When Matt Belisle strained his right calf in the eighth inning last night, the Nationals knew they needed to summon a reinforcement for their bullpen, and they immediately placed a call to Triple-A Syracuse to give that new pitcher as much opportunity as possible to get on a plane to Washington in time for tonight's game against the Phillies. The name of that reinforcement, though, may have surprised some. Rather than call up another right-hander to fill Belisle's role, the Nationals instead...

Center fielder Ben Revere continues to make solid progress in his recovery from an oblique injury and will begin rehab games tomorrow night at Triple-A Syracuse. Manager Dusty Baker said Revere made progress during yesterday's batting practice session. Revere has been on the disabled list since April 5 with a strained right oblique. He has missed 18 games. "He looked good. I mean, he looked real good," Baker said. "He ran well. He ran the bases. He did everything baseball. And he went out...

David Brooks, author of "The Road to Character," is a columnist for the New York Times and frequent guest on news shows, particularly on public radio and television. He is often self-effacing, yet unafraid to make his points. That is his approach in this book. He longs for a greater sense of "character" on an individual basis in this country, finding the "celebration of self," often cited as the narcissism of our time, to be unflattering to each of us and to our national...

Nationals manager Dusty Baker, coaches and players visited service members and their families at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center this morning. Players in attendance included Tanner Roark, Michael A. Taylor, Joe Ross, Danny Epinosa, Blake Treinen, Oliver Perez and Matt den Dekker. Baker said it meant a great deal for his team to be able to share some time with service members and their families. "It was gratifying, but sad at the same time," Baker said. "It was a situation...

Manager: Robin Ventura (5th season) Record: 16-6 Last 10 games: 8-2 Who to watch: LF Melky Cabrera (.312), CF Adam Eaton (.298), 3B Todd Frazier (5 HR, 13 RBIs), 1B Jose Abreu (10 RBIs), RHP Mat Latos (4-0, 0.74 ERA), LHP Chris Sale (5-0, 1.66 ERA), RHP David Robertson (8 saves, 0.87 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: First meeting (3-3 in 2015) Pitching probables: April 28: LHP John Danks vs. RHP Tyler Wilson, 7:05 p.m., MASN2 April 29: LHP Carlos Rodon vs. RHP Mike Wright, 7:05 p.m., MAN April...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard is playing right field tonight and Nolan Reimold is in left field against Tampa Bay left-hander Matt Moore. Manny Machado returns to the second slot in the order, with Adam Jones batting third. The Orioles will try to avoid being swept in the three-game series before returning home. They've lost eight of their last 12 games and haven't homered in the last three. The Orioles have scored one run in the last 26 innings. Mark Trumbo leads the...

Unable to wait and see how severe Matt Belisle's calf injury is, with more fresh arms needed for their bullpen tonight, the Nationals have placed the veteran right-hander on the 15-day disabled list and recalled lefty Sammy Solis from Triple-A Syracuse. Solis will be in uniform and available out of the Nationals bullpen for tonight's game against the Phillies, giving manager Dusty Baker a much-needed arm that can throw multiple innings in case something happens to starter Gio Gonzalez early...

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the early season has been Gio Gonzalez, who has been absolutely dominant through his first three starts. There's the obvious (1.42 ERA) but more impressive is his 20-to-4 strikeout-to-walk rate. Is this a sign of what we can expect all year, or has the left-hander simply taken advantage of some weak lineups? It's still too early to say for sure, but you can't not be impressed with the results so far. At the plate, the Nationals are still trying to get...

The Washington Nationals recalled left-handed pitcher Sammy Solis from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday and placed right-handed pitcher Matt Belisle on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Solis, 27, joins the Nationals for his first Major League assignment of the season. The highest-rated left-hander in Washington's system (No. 17, per Baseball America), Solis has allowed just one earned run in...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - During his start in the series opener against the Rays, Kevin Gausman threw his slider on six of his seven pitches to Evan Longoria spread over two-bats - both ending in strikeouts. He seemed to have a plan in mind. Let's see how Chris Tillman goes after Longoria, his nemesis on the Rays. Longoria is 17-for-51 (.333) versus Tillman, with 11 of the hits going for extra bases. He's totaled four doubles and seven home runs. They meet again tonight as the Orioles close out...