The Nationals finish up their regular season series with the Phillies Sunday as left-hander Gio Gonzalez faces off against right-hander Aaron Harang. Gonzalez is 11-8 with a 3.94 ERA this season and is 8-5 with a 2.99 ERA lifetime against the Phillies. He is also 47-29 with a 3.24 ERA in 101 starts at home. Harang is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts this season against the Nationals. He has struggled this season to a 6-15 record with a 4.93 ERA. His last start against the Nationals was on...

The Orioles began this series at Boston with 11 wins in their last 15 games, a .500 record and momentum coming off a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals. But today, they must win to avoid getting swept three straight at Fenway Park. They have fallen to a record of 76-78 with eight games left after losses of 7-0 and 8-0. Add to that their 10-1 loss to Boston on Sept. 16 and they've been outscored 25-1 in losing three in a row to the Red Sox. With those three defeats, the Orioles are...

BOSTON - Adam Jones knew that reporters were waiting for the Orioles' lineup to be posted this morning, specifically to see whether his name was included in it. That was the primary reason for standing inside the cramped visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park. Jones hadn't appeared in the last five games due to back spasms. Rather than keep the media in suspense, he said, "I'm playing. You can write that." We did. Jones is in center field and batting cleanup against Red Sox left-hander Henry...

When the Nationals made the splash of the offseason by signing right-hander Max Scherzer to a blockbuster seven-year $210 million deal, most believed the move would catapult them to a World Series championship in 2015. But this year's Nationals team won't even get the chance to navigate its way through the playoffs after being eliminated by the National League East champion Mets last night. "I'm extremely disappointed how the season turned out," Scherzer said in the Nats clubhouse this...

Gio Gonzalez will take the mound for his last start at Nationals Park this season in the Nats' penultimate home game for 2015. Gonzalez is boasting an 11-8 record with a 3.94 ERA on the season. He is 6-4 with a 3.33 ERA in 13 starts at home and 3-1 with a 4.83 ERA in seven day game starts. Gonzalez has faired well against the Phillies this season, going 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA over his first three outings against Philadelphia. The lefty has also done well recently with a 2-1 record and 2.74 ERA in...

BOSTON - Adam Jones is back in the Orioles' lineup today for the final road game. Paul Janish is starting at shortstop, with J.J. Hardy getting the day off. Manager Buck Showalter said reliever Darren O'Day is available today, along with closer Zach Britton. Dr. James Andrews will examine Hunter Harvey's right elbow on Oct. 5. For the OriolesNolan Reimold LFManny Machado 3BChris Davis DHAdam Jones CFSteve Pearce 1BJonathan Schoop 2BGerardo Parra RFCaleb Joseph CPaul Janish SS Ubaldo Jimenez...

Moments after Bryce Harper smacked a walk-off double scoring Anthony Rendon for a 2-1 win in the 12th inning, the young slugger found himself swarmed by his teammates with his jersey being ripped off. An icy Gatorade bath along with some chocolate syrup followed. By the time Harper made his way to the Nationals clubhouse, he stood in front of his locker while veteran Ian Desmond's two young boys played a few feet away. Despite the Mets clinching the National League East and eliminating the...

It seemed that a group of fired-up Orioles got on the plane after the game in Washington on Thursday. They swept the Nationals. They hit huge homers. They played great defense and were making a late charge to try and keep playoff hopes alive. But just which players got off the plane in Boston? We've seen a group playing without the same passion and fire, it sure seems. Hard to not look flat and disinterested when you have seven hits and no runs in this series, and give up six unearned runs....

BOSTON - The Orioles haven't scored in the last 19 innings, never a good idea when desperately clinging to your playoff hopes. It's like waiting for a bus and then motioning to the driver, "That's OK, I'll get the next one." You're never going to reach your destination. The Orioles hadn't been shut out in consecutive games by the same team since the Angels blanked them on July 7-8, 2012. They were unbeaten in their last five series, going 4-0-1, but their only possible accomplishment...

After a win over the Diamondbacks on August 4, the Nationals stood a game behind the first-place Mets in the National League East. Jayson Werth uttered the words that shot up I-95 to the Big Apple: "It's our division to lose." Tonight, the Mets clinched the division, thus eliminating the Nats from the playoffs. About 30 minutes after the Nationals finished celebrating a walk-off 2-1 win over the Phillies, Werth hobbled into the clubhouse from the trainer's room. With an enormous ice pack...