Today, June 3, is a notable date in the history of baseball, the 127th anniversary of the popular poem, "Casey at the Bat," by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. It was first published by the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888. We all know the story. "The mighty Casey" is the heavy hitter for the team from the fictional town of Mudville. And with the "Mudville Nine" down by two runs in the last of the ninth with two runners in scoring position, the epic slugger Casey struck out to end the game....

Max Scherzer labored through a 26-pitch first inning, which included a walk and a poor throwing error from Yunel Escobar. Scherzer seemed to get back on track as he retired the first two batters of the second inning on just three pitches. But with two outs, Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar pulled a solo homer to left. It was Pillar's third home run of the season and the fourth allowed by Scherzer. A runner has been on base for the Nats in each of the first two innings, but nothing has...

Manager: Joe Maddon (1st season) Record: 27-24 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: 1B Anthony Rizzo (.317/.443/.574 with 9 HR, 31 RBIs), 3B Kris Bryant (.270/.382/.459 with 7 HR. 33 RBIs), SS Starlin Castro (.267 with 23 RBIs), RHP Jason Hammel (4-2, 2.82 ERA, 0.90 WHIP), RHP Jake Arrieta (4-4, 3.18 ERA), RHP Hector Rondon (3.22 ERA, 9 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: 1-2 Pitching probables: June 4: RHP Jake Arrieta vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez, 7:05 p.m. MASN June 5: LHP Tsuyoshi Wada vs. RHP Tanner...

As the Orioles look to find some offense tonight at Houston, they face a pitcher that has been quite effective over his last 20 starts. Right-hander Collin McHugh (5-2, 4.24 ERA) pitches for the Astros against the Orioles tonight. While his ERA is over 4.00 this year, McHugh is 12-2 with an ERA of 2.98 over his last 20 starts, dating to Aug. 1, 2014. The 12 wins are tied for second-most in the majors in that stretch. The Astros won a franchise-record 11 straight starts made by McHugh from Aug....

Tonight's game between Triple-A Norfolk and Gwinnett at Harbor Park was postponed due to wet field conditions. The Tides will play a doubleheader on Wednesday. Bud Norris will start Game 1, with Matt Wieters behind the plate. They're expected to rejoin the Orioles on Thursday. Norris has allowed 13 runs and 18 hits in 7 2/3 innings in two rehab starts, with no walks and eight strikeouts. He tossed three scoreless innings at Double-A Bowie before surrendering four runs over the final two...

Major League Baseball rules allow teams to add a 26th man to their rosters for the second game of doubleheaders scheduled less than 48 hours in advance. The Nationals chose to recall outfielder Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Syracuse this afternoon to fill that spot for Game 2 tonight. den Dekker was on the Nationals' opening day roster, going 0-for-2 while appearing in four games at the start of the season. Once Jayson Werth returned from the disabled list after shoulder surgery, den Dekker...

The explosive Blue Jays offense entered the first game of today's split doubleheader leading the majors with 268 runs scored. Against Nationals starter Jordan Zimmerman, they scored none. Zimmerman blanked Toronto for eight innings as the Nats shut out the Blue Jays 2-0. "Really good," Nationals manager Matt Williams said of Zimmermann's performance. "He was in command from the first pitch, you know, throwing it where he wanted to. Early on, he was keeping his pitch count down which...

J.J. Hardy is out of the Orioles' lineup for the second consecutive game due to soreness in his left side. Ryan Flaherty is starting at shortstop. Manager Buck Showalter, calling into MLB Network, said Hardy is having "an oblique issue" and will undergo an MRI. Hardy missed 25 games in 2011 with a strained oblique. Flaherty is playing shortstop instead of Everth Cabrera, who's batting .202/.238/.223 in 102 plate appearances and is 2-for-26 with eight strikeouts in his last 10 games. Steve...

The Washington Nationals recalled outfielder Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday afternoon as the 26th man for Tuesday's nightcap vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. den Dekker, 27, joins the Nationals for the second time this season. A member of the Nationals' Opening Day roster, den Dekker appeared in four games for the Major League team, going 0-for-2 in two at-bats off the bench. In 41 games for...

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper continues as the leading vote-getter in the National League for the 86th All-Star Game, which will be played July 14 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Harper has already garnered 2.3 million votes, which is fifth-best total in the major leagues. Kansas City's Salvador Perez leads the way with 2.68 million votes, followed by Lorenzo Cain at 2.5 million. Online voting is 100 percent ahead of the trend set at this time last year. Harper gave the...