Stephen Strasburg takes the mound for the last time at Nationals Park in 2015 this afternoon against the Phillies. The right-hander tied a career high with 14 strikeouts when he faced the Phils at Citizens Bank Park a little over a week ago. Strasburg is 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA and 37 strikeouts over his last three starts. He is 5-4 with a 3.34 ERA in 11 home starts this season and 4-3 with a 4.22 ERA in nine day game starts. Today's outing against Philadelphia will be his fifth this season,...

The Washington Nationals reinstated outfielder Reed Johnson from the 60-day disabled list on Saturday and transferred center fielder Denard Span (left hip inflammation) from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Johnson, 38, returns to the Nationals' active roster after missing 131 games following surgery to repair a tendon in his left foot. Johnson's return was further delayed when he suffered a...

The Orioles hit dramatic late-inning homers to pull out wins on Wednesday and Thursday at Washington, but they were held to two singles by Rich Hill at Fenway Park and shut out 7-0 last night. This afternoon, they need a win at Boston to even this series and get back to the .500 mark at 77-77. The Orioles went 2-for-29 at bat and were shut out for the 10th time this year. It was the first time they were shut out at Fenway Park since June 7, 2012. For Hill, it was his second career shutout - his...

BOSTON - Adam Jones will sit for the fifth straight game. Nolan Reimold will start in center field and lead off. Ryan Flaherty is starting in left field for the first time since July 1, 2012. Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen has held opponents to a .168 average (25-for-149) with runners in scoring position, which leads all qualifying starters. In his last 26 starts since April 25, Chen has allowed only 28 walks in 165 innings to rank second among qualifying American League starters in walks per nine...

A season which was expected to end deep into fall with a World Series run could come to a sobering end prematurely this afternoon. The Mets trounced the Reds 12-5 last night, dropping their magic number to one to clinch the National League East. So either another New York win over Cincinnati or a Nationals loss to the Phillies will eliminate Washington from the postseason. "This is a very tough year for everybody here," Wilson Ramos said after the Nats dropped their fourth straight game last...

The thinking from some Orioles fans goes like this: Kevin Gausman needs to improve his third pitch to become a top of the rotation starting pitcher. While I don't disagree, I don't think it is a prerequisite. Of course, it would help a lot. Three good pitches is better than two. But keep in mind Gausman's fastball and changeup are already plus pitches. Also, even pitchers that have three solid pitches often don't have all three working on a given night. O's manager Buck Showalter often...

BOSTON - The Orioles lost last night to a 35-year-old journeyman left-hander who was pitching for the independent Long Island Ducks earlier this summer. Later today, they're going to face a 35-year-old journeyman left-hander who's making his first major league start. Rich Hill shut them out on two hits. Craig Breslow might only make it through the order once due to a strict pitch count. This is September baseball? The Red Sox are pitching a bullpen game today, with Breslow in a new role after...

BOSTON - How fitting that tonight's game would end with Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts reaching far over the fence and nearly flipping into the bullpen to rob Chris Davis of a two-run homer and record the final out. At least half of Betts' body disappeared over the fence. The ball stuck in his glove. And the Orioles were stuck with a 7-0 loss that drove another nail into the proverbial coffin. Every defeat is critical. None can be taken lightly. Journeyman left-hander Rich Hill registered...

Incredibly, a season of baseball and Hitting the Books is at an end. All adventures - and Hitting the Books was an adventure - have their twists and turns, but I must say, this adventure has been straight as an arrow and immensily enjoyable. The passion for reading that glowed from guests on this blog at times took me aback, and in the most positive way. No one ever had to think about a favorite book to discuss. The answer was always on their tongue's edge. Such is the staying power of...

In what might be his final home start at Nationals Park, Jordan Zimmermann didn't receive the friendliest going away present from the Phillies. Zimmermann surrendered three homers - including a rare inside-the-park grand slam - as the Nationals fell 8-2. "Obviously, I'm a little upset," Zimmermann said. "We didn't get the win and I didn't pitch very good. That's what my job is, to go out there and keep the team in the ballgame. I wasn't able to do that tonight." With the Nats leading...