The Boston Red Sox lost at Toronto 7-5 on Friday night. Saturday they blew a four-run lead in the eighth inning and lost in walk-off fashion. Sunday, with a chance to be swept, they pulled out a 5-3 win and yesterday they came to Camden Yards and looked impressive in beating the Orioles 7-2. These are no longer the last-place Red Sox. Some of their young players have blossomed into potential All-Stars and they now have the best offense in the sport right now. The Orioles will have to elevate...

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals lost Bryce Harper to an apparent right knee injury. They refused to also lose another game to the Phillies. Harper's seventh-inning departure shortly after taking a pitch off the outside of the knee cast a pall over this Memorial Day series opener at Citizens Bank Park. But thanks to a furious rally by his teammates, most notably Jayson Werth and Daniel Murphy, the Nationals turned what would have been a demoralizing loss into an impressive, come-from-behind, 4-3...

PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper was forced out of tonight's game against the Phillies after taking a seventh-inning pitch from Jeremy Hellickson off his right knee, but the Nationals MVP slugger appears to have avoided serious injury and may not have to sit out more than a day or two to recover. "It hurts," Harper said, limping slightly around the clubhouse following the Nats' 4-3 victory. "Whenever you get squared up like that, definitely something that didn't feel good. I think we'll...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter mentioned yesterday that he had 2 ½ relievers he didn't want to use. I'm assuming that the half referenced Brad Brach, since Showalter told reporters after the game that he would have called upon the right-hander in a specific situation, but otherwise preferred to rest him. "If we had scored some runs," Showalter said, "we might have tried to push the envelope on Brach." This whole bullpen management thing is tricky and Showalter does a marvelous job with...

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals have had all kinds of trouble producing against the Phillies over the last month. But at least they can count on their most reliable offensive threat to deliver for them, no matter the opponent. Daniel Murphy has provided all of the Nats' offense so far tonight at Citizens Bank Park, doubling in the top of the second and then homering in the top of the fourth, knotting up this series opener at 1-1. Murphy drove Jeremy Hellickson's 0-1 pitch over the out-of-town...

PHILADELPHIA - If ever there was a road trip tailor-made to break Bryce Harper out of his slump, this might well be it. The Nationals open a three-game series tonight at Citizens Bank Park, a hitter's haven that has been awfully kind to Harper of late. Then they head to Cincinnati, home of the bandbox otherwise known as Great American Ball Park and the worst pitching staff in the majors. Perhaps this is the week Harper gets himself back on track after a difficult month that has made his...

After being held to four hits today by knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright in a 7-2 loss to the Red Sox, are the Orioles concerned that chasing that unique pitch for nine innings could mess up their swing for the next few days? Before the game manager Buck Showalter said he didn't buy that theory and it would make for a convenient excuse. I asked Mark Trumbo, who went 0-for-3 with a walk today, his take. "I'd rather not change my approach for one guy if I can help it," Trumbo said. "You want...

Credit Tyler Wilson with a quality start this afternoon against baseball's most productive offense. The rest was out of his hands. The Orioles couldn't do much with the knuckler coming out of Steve Wright's hand. Wright held the Orioles to one hit through four scoreless innings, allowed two runs in the fifth that temporarily tied the game and put up zeroes the rest of the way while going the distance in the Red Sox's 7-2 victory before 43,926 at Camden Yards. Wright has three complete games...

The Boston Red Sox beat the Orioles at their own game today. After the Orioles scored twice to produce a 2-2 tie, the Red Sox hit three homers to score the game's next five runs. The Red Sox went on to beat the Orioles 7-2 today in front of 43,926 at Camden Yards. The Red Sox (31-20) open a two-game lead over the Orioles (28-21) in the American League East. They win the opener of this four-game series and an Orioles' 10-game homestand. Knuckleballer Steven Wright pitched a complete-game...

PHILADELPHIA - Hello from Citizens Bank Park, where tonight the Nationals open a three-city, nine-game road trip with a Memorial Day opener against the Phillies. This, of course, is the same Philly club that shockingly swept the Nats last month in D.C., but it's not exactly playing like the same club. After winning a bunch of one-run games early in the year, the Phillies have now lost seven of their last nine games and desperately are trying to maintain a winning record. The Nationals will try...