The turnaround the Nationals offense has made is almost quite as dramatic as some of their late-inning comebacks since their perplexing 7-13 start. Their 205 runs scored and 199 RBIs lead the National League and are second-best in all of baseball to Toronto. And, the scary thought is they continue to do it without one of the top run producers from 2014 in their lineup. Anthony Rendon drove in 83 runs and scored a league-high 111 while finishing fifth in the NL MVP vote in just his second year...

Left-hander Matt Grace has been a find for the Nationals this season. The UCLA product has been left in to face lefties and righties recently and has not allowed a run in three straight appearances. Grace is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA. In his last two outings, he battled and worked around walks to a dangerous hitter in the Yankees lineup, Mark Teixeira. Tuesday night it was four sliders that Teixeira didn't swing at. Wednesday, he got behind on three sinkers, 3-0. A fastball got it to 3-1, but then...

They may not have known it heading into yesterday's game, but the Orioles bullpen would be quite busy in Thursday's 5-4 win over Seattle. After a rain delay of two hours and five minutes, starter Chris Tillman did not return after pitching the first three innings. So, the O's bullpen had to cover six innings, and six different pitchers were used to get the 18 outs. Tommy Hunter pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth to keep the game tied 4-4. When J.J. Hardy drove in the...

Orioles pitchers Hoyt Wilhelm and Billy O'Dell each entered the 1959 season with one career home run. Wilhelm's homer came during his rookie campaign with the New York Giants in 1952; O'Dell's blast was in 1958 for the Orioles. The players made a bet about who would hit the most home runs in 1959. The anniversary of O'Dell winning that bet, thanks to a quirky assist from Memorial Stadium's wooden foul lines, passed earlier this week. O'Dell became one of the approximately 10 major league...

The Orioles won't have to worry about a rain delay in Miami this weekend unless the Marlins are slow again to close the roof. Storms tend to sneak up on them. This is the Orioles' first visit to Marlins Park, where the home team is floundering. Miami has lost seven in a row and the general manager is in the dugout. No word on whether the traveling secretary will be handling the MRIs. The Orioles trail the all-time series 6-18, including 1-11 on the road. They've won only one series, going...

After a long day and a blown lead, getting the win was rather important for the Orioles. J.J. Hardy, batting just .190 at gametime, singled in the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning as the Orioles beat Seattle 5-4 after an early 4-0 lead turned into a 4-4 tie. "We needed that," Hardy said. "To get the series win, that was a big game for us, we felt it. It was a long game, had to mentally stay focused. Kept reminded myself to stay focused." His hit scored Chris Davis, who slid in ahead of...

The Orioles were a man short and almost went through their entire bullpen today, but they managed to take the series with a rain-delayed 5-4 win over the Mariners at Camden Yards. Infielder Rey Navarro had a tooth extracted and wasn't available. Manager Buck Showalter said the club will discuss whether to bring up a pitcher after using six relievers behind starter Chris Tillman, who was done after three innings because of the 2 hour, 5 minute rain delay. Tillman had no shot at returning after...

For the Orioles, a long afternoon of baseball and rain ended with a win. The Orioles took a 4-0 lead early on before a rain delay of two hours and five minutes after the top of the third. They lost the lead and were tied 4-4 after the delay, but J.J. Hardy's RBI single in the eighth broke the tie and lifted the O's to a 5-4 win over the Mariners at chilly Camden Yards. After Seattle had tied the game in the seventh, Chris Davis led off the eighth with an infield single off Danny Farquhar and...

Bryce Harper will never be universally liked. Understand that first, and then we can begin the discussion. I could use the rest of this page describing why scouts have been drooling about Harper since he was taking pre-Algebra. But we know all of those reasons and we've seen them on display in his first four seasons, and certainly the past few weeks. The problem is that some will never accept the total package that accompanies Harper's ultra-talented skill set. When you grace the cover of...

Steve Pearce was hitless in four at-bats last night, swung at the first pitch a few times and saw his average tumble to .193. Pearce remained in the Orioles' lineup today for their series finale against the Mariners, moving from left field to second base. He came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning, Chris Davis reaching ahead of him on a walk by left-hander J.A Happ. Take a pitch? Forget about it. Pearce stayed in attack mode, swinging at an 85 mph changeup and...