Nationals manager Matt Williams talked at the start of spring training about wanting to help shortstop Ian Desmond stay focused on the day-to-day this season instead of thinking big picture as Desmond began what could be his final season with the organization that drafted and developed him. Though there were rumors of a potential trade this winter as Desmond entered his walk year, Williams said he wanted to help Desmond get past all that. "I want to free his mind," Williams told reporters....

I started blogging about the Orioles in 2006. I chronicled six of the final 14 losing seasons in Baltimore; to date, I have written about a heck of a lot more losing than winning. Various motivations have helped me to keep at it for as long as I have, some of which make sense and others that are simply foolish. At the core of it all has been the simple truth that I love this team, which was something of a birthright in my family. In the not-so-distant past, when having a winning baseball team...

The Nationals dropped the Mets 8-2 Thursday, handing New York its first loss in 11 games at Citi Field this season. With a 5-2 lead in the sixth, left-hander Sammy Solis made his major league debut, firing two scoreless innings. Solis tossed 22 pitches, 16 for strikes, allowing one hit and no runs while striking out one batter. Facing seven hitters, it was a nice introduction for Solis in a game the Nats provided him with a three-run cushion. As my colleague Chris Johnson wrote, Solis was...

FLUSHING, N.Y. - On the final day of the season's first month, suddenly the vibe has changed around the Nationals after tonight's 8-2 win. The team handed the Mets their first loss this season at Citi Field. For the third straight night, the Nats pounded out double-digit hits, led by the heart of their lineup. Third baseman Yunel Escobar, left fielder Jayson Werth, right fielder Bryce Harper and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman combined to go 9-for-18 and drive in all eight runs for the...

Single-A Frederick Keys pitcher Matt Taylor was taken by ambulance tonight to a hospital in Salem, Va., after he was hit by a line drive in a game against the Salem Red Sox. "He got hit by a line drive on the side of the head, just above the temple," Orioles director of player development Brian Graham said tonight. "The doctor on site feels he definitely has a concussion, but he was conscious and they took him to the hospital for further review. Now the doctors will do further tests to see...

The Orioles ended April of last year with a 12-12 record, and they were 2 1/2 games out of first place. They have ended April 2015 at 10-10, and are two games out of first place. So far, they have hit better than last April but the pitching stats have been behind the April 2014 numbers. April 2014 batting: .265 avg., .319 OBP, .393 slugging, .712 OPS, 17 homers, 4.5 runs/game April 2015 batting: .286 avg., .345 OBP, .482 slugging, .827 OPS, 29 homers, 5.6 runs/game The Orioles lead the majors...

Flushing, N.Y. - Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg has labored through the first two innings tonight. He has already racked up 52 pitches. The Mets turned a pair of doubles from shortstop Wilmer Flores and catcher Kevin Plawecki into the game's first run in the second. Two batters later, right fielder Curtis Granderson followed with an RBI single, which left Strasburg and the Nats in a quick 2-0 hole. Mets starter Jacob deGrom is perfect through the first three innings with three strikeouts....

FLUSHING, N.Y. - If all goes well, infielder Anthony Rendon will resume his minor league rehab stint with Double-A Harrisburg when the Senators travel to Bowie to play the Baysox this weekend. Rendon played in games last Friday and Saturday and then, after a scheduled day off Sunday, he became a late scratch Monday when he had trouble loosening up his injured left knee in Harrisburg's cold weather. Since then, it's been a new issue - tightness in his left side - that has kept him off the...

Chris Tillman didn't expect to be back at Tropicana Field this quickly after making the opening day start for the Orioles. He also didn't imagine that he would be working on seven days rest. Perhaps a shift in the norm will get Tillman back in the proper direction. Tillman comes into tonight's game against the Rays with a 7.58 ERA in 19 innings. He's made it through the sixth in only one of his four starts, in the season opener beneath the dome. The rotation's ERA, which ranked last in the...

FLUSHING, N.Y. - Right-hander Stephen Strasburg didn't have much of a chance to pick up a win in his last outings as the Nationals were shut out last Saturday in Miami. He's yet to find consistency this season as he brings a 4.88 ERA into his fifth start this evening. Strasburg is 3-1 with a 1.97 ERA and 44 strikeouts in five career starts at Citi Field. Yunel Escobar returns to the second spot in the lineup and will play third base after missing the past two games with a cut-up hand he...