The Nationals have played seven games so far and have an unimpressive record of 2-5. When everyone is excited for baseball season to begin and expectations are so high that this team could win the division and even go to the World Series, it's disappointing that there have been so many sloppy plays and bad losses. However, there are also bright spots that people may not be noticing. Let's start by looking at what's going wrong, because that's what people are talking about. If Ian Desmond...

At Triple-A, Jason Martinson and Cutter Dykstra provided dramatic ninth-inning hits as Syracuse came back to stun Lehigh Valley 5-4 on Monday. Martinson doubled to begin the scoring in the ninth, bringing home Josh Johnson to tie the game at 4-4. Martinson got to third on a fielding error. Dykstra punched a ball through the shortstop hole for the game-winning single. Syracuse starter Bruce Billings went five innings, surrendering only one earned run on five hits, with one walk and five...

A blown lead against the Yankees. A 1-3 homestand. Four losses in five games since a 2-0 start. A bullpen that has been scored upon in every game this year. This is not what the Orioles or their fans had in mind. But there is no reason to panic just yet and keep this stat in mind: At 3-4, the 2015 Orioles have one more win than the 2014 Orioles did at the same time. That team went 2-5 in its first seven games, yet finished with 96 wins and a division championship. But this year's Orioles have...

Miguel Gonzalez is hoping tonight to eliminate chasing home plate from his cardio routine. Gonzalez walked five batters in 5 2/3 innings in his first start Wednesday against the Rays at Tropicana Field. He allowed only one run and three hits, but the lapses in control elevated his pitch count and shortened his evening. Gonzalez is 2-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 10 career starts against the Yankees. Carlos Beltran is 3-for-3 with a double and home run against him, but the current Yankees are a...

When it was over and the Orioles had let a game get away against the New York Yankees, two key position players expressed big confidence in an O's bullpen that has been scored on in each game this year. "Hell yeah. One game doesn't determine if you are doing bad. Our bullpen is the best in the league. I have a lot of confidence in them. All of us do," third baseman Manny Machado said. "One good swing. Just part of the game. I think we have the best bullpen out there and they will keep...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter had a decision to make tonight in the top of the seventh inning. Bases loaded, two outs and left-handed hitting Stephen Drew pinch-hitting for injured Brett Gardner. Left-hander Brian Matusz was ready in the bullpen, but Showalter stayed with right-hander Tommy Hunter, who fell behind 3-1 and surrendered a grand slam that gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead. Drew was 0-for-5 against Hunter and Matusz in his career. He struck out three times vs. Matusz, who worked two...

Orioles reliever Wesley Wright will be out four to six weeks after an MRI today revealed inflammation in his left shoulder. Manager Buck Showalter delivered the news following the Orioles' 6-5 loss to the Yankees at Camden Yards. Wright has made two appearances this season, allowing one run and two hits in 1 2/3 innings. He complained of sharp pain behind his shoulder after his most recent outing, alerting the club for the first time, and landed on the disabled list with a strained trapezius...

Adam Jones hit a very big home run tonight and then Stephen Drew topped him. Jones' two-run homer in the sixth gave the Orioles a 4-2 lead over the Yankees, but then Stephen Drew hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the seventh. Drew's third career slam, which came on a 3-1 pitch from Tommy Hunter, put New York up by two and the Yankees went on to win 6-5 tonight in front of 21,633 in the opener of a three-game series at Camden Yards. Hunter came on in the seventh after starter Wei-Yin...

BOSTON - Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth was 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his first game of the season after missing most of spring training while recovering from right shoulder surgery. "I was trying to think of historically on opening day how I fare," Werth said. "I might have to look it up, but this is kind of standard opening day for me. Usually my timing's a little bit off and what have you. But I feel good physically." Werth hadn't played more than seven innings in any of his...

BOSTON - In the last 103 years, plenty of Hall of Fame managers have sat in the same office in the bowels of historic Fenway Park having just watched the Red Sox defeat their team. Few couldn't have been as frustrated as Nationals manager Matt Williams was after seeing his ballclub fall 9-4 in the fashion they did in Boston's home opener. "About as bad as you can get," said Williams. "It's tough to win ballgames when you can't catch the baseball. It's gotta get better than that." Only...