored in the Nationals' series-clinching 6-0 victory over the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - While the Orioles continue to search for ways to improve their rotation, they also remain interested in adding a left-handed reliever. They want to find out whether Donnie Hart can be used in matchup situations, but they also are checking outside the organization. One interesting name to consider is Eric O'Flaherty, currently on the Braves disabled list with a strained right knee. He's on an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett and threw a perfect inning in...

From mid-June until the end of the month, Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman allowed 14 runs in 14 2/3 over three starts. Now that looks very much like a blip on a radar. Tillman allowed four or more runs in all three of those starts. He has allowed four or more in his 17 other combined starts this year. So yeah, minor bump in the road. Now he has made three straight starts, each time allowing one run over seven innings. The latest was last night in the Orioles' 2-1 win over Tampa Bay. In 21...