Manager: Brad Ausmus (3rd season) Record: 15-18 Last 10 games: 2-8 Who to watch: 3B Nick Castellanos (.378/.405/.640), DH Victor Martinez (.348/.407/.571), RHP Justin Verlander (2-3, 5.40 ERA, 42 K's), RHP Francisco Rodriguez (8 saves) Season series vs. Orioles: First meeting (3-4 in 2015) Pitching probables: May 12: RHP Mike Pelfrey vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, 7:05 p.m., MASN May 13: RHP Justin Verlander vs. RHP Chris Tillman, 7:05 p.m., MASN May 14: RHP Anibal Sanchez vs. RHP Mike Wright,...

Manager: Don Mattingly (1st season) Record: 18-15 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: 3B Martin Prado (.386/.413/.465), LF Christian Yelich (.325/.439/.509 with 4 HR, 16 RBIs), RF Giancarlo Stanton (10 HR, 24 RBIs), RHP Jose Fernandez (4-2, 3.54 ERA, 58 K's), RHP A.J. Ramos (1.38 ERA, 10 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: 3-3 Pitching probables: May 13: RHP Tom Koehler vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez, 7:05 p.m., MASN2 May 14: LHP Justin Nicolino vs. RHP Stephen Stasburg, 1:05 p.m., MASN May 14: RHP Kendry...

So, uh ... anything interesting happen so far this week? I mean, think about everything that has happened in just the last four days alone. On Sunday, Bryce Harper tied the all-time record with six walks in a game, while Ryan Zimmerman stranded 14 runners on base. On Monday, the Nationals signed Stephen Strasburg to a $175 million contract extension, then Harper was ejected in the bottom of the ninth, then Clint Robinson hit a walk-off homer moments later. On Tuesday, the Strasburg contract...

Max Scherzer has thrown two no-hitters. He has come within one oh-so-errant pitch of a perfect game. He has won a pennant clincher. He has started a game in the World Series. All significant achievements for any pitcher, but all things that have been achieved by more than a handful of hurlers over the course of baseball history. That's why tonight meant so much to Scherzer. And it's why what the right-hander did, striking out 20 batters during the Nationals' 3-2 victory over the Tigers,...

The Nationals' Max Scherzer became history's fifth pitcher to have 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game when Washington beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 Wednesday night. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has been involved three of the 20-strikeout games. He was the Houston catcher when the Chicago Cubs' Kerry Wood struck out 20 Astros on May 6, 1998 at Wrigley Field in a 2-0 Cubs win. And Ausmus was the Detroit catcher the night Boston's Roger Clemens struck out 20 Tigers on Sept. 18, 1996 in Tiger...

Hey, I hear you are a Major League catcher? Yes, yes I am. What have you accomplished in your last 150 games? Oh, I don't know, three no-hitters, one by Jordan Zimmermann, two from Max Scherzer, plus a record-setting 20 strikeout performance from Scherzer. No big. I beg your pardon. That is just part of the resume for Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, who caught Zimmermann's no-hitter to end the 2014 season, followed that up with a pair of no-hitters in 2015 and now a 20-strikeout performance...

On a night when his former teammate Max Scherzer struck out a career-high and MLB-record-tying 20 batters, right-hander Jordan Zimmermann never backed down from the battle. In a 3-2 loss to the Nationals, Zimmermann went seven innings and allowed seven hits, three runs and three walks with three strikeouts. It was his second setback after five wins to start the season. The Nationals touched Zimmermann for three hits and a run in their first at-bat. "I was able to wiggle out of the first,"...

Right-hander Max Scherzer was determined to bounce back from his worst start of the season at Chicago, a game in which he allowed seven runs. He certainly did. On Wednesday, Scherzer (4-2) struck out a career-high and franchise-record 20 batters in the Nationals' 3-2 win over the Tigers. He is only the fifth pitcher to reach 20 strikeouts in any length of a game in Major League Baseball history. Scherzer allowed a solo shot to Jose Iglesias in the third and another homer to J.D. Martinez in...

MINNEAPOLIS - The constant rain and cold conditions have driven me away from baseball-reference.com and other baseball-related sites and directly into the arms of weather.com. But I swear, it meant nothing to me. The latest forecast for Baltimore tonight doesn't seem too ominous, but Friday and Saturday again could pose problems for a team that's running out of off days and dry clothes. At least the offense isn't performing as if it's swinging a wet newspaper. "It's always tough to hit,"...

When the Orioles start hitting homers in bunches, it can be fun to watch and it can be pretty good for the team's won-loss record. Over the last three games they have hit six, two and four. This is the second time this season the O's have produced three consecutive multi-homer games. But we know the homers don't always come. Here is a breakdown of some stretches this year where they hit quite a few and when they did not: * The Orioles hit 25 homers in the season's first 12 games and went...