I can't move onto today's make-up game between the Orioles and Nationals without revisiting last night's 4-3 win over the hosts. I devoted most of my final blog entry to the Jonathan Papelbon fastball that nailed Manny Machado on the shoulder, coming dangerously close to his head and causing both benches to empty. Manager Buck Showalter predicted that everyone would focus on the incident more so than the come-from-behind victory. It's unfortunate, but when a star player gets drilled on...

WASHINGTON - The Orioles won last night and most of the attention fell upon closer Zach Britton, who revealed that he couldn't pitch due to a strained left lat muscle. The Orioles won tonight and most of the attention fell upon third baseman Manny Machado, who hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh but was targeted by the media after being targeted by Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon. Now it's a rivalry. Papelbon threw high and tight on his first pitch to Machado in the ninth. The...

The Orioles' Manny Machado crushes a two-run shot in the seventh versus Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer. In the ninth with two outs, Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon throws a wild pitch early to Machado that's up by his batting helmet. Later in the at-bat, he drills Machado in the left shoulder. Home plate umpire Mark Ripperger throws Papelbon out of the game. Papelbon was not warned for his high pitch early in the at-bat. The benches were not warned. But the hit-by-pitch was all...

It was one of those classic game-on-the-line matchups between a top pitcher and hitter. The Orioles' Manny Machado won the battle against Nationals ace Max Scherzer and the Orioles won the game. Machado hit a two-run go-ahead homer in the seventh on Scherzer's 122nd pitch as the Orioles beat Washington 4-3 at Nats Park. With their seventh win in the last 10 games and 10th in the past 14, the Orioles improved to 75-76 for the season. The O's win, coupled with Houston's loss, moved the...

Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been out since September 7 with left oblique soreness. Manager Matt Williams said Wednesday during pregame that Zimmerman is doing light swings in the batting cage and working off a tee. It's a small step as Zimmerman looks to get back to baseball activities. "He's been swinging," Williams said. "Still feels it, unfortunately. So it's light in the cage. It's fungo and tee work, a little bit of soft toss. So he's trying to work through that part...

WASHINGTON - The Orioles have a chance tonight to gain another game on the Astros for the second wild card and reduce the margin to four. They currently trail by 4 1/2 games after Houston's 6-5 loss earlier today to the Angels. The Orioles jumped out to a quick lead tonight on Steve Pearce's two-run homer off Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer with two outs in the top of the first inning. Pearce's 14th home run came after a two-out walk to Chris Davis. Davis leads the Orioles with 76 walks....

Just as he did in his last start, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer surrendered a two-run homer in the first inning of tonight's game. Scherzer retired Gerardo Parra and Manny Machado before walking Chris Davis. Steve Pearce then hammered Scherzer's 95 mph fastball over the left field wall for his 14th home run. The Nats answered in the bottom of the frame. After a leadoff double, Anthony Rendon scored on Yunel Escobar's single to center. Update: When Jonathan Schoop whiffed in the fourth,...

WASHINGTON - Orioles manager Buck Showalter spent the majority of today's pregame media session reflecting on the life of Yankees great Yogi Berra, who passed away early this morning at 90. This is a rough day for Showalter. He lost a friend and mentor, and today would have been his father's 92nd birthday. Showalter learned of Berra's passing from the Hall of Famer's granddaughter, Lindsay Berra, who called him with the news. He didn't sleep much last night. I'll pass along Showalter's...

With Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Ian Desmond and Denard Span set to become free agents at season's end, the makeup of the Nationals in 2016 figures to be quite different. The most intriguing, though, revolves around whether the Nats manager will remain the same. This afternoon, Nationals general Mike Rizzo manager made his normal weekly appearance with show hosts Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier on 106.7 The Fan in D.C. Early in the interview, Paulsen gave Rizzo the opportunity to go on...

WASHINGTON - Ryan Flaherty didn't know that he was starting in right field tonight until bench coach John Russell posted the lineup next to his locker. "I just saw it right there," Flaherty said. Flaherty is no stranger to the position, but they need to get reacquainted. He appeared in one game in right last season and 17 in 2012, including nine starts. "It's been a while," he said, adding that he needed to find a glove. "You're always messing around out there. Spring training a lot and...