On the heels of perhaps their worst loss of the season, the Nationals will try to bounce back this afternoon and close out their four-game series in San Diego on a high note. Three out of four anywhere ain't half-bad, and the Nats would happily take that before making the short trip up the coast to Los Angeles, where Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers await Monday night. Gio Gonzalez needs a bounceback performance of his own today after a rough stretch that has seen the left-hander go 1-4 with a...

As expected, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is not in today's lineup. Machado will begin serving his four-game suspension as a result of his actions during the team's bench-clearing brawl with the Royals on June 7. Ryan Flaherty will start at third base for today's series finale against the Blue Jays. Hyun Soo Kim will start in left field and hit second, while Mark Trumbo starts in right. Chris Tillman will try and become just the second pitcher in the American League to reach 10 wins,...

The Nationals have long seen in Felipe Rivero a dynamic left-hander with the kind of overwhelming stuff that suggest he could become a big league closer some day in the not-too-distant future. That may yet happen, but at this particular moment, Rivero looks like a pitcher in need of a major overhaul. "He's in a bad state right now," manager Dusty Baker told reporters in San Diego following last night's 7-3 loss. "Nothing's really going his way." That's an understatement. Rivero has...

Thanks to some timely hits, a dominant-at-times start from Max Scherzer and a couple fortuitous breaks, the Nationals found themselves in prime position to win their fourth straight game tonight and expand their ever-growing lead in the NL East. Instead, an eighth-inning meltdown by reliever Felipe Rivero turned a well-played victory over the Padres into perhaps the Nats' worst loss of the season. Rivero failed to retire any of the six batters he faced during a calamitous bottom of the eighth...

One day after the Orioles welcomed back Yovani Gallardo, they're going for a series win by turning to their ace. Chris Tillman may not be thinking about the All-Star Game, but he's in the running for his second berth with a 9-1 record and 2.87 ERA in 14 starts. In his last two outings, Tillman has allowed one run and 13 hits over 14 1/3 innings. He's walked two batters and struck out 16. The challenge comes in facing a team that's treated him unkindly in the past. He's 4-10 with a 5.65 ERA...

Right-hander Joe Ross continued to pitch to his strengths as the Nationals dropped the Padres 7-5 Friday night at Petco Park. Ross completed six innings, and allowed three runs on six hits, with two walks and six strikeouts. Between the end of the second and the beginning of the fourth inning, he set down eight straight batters. He finished with 95 pitches, 68 for strikes. He is now 6-4 this season with a 3.13 ERA. As with most starters, hitters do a better job of trying to figure out Ross the...

About the time O's closer Zach Britton allowed a single and back-to-back walks to load the bases in the ninth inning yesterday, Brad Brach thought, 'What, me worry?' Brach has seen Britton pitch too well too many times to think this one would get away from one of the best closers in baseball. Seconds later, Brach was on the field shaking hands after Britton got Josh Donaldson to bounce into a game-ending double play and the Orioles had a much-needed 4-2 win over Toronto. "I knew a double...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter announced after today's game that Manny Machado will drop his appeal of a four-game suspension and begin serving the ban tomorrow when the Orioles host Toronto. Minutes later in the O's clubhouse, Machado said he made the decision in consultation with team management. "First off, just trying to get this past us," Machado said. "It has been lingering for a while now. Me, Buck and Dan (Duquette), we all sat down and came up with a situation. Try to see what was...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the media this afternoon that third baseman Manny Machado would begin serving his four-game suspension on Sunday, bringing a semblance of finality to a situation that continues to gnaw at the organization. Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura had his suspension reduced from nine to eight games without a hearing. Machado dropped his appeal, knowing that Major League Baseball wasn't going to budge. The suspensions were handed down after Ventura drilled Machado in...

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has dropped his appeal of a four-game suspension and will begin serving it on Sunday. Machado's hearing was scheduled for Tuesday in Baltimore, according to an industry source, but he's decided to forego the process. Major League Baseball was unlikely to reduce the suspension, given that it covered only four games despite Machado's actions on June 7. The Orioles anticipated that a hearing wouldn't turn out favorably, but the decision rested with...