NEW YORK - The Nationals have been the beneficiary of baseball's new and controversial slide rule this season, most notably on opening day in Atlanta when Daniel Murphy convinced umpires to rule Nick Markakis out at second base for what looked to the naked eye like a clean slide but in actuality was illegal based on the sport's new rule. Last night, they found themselves victimized by the rule, leading to a combination of frustration, anger and mostly confusion. "It seems like everybody's...

NEW YORK - They took the field with a short bullpen, two of their arms unavailable due to recent heavy work. They had a short bench as well, already a man down because of the addition of another reliever and then down another after Ryan Zimmerman was deemed unable to play due to soreness in an unspecified body part. Then their rookie starter managed to go only 3 2/3 innings, needing 90 pitches on a hot and muggy July night in the big city just to record 11 outs. And all of this came in the...

NEW YORK - The ball flew out of Citi Field tonight like it never had before in the eight-year history of this ballpark. The Nationals and Mets kept trading bombs, each lineup homering four times a piece. In the end, it was the lone home run of the game that came with runners on base that proved the difference: Wilmer Flores' three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth carried the Mets to a wild 9-7 victory on a muggy July evening in Queens. The Nationals got solo homers from Bryce Harper, Clint...

The Orioles, who own a .705 winning percentage at Camden Yards this year, are about to enjoy some home cooking heading into the All-Star break. After the Orioles' 14-inning win over the Dodgers on Wednesday gave them a 4-5 road trip, the Orioles host the Los Angeles Angels for three games beginning tonight. The Orioles have lost just one of 14 home series. They have 10 home series wins, one loss (to Seattle) and have tied three series at Camden Yards. The Orioles are 31-13 at home and have...

NEW YORK - When Lucas Giolito was born unto this world on July 14, 1994, Bartolo Colon already was pitching in rookie ball for the Cleveland Indians. Little could either have known then that nearly 22 years later they'd be taking the mound opposite each other in the same big league game. You'd be hard-pressed to find two major league pitchers with more contrasting styles right now than the 43-year-old Colon and the 21-year-old Giolito. That, along with the massive age disparity, makes...

The Orioles will announce their remaining roster move today, with right-hander Mike Wright reporting from Triple-A Norfolk. That is, unless there's something else in the works that we're not anticipating. It's been known to happen. The 25-man roster will be back to capacity. We still need to find out whether Wright is starting or going to the bullpen. The Orioles have wanted him to get the ball every five days and seemed committed to keeping him in Norfolk's rotation. His arrival at Camden...

Mark Trumbo is doing more than participating in Monday night's Home Run Derby at Petco Park in San Diego. He's also the No. 1 seed. Makes sense for the major league leader to rise above the rest of the field. Trumbo will go head-to-head against the Dodgers' Corey Seager, the eighth seed who's hit 17 home runs. The winner will compete against the Mariners' Robinson Cano (20) or the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton (19). On the other side of the bracket, third-seed Adam Duvall (22) of the Reds...

NEW YORK - The absence of Ryan Zimmerman in the Nationals lineup for tonight's series opener against the Mets seemed odd at first glance, given that the struggling first baseman had broken through with a 2-for-3 performance Wednesday that included a home run. Turns out Zimmerman isn't 100 percent healthy. Manager Dusty Baker wouldn't specify what precisely is ailing Zimmerman, but the veteran did do something Wednesday that left him "sore." "He has the day off because he's sore some,"...

The Orioles today announced that they have reinstated infielder Pedro Álvarez from the bereavement list. Álvarez, 29, has batted .242/.317/.461 (40-for-165) with nine doubles, nine home runs and 26 RBIs in 53 games with the Orioles this season. Over 795 career major league games, he has hit .236/.310/.442 with 140 home runs and 427 RBIs. Since 2012, Álvarez ranks 19th among major league hitters with 120 home runs.

NEW YORK - Hello from Citi Field, where the Nationals close out the first half of the season with a big, four-game weekend series against the Mets. They enter tonight's opener holding a four-game lead, so that means things could go in a lot of different directions. A sweep by the Mets would leave the two teams tied; a sweep by the Nats would increase the lead to a commanding eight games. More likely is a series split or somebody taking three-of-four, making the most plausible spread at the...