Jordan Zimmermann takes the mound against the Phillies tonight in what might be his last home start for the Nationals. The right-hander is 39-21 with a 3.04 ERA in 93 career starts at Nationals Park. Zimmermann is 4-0 with a 4.04 ERA in his last seven starts with the Nats, winning six of the games. He did allow two homers and six runs over six innings in the Nats' 8-7 victory in Philadelphia on Sept. 14. Bryce Harper is coming off his first hitless series of the season. The Orioles pitched...

BOSTON - Adam Jones did some throwing today at Fenway Park. He even grabbed a bat. But Jones isn't in the Orioles lineup for tonight's opener of a three-game series against the Red Sox, and will miss his fourth straight game because of back spasms.In a tweet, Jones said, "Feeling a lot better. Almost there."Nolan Reimold will start in center field. Closer Zach Britton played catch in the outfield today and completed a bullpen session. He hasn't pitched since Sunday against the Rays due to...

Major League Baseball has suspended and fined Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon for intentionally throwing in the head area of Manny Machado in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 4-3 loss. Papelbon will appeal his three-game suspension, which was scheduled to begin with tonight's contest against the Phillies. Papelbon plunked Machado two innings after the Orioles star hammered a two-run go-ahead homer off Nats ace Max Scherzer. There was question whether Machado showboated his game-changing...

BOSTON - The Orioles didn't retaliate yesterday after Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon hit third baseman Manny Machado with a pitch the previous day. They let Major League Baseball handle the punishment. Papelbon has been suspended three games and fined an undisclosed amount for "intentionally throwing a pitch in the head area," according to a news release. Joe Garagiola, Sr., MLB's senior vice president of standards and on-field operations, made the announcement. The suspension will...

As the late, great poet James Douglas Morrison once wrote, "The future's uncertain and the end is always near." Jordan Zimmermann takes the mound tonight in what might be his last home start in a Nationals uniform. The free agent-to-be is likely to sign elsewhere in the offseason after spending his entire professional career with the Nationals organization. Selected in the second round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, Zimmermann made is major league debut two years later in a start at...

The second of three free passes Bryce Harper took in the series opener of Washington's three-game set with the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night gave the Nationals' 22-year-old slugger 117 walks on the year, one more than the Nationals' previous single-season record holder, Adam Dunn, took in 2009. In the first of his two seasons in the nation's capital, Dunn, then 29, put up a .267/.398/.529 line on the year, with 29 doubles, 38 home runs, 116 walks and 177 strikeouts in 159...

What could be more surprising from this week's series with the Washington Nationals than the Orioles getting the sweep in D.C.? For me, it's the fact that I came away with a greater appreciation and respect for Bryce Harper. The heated three-game set left me thinking less about rivalry and more about respect, starting first and foremost with the Nationals' young superstar. Go figure. If you're not a Nationals fan, it's easy to dislike Harper. He's a classic case of the guy you would love...

The Orioles' three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals was quite impressive. They did it without Adam Jones and Zach Britton. They did it winning games where they trailed in the seventh inning Wednesday and in the eighth inning yesterday. They did it against a Nats team desperate for wins to make the playoffs. The Orioles have their own level of desperation going right now, but they have turned around their recent losing stretch to get back to .500. The Orioles are 3 1/2 games back of...

While wondering if the Nationals should have chosen Pearl Jam's "Better Man" instead of "Even Flow" as Manny Machado's walk-up music yesterday ... We're down the final 10 games of the regular season and the last road series. Three games against the Red Sox this weekend at Fenway Park before returning home for four against the Blue Jays and three versus the Yankees. Repeating as division champions ceased to be a mathematical possibility for the Orioles after the Blue Jays won Wednesday...

In a week where baseball is honoring the life of Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, it seems only appropriate to borrow one the icon's legendary expressions to describe the Nationals' latest loss. "It's like déjà vu all over again" nails exactly what happened this evening as the Nats bullpen once again blew a lead late, resulting in a sweep to the Orioles with a 5-4 defeat. After falling behind 3-0, the Nationals battled back with two runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh, taking a...