The Nationals now have 50 wins after taking care of the Reds in three of four games. Even with the Mets sweeping the National League-best Cubs in four games, the Nationals still maintain a five game lead in the NL East. Right-hander Max Scherzer gets the rare morning call with his first Independence Day start with the Nationals. Scherzer is 9-5 with a 3.30 ERA. He has a 1-1 record with a 2.89 ERA in five appearance (four starts) against the Brewers. He has 39 strikeouts in 28 innings against...

Nationals shortstop Danny Espinosa had a series. I mean, he really had a series. Espinosa capped off a four-game run for the ages with two homers, two singles and six RBIs in Sunday's 12-1 dispatch of the Reds. The 15 RBIs are tied for third-most in a four-game series in Major League Baseball history. It is already a franchise record. His week to remember almost assuredly will result in a National League Player of the Week honor. Over the last seven days, he has hit .423 with five homers and...

LOS ANGELES - When he hit just .178 in spring training with no extra-base hits and two RBIs in 45 at-bats, who would have expected Korean outfielder Hyun Soo Kim to be playing as well as he has in the first half? He refused to go the the minor leagues and hardly got off the bench early in the year. But now, after 130 at-bats, Kim is batting .338/.423/.477 with nine doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs. Suddenly, his two-year deal for $7 million seems like a bargain. Kim came to the Orioles with a...

SEATTLE - So the Orioles are 7-4 in their last 11 games but they got there in a streaky manner. They won seven in a row for the third time this year to tie a season best. Now they have lost four in a row for the second time to tie a season-worst. Mark Trumbo was asked if he had any concerns about the team rebounding after the Seattle Mariners completed a four-game sweep of the Orioles on Sunday. "I don't think so," Trumbo said. "It's one of those things and we've done that to other teams....

The Orioles have put the Seattle series behind them. It's in the past. It's done. However, their pitching woes won't budge from in front of their faces. They may as well be jumping up and down and waving their arms. You can't miss them. The rotation has pitched to a 7.76 ERA in the first six games of the road trip, including four straight losses to match the club's season high. The bullpen no longer is covering for the sins, in large part because the Orioles are scrambling without Darren...

Manager: Dave Roberts (1st season) Record: 47-37 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: SS Corey Seager (.303 average, 17 HR, 40 RBIs); 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.278 average, 80 hits); SP Kenta Maeda (7-5, 2.82 ERA); RP Kenley Jansen (1.34 ERA, 24 saves). Season series vs. Orioles: 1st meeting (1-2 in 2013) Pitching probables: July 4: RHP Yovani Gallardo vs. LHP Julio Urias, 9:10 p.m., MASNJuly 5: RHP Chris Tillman vs. RHP Kenta Maeda, 10:10 p.m., MASN2July 6: RHP Kevin Gausman vs. RHP Bud Norris,...

SEATTLE - For the Orioles, it was a terrible series in Seattle. They lost four games by a combined 31-15 score. Their starting pitchers gave up 21 runs in 18 innings. Seattle's Seth Smith homered in every game and hit a grand slam today. The Orioles are 1-6 versus the Mariners in 2016. After today's 9-4 loss at Safeco Field, the Orioles reach the season's halfway mark at 47-34. They lead the AL East by three games. But they came to Seattle with a seven-game win streak and leave equaling a...

Manager Dusty Baker said the Nationals decided to place right-hander Joe Ross on the disabled list when they got the results of an MRI on his right shoulder after Saturday's loss to the Reds. "He had some inflammation," Baker said. "We were limiting his innings in the first place. We wanted to make sure Joe is gonna be ready toward the end of the season and we didn't have to shut him down like (Stephen) Strasburg, because this guy can come up big in postseason." Ross watched as his...

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg had to labor, but certainly displayed the toughness and grit that have been hallmarks of his amazing start to the 2016 season in the Nationals' 12-1 dismantling of the Reds on Sunday. Strasburg no-hit the Reds through 6 2/3 innings, allowing no runs with four walks and five strikeouts. He fired 109 pitches, 70 for strikes, in his first start since June 15. He had been recovering from an upper back strain. Danny Espinosa slammed two of the Nationals' season-high...

SEATTLE - Cuban-born left-hander Ariel Miranda is in the major leagues for the first time. The Orioles signed the 27-year-old Miranda to a minor league contract in May of 2015 after he pitched for seven seasons in Cuba's Serie Nacional. Today his contract was purchased from Triple-A Norfolk and he was added to the Orioles roster as right-hander Tyler Wilson was optioned to Triple-A. Pitcher Brian Duensing was moved to the 60-day disabled list to make 40-man roster room for Miranda. Miranda is...