It's been no fun being a Nationals starting pitcher the past two nights. Right-handers Tanner Roark and Jordan Zimmermann surrendered just two runs apiece over the last two games and both walked away losers. Rookie Trea Turner's solo homer in Tuesday's loss was the only run the Nats managed across the past 18 innings. Five times over the two anemic nights, the Nats had a runner on second base with no outs and failed to score. In fact, the Nationals are a dismal 1-for-18 with runners in...

It wasn't time for any goodbyes just yet in the Orioles clubhouse tonight, but both Chris Davis and Matt Wieters spoke as players who knew they could be playing their last days as Orioles. Both said it was speical to hit milestone homers in front of their home fans at Camden Yards. Davis hit his 200th and 201st career homers and Wieters hit No. 100 as the Orioles beat Toronto 8-1. Davis said the milestone homer had meaning for him. "I think so. Any milestone obviously means you've put in the...

Besides duplicating the Blue Jays' placement in the division standings next season, the Orioles would like to more closely mimic their approach at the plate. Manager Buck Showalter said the Orioles need to make better contact next season, and he cited the Blue Jays as a prime example. His club began Game 2 of yesterday's doubleheader ranked fourth in the majors with 1,299 strikeouts, while the Jays and their collection of mashers ranked 25th with 1,112. The Blue Jays' .339 on-base percentage...

The Orioles have four games remaining and are four below .500. The math is simple. A poor performanace in Game 1 of today's doubleheader was followed by an 8-1 win in the nightcap, with Kevin Gausman holding the Jays to a Darwin Barney solo home run over eight innings. Mychal Givens worked the ninth after Gausman threw 98 pitches and struck out a career-high 10 batters. "As poorly as we played in the first game is as well as we played in the second game, and like I've said many times, it...

It couldn't have been the way Jordan Zimmermann wanted to go out - pitching in front of sparse crowd on the road in a meaningless late-season game with your teammates failing to score a run. In what is expected to be the swan song for Zimmermann, the winningest pitcher in Nationals history went out with a 2-0 loss. The Braves plated two runs off Zimmermann on a pair of two-out RBI singles, one in the first and another in the second. However, Zimmermann didn't allow Atlanta many more...

The offense finally came in support of Kevin Gausman. The right-hander had his strikeout pitch going and finally the Orioles backed him with a pair of home runs. Then they added to that. Manny Machado and Chris Davis hit back-to-back homers in the last of the seventh, and Gausman pitched eight strong innings as the Orioles beat Toronto 8-1 in Game 2 of a doubleheader. The Blue Jays won 15-2 this afternoon in the opener to clinch the American League East title for the first time since 1993. The...

For the second straight night, the Nationals had a runner on second with no outs in the first and failed to score. Braves right-hander Williams Perez escaped Anthony Rendon's leadoff double by retiring the next three Nats, with Jayson Werth whiffing to end the frame. Meanwhile, Nick Markakis smoked a two-out double in the bottom of the inning off Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann. A.J. Pierzynski followed with an bloop RBI single to left to get the Braves on the scoreboard first. Clint...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said no loss is easy to accept. I'll counter that some are uglier than others. The Orioles commited four errors in Game 1 of today's doubleheader, matched their season high for most runs allowed and watched the Blue Jays celebrate a 15-2 win and the franchise's first division title in 22 years. The four errors were the most by the Orioles since Aug. 12, 2008 in Cleveland. "We weren't very crisp to say the least and didn't pitch very well out of the 'pen,"...

Adam Jones remains out of the Orioles lineup for Game 2 of tonight's doubleheader against the Blue Jays.Nolan Reimold is leading off and playing left field. Gerardo Parra is in center field and Ryan Flaherty is in right. For the Orioles Nolan Reimold LF Gerardo Parra CF Manny Machado 3B Chris Davis DH Jonathan Schoop 2B Matt Wieters C Steve Pearce 1B Ryan Flaherty RF J.J. Hardy SS Kevin Gausman RHP

One team was recently eliminated from playoff contention. The other was a win away from its first division title in 22 years. It was not hard to tell which club was which this afternoon. Toronto hammered the Orioles 15-2 in Game 1 of a doubleheader to clinch the American League East championship for the sixth time and first time since 1993. Five of the Blue Jays runs were unearned thanks to Orioles errors from Manny Machado, Jason Garcia, Chris Davis and Junior Lake. According to STATS, the...