As Maikel Franco rounded the bases, Jonathan Papelbon watched from the mound and a crowd of 34,294 at Nationals Park booed, Dusty Baker had just one thought from the dugout. "OK, Pap," the manager said in his mind to his closer. "We gave up one. Let's not give up any more. Because we can come back. It's a lot easier to get one than it is to get two to tie." A big league manager has to have positive thoughts, has to see every situation as glass half-full, lest his players pick up on his...

Right-hander Jonathan Papelbon allowed a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning by Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco. Suddenly the Nationals' early 3-0 advantage was gone. It was 4-3 Phillies. Jayson Werth saved the day with a two-run single and the Nationals walked off with a dramatic 5-4 victory for a series sweep. But with Papelbon switching from a possible loss to his first win of the season, should there be cause for concern with the closer? Papelbon admitted after the game that the...

Former Phillies helped mold the outcome of Sunday's Nationals game against Philadelphia. One giveth, and one taketh away. The Phillies certainly know how to get to ex-teammate Jonathan Papelbon. On April 17 in Philadelphia, Papelbon allowed a game ending walk-off double by Freddy Galvis in a 10-inning 3-2 comeback victory for his former team. On Sunday in D.C., with the game tied at 3-3 in the top of the ninth, Maikel Franco slammed a solo homer, his 11th of the season, to put the Phillies...

TORONTO - Orioles manager Buck Showalter was not going to make any decisions or announce them today. If right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez will lose his rotation spot after his latest poor outing, Showalter was not going to make that call today. But today Jimenez got hammered and got just one out, allowing six hits and five runs as the Orioles lost 10-9 to Toronto. It was a day where they hit five homers and lost for the first time when scoring nine or more runs since July 27, 2012 versus Oakland. It...

Danny Espinosa is on some kind of home run barrage right now. The oft-maligned, light-hitting shortstop has been making a case for himself over the last two weeks with an impressive power display, and he is up to it again this afternoon. Espinosa's leadoff homer in the bottom of the second gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead over the Phillies and kept his run alive. He has now homered eight times in his last 14 games. This latest blast, on Adam Morgan's first pitch of the bottom of the second,...

The Cubs are coming to town Monday, and so the question on everybody's mind this week is a simple one: Will they pitch to Bryce Harper? They most certainly did not last month when the Nationals visited Wrigley Field. Though he stepped up to the plate 19 times in that four-game series, Harper wound up with only four official at-bats. He was walked 13 times, four of them intentional. He tied the major league record with six walks in the series finale, part of a stretch of 12 consecutive plate...

TORONTO - Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez faced seven batters and got just one out. The Orioles trailed by five after an inning. Mark Trumbo was called out on batter interference in the top of the second. How is your day going? Pounded 11-6 by Toronto on Saturday, Jimenez picked a bad time to have the shortest start of his career today. But it went this way - double, RBI double, RBI single, strikeout, single, RBI double, two-run double. At that point, Vance Worley came on and got two...

The Orioles aren't listing a starter for Thursday night's game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The off day on Monday enables manager Buck Showalter to adjust his rotation and withhold making a decision. Chris Tillman will start Tuesday night's opener on an extra day's rest. Kevin Gausman is listed for Wednesday night, which puts him on regular rest. Gausman has been moved ahead of Tyler Wilson, whose last start came Thursday night in Toronto. Showalter could pitch Wilson on Thursday on...

Saturday night at the Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation highlighted its community contributions at the 11th annual Dream Gala. As the primary fundraiser for the Dream Foundation, the 2016 Dream Gala netted more than $400,000 for the Foundation's initiatives focused on academics, the arts, nutrition, and sports for children and teens in the Washington, D.C. region. The Dream Gala featured a cocktail reception and silent auction, a dinner program and a...

After an early afternoon Saturday win over the Phillies, the Nationals now go for the series sweep in a late afternoon Sunday ballgame, with first pitch not scheduled until 4:05 p.m. (Reminder: All of this was done to create as much space as possible around last night's annual team charity gala.) The Nationals, who are looking to improve to a season-best 15 games over .500, send Joe Ross to the mound. Like Tanner Roark yesterday, Ross is making his third start this year against Phillies, and...