When the Nationals announced that right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard was traded to the Oakland Athletics for infielder Yunel Escobar in January, the public opinion was that folks were sad to see Clippard go. Teammates and fans alike were not ready to see their beloved eighth inning reliever (whose use of the song "Peaches" will always make this particular Nats baseball observer smile) trade in red, white, and blue for green and gold. But now that the 2015 season is a few weeks old, it's...

The Nationals blew a one-run lead in the top of the ninth, but battled back behind third baseman Yunel Escobar's walk-off homer to beat the Cardinals 2-1 in the 10th. Escobar wasted no time smacking a first-pitch fastball off right-hander Carlos Villanueva over the left field wall to even the Nats' record at 7-7. "I (was) aggressive (when I went) to home plate and tried to get a fastball," said Escobar through a translator, Nats bullpen catcher Nilson Robledo. "I knew that if I could get...

One definition of powder keg is, "A potentially explosive situation or thing." Welcome to the final two games of this series at Rogers Centre between the Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto reporters quoted Jose Bautista after last night's game as saying, "I think it's all pretty well planned out and premeditated and I think they hide behind the way their manager acts and conducts himself. ...They're going to continue to keep doing that until something comes down from MLB." Bautista...

Nationals third baseman Yunel Escobar was the hero tonight with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to beat the Cardinals 2-1. But closer Drew Storen was unable to hold the 1-0 Nationals lead in the top of the ninth. He allowed an RBI single by Matt Holliday that evened the game. Matt Carpenter had started the Cardinals rally with a line single to left field. Manager Matt Williams was not too concerned after the game, and broke down how St. Louis was able to get a couple of hits off of...

We all saw what occurred with Ubaldo Jimenez on Friday night in Boston. I'll be very honest - my initial thought was that I didn't recall the last time (if ever) I had seen a pitcher thrown out of a game totally cold. No warning, no history of trouble, nothing. When the reports of the hard slide at second base started circulating, my personal opinion was that was a copout. In saying that, I mean that any hit batsman by an Orioles pitcher might have culminated in an ejection. Having said that,...

So what's the over/under for which inning the benches and bullpens empty tonight? Orioles manager Buck Showalter made two smart moves last night that really stood out to me in a game that otherwise should be forgotten as quickly as possible. Erased from memory. Pretend it never happened. Showalter went to the mound to counsel Rule 5 pick Jason Garcia in the seventh inning after the kid surrendered a home run to Jose Bautista. Garcia sailed a pitch behind Bautista earlier in the at-bat and paid...

Well, this was no way to start a series against an American League East rival. Bud Norris struggled again and the Orioles defense was shaky again. Late in the game, some tempers flared between these teams yet again. Toronto scored six runs in the second inning and knocked out Norris in the third in a 13-6 blowout of the Orioles at Rogers Centre. In the big inning for Toronto, right fielder Travis Snider committed an error and missed the cutoff man on a throw. Caleb Joseph made a throwing error....

The Orioles should have known that they'd be in for a rough game tonight when Jimmy Paredes was hit on the right side of the face during batting practice, a grounder from Steve Pearce taking a bad hop at third base. Paredes is fine. The Orioles... not so much. Bud Norris was charged with nine runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings, with three walks, two strikeouts and a home run. His ERA ballooned to 17.42 in three starts this season. Norris was 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in five starts against the Blue...

The Nationals wasted a prime scoring opportunity in the second when first baseman Ryan Zimmerman led off with a double to the the gap in right-center field. Third baseman Yunel Escobar followed with a great piece of hitting to move ZImmerman over to third on a groundout to first. But Zimmerman would be stranded there as catcher Wilson Ramos would strike out and, after an intentional walk to second baseman Danny Espinosa, starter Gio Gonzalez would pop out to end the inning. Gonzalez has kept...

The Rogers Centre in Toronto was once a house of horrors for the Orioles. They hardly ever won there. In 2010, they went winless there, losing all nine games between the teams. From 2009-12, the Orioles were 4-23 in Toronto. But since they have been winning again, they are 13-15 at Rogers Centre since the 2012 season. That included a 5-4 mark last year, the Orioles' first winning record at Toronto in a single season since 2005. But all that losing has left the Orioles with a record of just...