The Nationals bullpen has struggled to find its locked in 7-8-9 responsibilities as the season enters its third month. Drew Storen has been the closer and done a very good job, notching 19 saves. Casey Janssen was pegged as the eighth-inning setup man after the Nationals traded fan-favorite Tyler Clippard to the A's for infielder Yunel Escobar. But Janssen is more of a finesse guy, and teams love to have a guy in the second-to-last inning who can bring the heat and have a devastating breaking...

In the process of earning his 18th save last week against the Cubs in the nation's capital, Drew Storen gave up a run for the first time in 18 appearances dating to April 21. It was just the third run Washington's 27-year-old closer has allowed in 24 1/3 innings this season. His ERA jumped from 0.81 to 1.16. It dropped back to 1.11 when he completed a scoreless, 10-pitch inning in the Nationals' 5-4 win over the Yankees on Wednesday in which he earned his 19th save. Storen is now tied for...

It may seem a strange choice for an Orioles blogger to write about a former Yankees manager and a former Yankees outfielder on the weekend that the Bronx Bombers visit Camden Yards for a three-game set. However, there's good reason for that decision. With his next win, former Yankees manager Buck Showalter will tie former Yankees outfielder Hank Bauer on the Orioles' all-time managerial wins list at 407. Should the Orioles win the weekend series, Showalter will pass Bauer while New York is in...

Nationals right-hander Aaron Barrett left last night's loss with an apparent injury moments after giving up the Brewers' eventual game-winning run. After delivering a 93 mph fastball to Brewers' second baseman Hernan Perez, Barrett slowly walked back toward the mound. Nationals manager Matt Williams and pitching coach Steve McCatty, noticing something was wrong, immediately came out of the dugout for a chat with Barrett. After the brief discussion, Barrett left with a member of the Nats...

The Orioles' catching pattern figures to remain intact tonight despite the opposing pitcher. And that's an important consideration. Matt Wieters caught last night and Caleb Joseph is expected to replace him tonight. Wieters isn't catching back-to-back games, and manager Buck Showalter is debating whether to use him as the designated hitter or totally rest him. Joseph is 1-for-7 with six strikeouts against Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda. Wieters is 1-for-6, but he's only struck out...

Remember that time when the Orioles bullpen was scored on in the first 10 games of the season and had an ERA of 5.30? It actually happened, and there was concern then. Since then, the bullpen has long since gotten its act together, and the 'pen pitchers gave up just one run in the sweep of Boston. After they beat the Red Sox on Tuesday night, Orioles outfielder Adam Jones wanted to talk about the club's pitchers more than several great plays he had made in that game. He noted how the O's...

The Nationals let a four-run lead evaporate in tonight's 6-5 loss to the Brewers. Once again, the Nationals offense struggled, managing just one base hit after the fourth inning. The Nats collected eight hits early, but it was mostly shoddy defense from the Brewers that enabled the Nats to take a 5-1 lead. The Brewers began chipping away at the margin against Nats starter Tanner Roark with two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth. But after Roark retired the Brewers in order in the...

Manager: Joe Girardi (8th season) Record: 33-26 Last 10 games: 8-2 Who to watch: DH Alex Rodriguez (.270/.373/.505 with 11 HR, 29 RBIs), LF Brett Gardner (.276/.352/.433 with 27 RBIs), C Brian McCann (.264 with 9 HR, 38 RBIs), 1B Mark Teixeira (17 HR, 45 RBIs), RHP Michael Pineda (7-2, 3.33 ERA), RHP Dellin Betances (11 holds, 0.28 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: 4-3 Pitching probables: June 12: RHP Michael Pineda vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, 7:05 p.m., MASN June 13: LHP CC Sabathia vs. RHP Bud...

The Orioles completed their first sweep of the season tonight with a 6-5 win over the Red Sox at Camden Yards. They've won four games in a row, their longest streak of the season, and six of their last seven. They're one game below .500 for the first time since May 29. Momentum, anyone? "We have momentum until we leave the locker room and get back here tomorrow," Showalter said, already looking ahead to the upcoming three-game series against the Yankees. "The best team in our division so...

BOWIE, Md. - Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman took another step tonight toward what he hopes will be a return soon to the O's starting rotation, even if the box score didn't look very good for him. Pitching for Double-A Bowie against Binghamton in a rehab start while on the major league DL, Gausman got his work in, threw all his pitches, expanded his pitch count and touched 97 and 98 mph on the generous stadium radar gun. But he also gave up four runs on two homers over 3 1/3 innings and...