After a breakout 2014 season with the Orioles, Steve Pearce has gotten off to a poor start this year. Right now, he is the first one to point a finger at himself for his struggles. One year removed from batting .293 with 21 homers, 49 RBIs, a .556 slugging percentage and an OPS of .930, the numbers are way off so far. In 14 games, he is batting .167 with two homers, four RBIs, a .292 slugging percentage and .551 OPS. "Frustrating," Pearce said this afternoon. "Started off well and just hit a...

MIAMI - Nationals ace Max Scherzer is still experiencing pain in his right thumb, two days after jamming it while hitting a ground ball in his second at-bat in Thursday's loss to the Cardinals. As a result, Scherzer didn't throw his scheduled bullpen session today. "It's still a little sore and swollen, so we pushed his bullpen today," Nats manager Matt Williams said. "So we'll see how it goes after today. But it's swollen. When you get in the extremities, it's difficult to move that...

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is headed back to Baltimore today after taking live batting practice on back-to-back days at Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles could be nearing a decision on where to send Hardy on an injury-rehabilitation assignment. The affiliates will be on the road, which complicates their plans. Everth Cabrera starts at shortstop again tonight as the Orioles attempt to even their series with the Red Sox following last night's 7-5 loss. Rey Navarro gets another start at second...

MIAMI -Center fielder Denard Span gets his first day off since returning from the diabled list last Sunday when the Nationals face the Marlins this afternoon. Washington will be looking to end a three-game losing streak. The 31-year Span was tested in the outfield Friday night, especially on a couple of hard-hit balls that he tracked down in the fifth inning. After drawing a walk in the seventh, Span stole his first base of the season and eventually scored the Nationals' second run. Today...

The Orioles didn't make it through last night without committing two more errors. Their streak of miscues ended at five games Thursday night, but Manny Machado couldn't get a glove on Allen Craig's two-out bouncer in the eighth inning last night and Brock Holt followed with a three-run homer to right field. It wasn't an easy play for Machado, but it's one that he usually makes. He whiffed on the ball for his team-leading third error of the season. Shortstop Everth Cabrera booted Dustin...

MIAMI - The Nationals have played below expectations in the first month of the season. A 10-day road trip through three National League East cities seemed like an opportunity to reverse some ugly early trends and possibly build some momentum against some of the division's struggling teams. But in the loss to the Marlins last night in the trek's first game, it was the Nationals who continued to be bothered by the same common themes - poor situational hitting and a shaky bullpen - that have led...

So the 2015 Orioles now have a five-game losing streak, something that never happened to the 2014 O's. It was another night where the Orioles made mistakes in the field and on the bases, and their pitching staff gave up too many runs. The Orioles lost 7-5 to Boston on Friday night and have been outscored 38-20 during their longest losing streak since they dropped six in a row from Sept. 19-24, 2013. Here is the combined pitching line for the starting pitchers during the losing streak: 22...

MIAMI - After a terrible start, the Nats offense seemed to be coming around during the season's second week. But that appears to be just a tease as the futile bats have returned in a three-game losing streak. The Nationals are just 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position over the past two games and have scored a lowly three runs. Marlins starter Mat Latos brought a 10.24 ERA into tonight's start, and the Nats had to claw and scrap for two runs on six hits. They finally got to Latos in the...

Right before Boston's Brock Holt hit a tiebreaking three-run homer off Darren O'Day tonight in the top of the eighth inning, the Orioles had a chance to record the third out of the inning. Third baseman Manny Machado ranged to his left, but could not come up with a groundball off the bat of Allen Craig. He was charged with an error and Holt got to bat. His homer off of O'Day broke the tie and led Boston to a 7-5 win in the series opener. "Tough play," Machado said of that error. "I'm...

The Orioles didn't lose more than four games in a row last season while winning the American League East and advancing to the Championship Series. They dropped their fifth straight tonight, the longest streak since September 2013. "We knew the schedule," said manager Buck Showalter following a 7-5 loss to the Red Sox before 37,359 at Camden Yards. "It's challenging for 162 games. Nothing you'd like to have happen, but we've got some people here and coming. We have to grind through it....