Carlos Gonzalez ruined the Nationals' night on Friday with his eighth inning grand slam off Drew Storen. In the first inning today, Gonzalez belted a hanging curveball from Max Scherzer deep to right for a two-out solo homer to give the Rockies an early lead. Rockies All-Star Nolan Arenado followed with a base knock to center before Scherzer whiffed Ben Paulsen with a 95 mph heater to end the frame. Rockies left-hander Yohan Flande retired the Nats in order in the bottom of the...

The Nationals look to win their first series since Miami on July 30 with a win over the Rockies today. Right-hander Max Scherzer (11-8, 2.31 ERA) battles left-hander Yohan Flande (2-1, 3.54). The Nationals will face three southpaw starters in their next four games. Yunel Escobar is back in the lineup for the Nationals and will lead off. He is hitting .301 with 22 hits, two homers and 12 RBI in 73 career at-bats against Colorado. Ryan Zimmerman has hit 11 homers and 56 RBIs in his career against...

The Orioles are going for a series win against the Angels this afternoon with Miguel Gonzalez on the mound. He took the loss in his last outing, allowing three runs over 5 1/3 innings in Oakland. Gerardo Parra is in right field while David Lough gets a start in left. For the Orioles:Manny Machado 3BGerardo Parra RFAdam Jones CFChris Davis 1BMatt Wieters CJonathan Schoop 2BJimmy Paredes DHJ.J. Hardy SSDavid Lough LF Miguel Gonzalez RHP For the Angels:Johnny Giavotella 2B Kole Calhoun RF Mike...

The Orioles will look to make it two series wins in two series on their West Coast road trip if they can beat Los Angeles this afternoon at Angels Stadium. The Orioles got blanked on the second night of this trip at Oakland, but their offense has picked up lately. They've scored nine, zero, seven, four and five runs in going 3-2 on the trip. They are batting .301 on the trip, with seven homers and 25 runs scored. A look at some hitters recently: * Caleb Joseph is 8-for-15 over his last four...

The Nationals send ace Max Scherzer to the mound looking to claim a series win in the finale this afternoon against the Rockies. Scherzer is aiming for his first win at Nationals Park since throwing his no-hitter against the Pirates on June 20. The right-hander didn't get a decision in the Nats' 5-4 win over Arizona on Tuesday night when he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks with nine strikeouts over six innings. Rockies left-hander Yohan Flande is making just his third start of...

It's a shame that injuries made us wait until August 8 to see the best of Stephen Strasburg this season. The right-hander missed nearly two months, or approximately nine valuable starts, with two separate trips to the disabled list, not to mention a few other nagging discomforts he tried to but was never really able to pitch through. After last night's dazzling 12-strikeout, three-hit lockdown, Colorado had to be wishing Strasburg's rehab lasted just a bit longer. "It was top-shelf stuff,"...

Some fans have asked why the Orioles added outfielder Junior Lake on Friday and not Dariel Alvarez instead from Triple-A Norfolk. I am not certain exactly what the O's thinking was on this, but Lake has had a better year overall on the stat sheet than Alvarez. However, Lake has had just 197 at-bats this year at Triple-A to 443 for Alvarez. Here is a comparison of the players this year in the minors: Lake: .315/.404/.472 with seven homers, 31 RBIs and .876 OPS Alvarez: .269/.297/.418 with 14...

A rotation that posted a 7.07 ERA in the previous eight games got exactly what it needed last night. Good Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez blanked the Angels on two hits over eight innings in the Orioles' 5-0 victory - the club's ninth shutout of the season. He had registered a 10.61 ERA in four starts since the All-Star break. The Orioles moved to within five games of the first-place Yankees in the American League East. They're two behind the Blue Jays for the second wild card. Adam Jones registered...

After pitching to an ERA of 10.61 over his last four starts, Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez hit the first batter he faced tonight. But it got a lot better for him from there. Jimenez did not allow a hit until Cole Calhoun doubled with two outs in the sixth as the Orioles blanked Los Angeles 5-0 to even this series at a win each. With the win, the Orioles improved to 56-53. They have won 10 of 14 games and are now five games back of first-place New York and two games behind the Angels for...

The Nationals may have found their secret weapon for the playoff run and he has a familiar face. Stephen Strasburg reintroduced himself to the season with his a 12-strikeout domination of the Rockies in the Nationals' 6-1 win. Rockies right fielder Charlie Blackmon welcomed Strasburg back with a leadoff double in the first, but then the tall right-hander went to work. He finished the frame by whiffing All-Star Nolan Arenado with one of his knee-buckling curveballs. Strasburg pounded the zone...