ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Matt Wieters is out of today's lineup due to back stiffness that cropped up during last night's game against the Rays. Wieters would have made his second career start at first base. He's 8-for-14 with a double and two home runs lifetime against Rays left-hander Matt Moore. "Just another thing with the turf," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "He's a lot better today. I think he'll be fine to catch tomorrow, but I don't want to put that in jeopardy. "Matt...

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez turned in a gutsy performance Saturday night in the Nationals' 9-3 win over the Pirates. Despite feeling under the weather, Gonzalez finished five innings and allowed only one earned run to get the win (8-4). "I thought Gio pitched well and gave us what he could," said manager Matt Williams to reporters. "He wasn't feeling great today, either. He was a little sick, so he may (have) run out of gas a little bit." Gonzalez showed true grit for a Nationals team that...

PITTSBURGH - A day after returning from the 15-day disabled list, Anthony Rendon is not in the lineup as the Nationals aim for a split with the Pirates in the series finale. Rendon went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, but he did collect an RBI on a sacrifice fly in Washington's 9-3 win last night. Nationals manager Matt Williams has indicated Rendon will be rested until he fully returns to playing shape after missing 25 games with a left quad strain. Yesterday's game was Rendon's sixth in a...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - David Lough is leading off again today for the Orioles as they try to win their series against the Rays. Chris Davis is batting second again and Manny Machado is third. Ryan Flaherty returns to first base, another left-handed bat against Rays southpaw Matt Moore. Adam Jones is batting .481 (26-for-54) on Sundays, the highest average in the majors for players with a minimum of 40 at-bats. He also has six home runs and 20 RBIs in those 13 games. J.J. Hardy is 8-for-24...

PITTSBURGH - The Nationals added infielder Anthony Rendon back to their lineup on Saturday night and they appear to be closing on two more key players rejoining the ballclub. Outfielder Jayson Werth was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs while playing left field in Triple-A Syracuse's loss Saturday night. It was the 35-year-old's eighth minor league rehab game in the last 10 days. Werth has been on the disabled list since fracturing his left wrist on May 16. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman...

PITTSBURGH - Whether it was adding Anthony Rendon and Yunel Escobar back to the lineup or the sight of Pirates right-hander A.J. Burnett on the mound, the Nationals' offense erupted in a 9-3 win over Pittsburgh. Burnett gave up a career-high 14 hits against the Nationals on June 19. Tonight, the Nats drilled the 17-year veteran for 11 hits and five runs before knocking him out in the sixth. "For us, it's a little bit of what we do," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "Yunel hit a couple...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A win today will return the Orioles to third place in the American League East, a half-game ahead of the Rays, who are 25-28 at home. The Orioles are 18-14 in the last game of a series. A win also would make the Orioles 4-5 on a road trip that began with such promise and took a serious nose dive in the Bronx. When super-agent Scott Boras dons his cape and soars into the Winter Meetings in Nashville, he's going to omit Wei-Yin Chen's record from his presentation to team...

With Chris Davis and Miguel Gonzalez playing co-starring roles, the Orioles ended their four-game losing streak and won for just the sixth time in 21 games on Saturday night. They improved to 47-49 for the season. Davis hit his fifth career grand slam to back a much-needed strong outing by Gonzalez, who had pitched to an ERA of 6.75 over his previous five starts. But he gave up just one run in 7 2/3 innings to help the Orioles end the losing streak with a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay. Gonzalez and...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A team that's been scuffling for runs and maybe pressing a bit at the plate was able to exhale after one big swing. The game was far from over, but a four-run cushion brought a certain level of comfort. Chris Davis hit his fifth career grand slam tonight in the third inning and Miguel Gonzalez held the Rays to one run over 7 2/3 innings in a 5-1 victory at Tropicana Field. The Orioles won for only the sixth time in their last 21 games. They've scored more than three...

For a team scuffling on offense, one swing was very big tonight. Chris Davis hit his fifth career grand slam in the third inning as the Orioles beat Tampa Bay 5-1 at Tropicana Field. Miguel Gonzalez allowed just one run and five hits in 7 2/3 innings, in his longest outing since May 29. Gonzalez and Chris Tillman have pitched 14 2/3 innings the last two nights, allowing seven hits and two runs. Rays starter Erasmo Ramirez began tonight with the best ERA in the American League since April 29 at...