It seems strange, but while the Oakland A's have the second-worst record in the American League at 48-60, they have the best team ERA and best starting pitching ERA. Yeah, that offense and defense both must be pretty bad for the A's, who have lost eight of 12 and are 7-10 since the All-Star game. But Oakland's unheralded, yet talented right-hander Chris Bassitt blanked the Orioles on five hits over seven innings last night as Oakland beat the Orioles 5-0. So 24 hours after a feel-good start...

I'll spare everyone the usual lecture about how it all starts with starting pitching. But it really does. You saw what Tyler Wilson did in the opening game of the series in Oakland. You saw how Miguel Gonzalez didn't make it through the sixth last night, his ERA now at 5.48 in his last nine starts. He's failed to complete six innings in seven of those outings. Wilson received nine runs of support. The Orioles were shut out last night. That's the rest of the story. The Orioles are 4-32 when...

Within the span of a few minutes in the last of the sixth inning, a one-run game turned into a five-run lead for the Oakland A's. One curious decision and two badly executed pitches cost the Orioles dearly in that frame as Oakland beat the Orioles 5-0. The Orioles are 1-1 on this road trip and fall to 54-52 for the season. They are now one game behind Toronto for the second American League wild card berth and 6 1/2 games back of the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. Leading 1-0,...

The Nationals offense came out of the gates quick, fell asleep for a couple hours and then awakened just in time to beat the Diamondbacks 5-4 to remain one game behind in the National League East race. Yunel Escobar smacked his second leadoff homer of the year to get things going in the first. A base knock from Anthony Rendon and a blistered double from Bryce Harper then set up an RBI single from Ryan Zimmerman and a run-producing groundout from Jayson Werth. Normally that would be enough...

When a losing streak starts to pile up, one inevitable reoccurrence in almost every game is an inability to produce that clutch hit. Mired in a four-game slump, the Nationals needed someone to step up a deliver a game-changing hit. Enter catcher Wilson Ramos, who had already produced a walk and a base hit in three earlier at-bats in the game. With men on second and third and one out in the bottom of the eighth and the score tied at 3-3, Ramos blooped a single over the first baseman Paul...

Yunel Escobar wasted no time helping the Nationals offense get on the board tonight. Escobar launched a 1-1 fastball off Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin over the center field wall for his second leadoff homer of the season. The hit parade continued with a single to center from Anthony Rendon followed by a scorched double to right by Bryce Harper. Ryan Zimmerman's drilled liner to left scored Rendon as the Nationals began the game with four straight hits. Jayson Werth added an RBI on a...

The Orioles have had an interesting stretch of games since they were a season-high six games under the .500 mark at 23-29 on June 3. From that point, they went 18-5 and moved a season-high seven games over .500 at 41-34. They followed that by losing 15-of-20 games. But now, they have won eight of their last 10 games. That all adds up to the Orioles playing .585 baseball at 31-22 since that June 3 date. They've gone from six games under .500 to now three over at 54-51, and they started today in...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled left-hander T.J. McFarland from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned right-hander Tyler Wilson to Triple-A Norfolk. McFarland, 26, went 2-3 with a 2.91 ERA (52.2IP, 17ER) and a save in 16 games (nine starts) with the Tides this season. He allowed one earned run over his last four appearances (all in relief) with Norfolk, posting a 1.13 ERA (8.0IP) in that span. In 12 games with the Orioles this season, McFarland has gone 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA (13.1IP,...

Gerardo Parra moves to right field tonight for the first time since joining the Orioles, who are attempting to win for the ninth time in 11 games. Travis Snider is starting in left field and Chris Davis is playing first base. Jimmy Paredes, the right fielder last night, is serving as the designated hitter. The Orioles are 46-13 when they score more than four runs and 46-27 when they homer. The Orioles have homered in 10 straight games to raise their total to 134, which ranks fourth in the...

Stephen Strasburg appears ready to rejoin the Nationals rotation. The right-hander made what's expected to be his final minor league rehab start last night for Triple-A Syracuse. Strasburg tossed 85 pitches over 5 2/3 innings, yielding two runs on five hits while striking out 11 without a walk. "I felt good," said Strasburg, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since July 5 with a strained left oblique. "My stuff is there. Just try to keep doing the same things and working on the stuff...