MIAMI - The numbers aren't pretty. Two full weeks into the season, three members of the Nationals' everyday lineup - Michael A. Taylor, Jayson Werth and Danny Espinosa - are sporting batting averages under .172 and on-base percentages under .290. Manager Dusty Baker, though, has seen encouraging signs from all three and is committed to each remaining in the lineup and in his current role for the foreseeable future. That applies in particular for Taylor, who, despite his 6-for-41 one-walk...

MIAMI - Bryce Harper's weekend power surge in Philadelphia earned him his first official honor of 2016 - though he'll have to share with a fellow All-Star. Harper was named co-National League Player of the Week this afternoon along with Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, the league office unable to deem one slugger's performance over the last seven days more dominant than the other. Harper and Arenado each hit four homers and drove in 12 runs last week, Harper's homers coming once apiece...

Manager: John Gibbons (9th season) Record: 7-7 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: 3B Josh Donaldson (.309/.377/.691 with 5 HR, 13 RBIs), DH Edwin Encarnacion (.309/.339/.455), RF Jose Bautista (.289/.458/.622 with 10 RBIs), RHP Marco Estrada (1-1, 2.77 ERA), RHP Roberto Osuna (4 saves, 3.00 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: First meeting (11-8 in 2015) Pitching probables: April 19: RHP Marcus Stroman vs. RHP Mike Wright, 7:05 p.m., MASN April 20: RHP R.A. Dickey vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, 7:05 p.m.,...

Following a week in which he hit .346, notched the 100th home run of his career in grand fashion and tied a Nationals record for consecutive games with a homer, Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was named the co-National League Player of the Week on Monday, along with Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado. Major League Baseball made the announcement on MLB Network. Harper, who went 9-for-26 (.346), reached base at a .400 clip and slugged .846 for the week of April 11-17. He clubbed one double...

Orioles outfielder Mark Trumbo is being rewarded for last week's offensive outburst. Trumbo has been named the American League's co-Player of the Week for the period ending April 17 after batting .320/.346/.960 in six games. He shares the award with Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. This is Trumbo's first weekly honor and Altuve's second. Trumbo had one double, five home runs, 11 RBIs and six runs scored. Two of his home runs came in the seventh inning of Friday night's game against the...

MIAMI - Hello from the one and only (and praise the deity of your preference for that) Marlins Park. Baseball's biggest amusement park (albeit one that will be three-quarters empty all night) hosts the Nationals over the next four days to wrap up this season-opening stretch of 15 games against only three opponents (the Braves, Phillies and Marlins). The Nats split their rain-shortened series with Miami at home, and the man on the mound for them tonight will be looking to avenge his loss in the...

Even with Sunday's extra-inning loss to Philadelphia, courtesy of a blown save by Jonathan Papelbon, the Nationals are still doing quite well. At 9-2 and four games ahead of Philadelphia in the National League East, they have the best record and biggest division lead in all of baseball. That seems light years ahead of last season, when they struggled out of the gate, going 5-6 through the first 11 games. To the untrained observer watching on TV, the biggest difference seems to be attitude -...

The season is only two weeks old, but I've written a lot already in 2016 about the need for the Orioles to mask their weaknesses. There's no real secret what people are talking about when it comes to the O's and weakness - it's their starting pitching. These Birds, like the ones in recent past, are very good offensively. They can play defense with anyone. There are no real qualms about the bullpen. The starting pitching is an entirely different story. When it comes to Saturday night's game...

It looked like Bryce Harper had done it again. In the top of the 10th, Harper stepped to the plate with an opportunity to give his club the lead for good. He launched a dramatic solo homer off of Phillies reliever Jeanmar Gomez on a 3-2 count, well above the right-center field wall. The blast gave the Nationals a 2-1 lead. This time it did not lead to a victory. The Phillies came back for a 3-2 win in 10 innings. But the records are still piling up for Harper with each successive game-changing...

He has a unique name and a career ERA of 0.00 on the O's farm since being drafted in June. But most fans have never heard his name, as unforgettable as it is. Right-hander Christian Turnipseed has pitched in 24 games since the 2015 draft and has not allowed a run over 32 2/3 innings. He did allow two inherited runners to score while pitching for Single-A Delmarva yesterday on his way to getting the last out of its 4-3 win over Hagerstown. Earlier, he had stranded eight of eight inherited...