Weekend sweeps have altered races in both the National and American leagues. Here are thoughts on the storylines of the week: * Before the trade deadline, the general consensus on the Blue Jays was that they didn't have enough pitching to contend. Now that's theory is out the window: David Price, acquired in a trade from Detroit, has pitched two brilliant games and he and Mark Buehrle are more than solid at the top. R.A. Dickey has fixed his walks issue and has a 0.99 ERA since the break....

Manager: Don Mattingly (5th season) Record: 62-49 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.298/.373/.529 with 22 HR, 68 RBIs), C Yasmani Grandal (.289/.391/.498 with 15 HR, 44 RBIs), CF Joc Pederson (.222 with 21 HR, 43 RBIs), 2B Howie Kendrick (.296 with 49 RBIs), RHP Zack Greinke (11-2, 71 ERA, 0.85 WHIP), LHP Clayton Kershaw (9-6 with 197 strikeouts, 2.51 ERA) Season series vs. Nationals: 2-1 Pitching probables: Aug. 10: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. LHP Brett Anderson, 10:10 p.m., MASN...

Drew Storen watched his ERA jump from 1.52 to 2.70 over the weekend after two innings of work. The right-hander blew a three-run lead in the blink of an eye on Friday, surrendering a grand slam to Rockies slugger Carlos Gonzalez. And then yesterday, Storen loaded the bases in the eighth before DJ LeMahieu bounced a ball through the hole to score the eventual game-winning two runs. "Drew's fine," Ryan Zimmerman said. "To go a whole year without having any sort of rough patch or a couple bad...

There are very few starting pitchers that I have come across in all my years of covering major league baseball that are as articulate and thoughtful as Max Scherzer. Win or lose, he can eloquently break down what went right and what went wrong, and he already is devising a plan of attack for his next outing. Scherzer had a no-decision Sunday. He went six innings, allowed eight hits and four runs, one intentional walk and still struck out 10 batters. He allowed three homers and left with 84...

Hopefully, yesterday's loss will not turn out to be a microcosm for an entire season for the Orioles. They rallied, they came close, they were right there until the last pitch. But they just didn't do enough to win. It was frustrating for Birdland in a season where there have been a few frustrations. The one-run loss on Sunday by a 5-4 score in 11 innings to the Los Angeles Angels meant the difference between being one game or three games out for the second wild card in the American League....

Manager: Lloyd McClendon (2nd season) Record: 52-60 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: RF/DH Nelson Cruz (.325/.391/.607 with 33 HR, 69 RBIs), 3B Kyle Seager (.265/.323/.434 with 16 HR, 44 RBIs), 2B Robinson Cano (.266/.312/.419 with 12 HR, 50 RBIs), RHP Taijuna Walker (8-7, 4.67 ERA), RHP Carson Smith (13 holds, 12 saves, 2.76 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: 1-2 Pitching probables: Aug. 10: LHP Wei-Yin Chen vs. LHP Vidal Nuno, 10:10 p.m., MASN2 Aug. 11: RHP Chris Tillman vs. RHP Taijuan Walker,...

With yesterday's 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Angels, the Orioles fell three games back for the second wild card spot and failed to gain ground on the Yankees, who remain five games ahead of them in the division. An opportunity also was lost, and the second-guessing carried through the night. Manager Buck Showalter took a huge risk by ordering intentional walks to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to load the bases with two outs. Brian Matusz fell behind in the count and eventually ran it full before...

After leading early by two runs and then trailing by two, the Orioles tied today's game. They never could get the lead back and then lost in walk-off fashion. David Murphy's single to deep left field on a 3-2 pitch from Brian Matusz with the bases loaded in the last of the 11th gave the Los Angeles Angels a 5-4 win over the Orioles in the series finale. No. 9 Carlos Perez hitter led off the last of the 11th and doubled off Chaz Roe. After a strikeout on a bunted third strike, Matusz came on...

The Nationals blew a prime opportunity to gain ground on the New York Mets by dropping two of three to the lowly Rockies with this afternoon's 6-4 loss. After being swept out of the Big Apple last weekend, the Nats looked to take advantage of seven games in D.C. against the sub .500 Diamondbacks and the Rockies, who live in the basement of the National League West. But the Nationals managed to take only three of the games during the disappointing homestand. The Rays had beaten the Mets earlier...

Orioles pitching prospect Tyler Wilson was scratched from today's start at Triple-A Norfolk with a sore oblique muscle. Veteran left-hander Dana Eveland replaced Wilson in the rotation and tossed two scoreless innings against Indianapolis. Jorge Rondon took over for Eveland in the third. Wilson is 2-1 with a 2.19 ERA in six appearances with the Orioles, including two starts. He was optioned again after allowing two runs in 7 2/3 innings in a 9-2 win over the Athletics on Aug. 3. Wilson is 5-5...