The Orioles today announced they will open the 2015 season on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays before heading to Baltimore for their home opener at Oriole Park on April 10 against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles will again host each American League East rival three times. The Boston Red Sox will visit Baltimore April 24-26, June 9-11, and September 14-16. The Orioles will host the New York Yankees April 13-15, June 12-14, and October 2-4. The Rays will visit Charm City May 1-3 and 29-31,...

BOSTON - Major League Baseball released the 2015 schedule today, which includes the Orioles' season opener April 6 against the Rays at Tropicana Field and their home opener April 10 against the Blue Jays. The first off-day on April 9 separates those two series. The Orioles host the Yankees April 13-15 and make their first visit to Fenway Park from April 17-20. They're in Boston for Patriots Day for the second consecutive season. The Orioles spend a week in New York, playing the Mets from...

The Nationals released their 2015 schedule this afternoon, and it will begin and end with the Mets. The Nats start 2015 at home on Monday, April 6 against the Mets and end it on Oct. 4 at Citi Field in New York. Washington opens the season by playing National League East foes in 26 of its first 32 contests through May 10, before finishing the year with 26 of its final 29 games against division foes from Sept. 3 to Oct. 4. While 29 of next season's first 50 contests will be played on the...

The Washington Nationals today released their 2015 schedule, which includes 81 home dates, beginning with Washington's 82nd home opener since 1901 on Monday, April 6 vs. the New York Mets and is highlighted by 13 weekend series against, among others, the Phillies (three times), Braves (two times), Cubs, Pirates, Giants, Dodgers and Brewers. Washington's 2015 slate both begins (see above) and concludes (Sunday, October 4 at Citi Field) against the NL East-rival Mets. Washington opens '15 by...

Manager: Fredi Gonzalez, fourth year Record: 74-69 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: LF Justin Upton (.284/.359/.511, 31 doubles, 26 HR, 91 RBIs); 1B Freddie Freeman (.289/.386/.473, 38 doubles, 18 HR, 70 RBIs, 89 R); RHP Ervin Santana (14-7, 3.61 ERA, 1.27 WHIP); LHP Mike Minor (6-9, 4.65 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats: 9-4, 53 runs scored, 38 runs allowed Pitching probables Sept. 8: Mike Minor vs. Doug Fister, 7 p.m., MASN2 HD Sept. 9: Ervin Santana vs. Jordan Zimmermann, 7 p.m.,...

A seven-game lead (eight in the loss column) with 21 games remaining in the regular season is pretty safe. The Nationals are certainly aware of this, despite their day-at-a-time focus. Baseball Prospectus is giving the Nats a 98.6 percent chance to win the National League East. FanGraphs puts it at a 99.6 percent chance. It would take a miracle for the Braves to overtake the Nats in the division. But this is baseball. Anything can happen, and miracles have been known to occur. These next...

Have you noticed how the Nationals offense has been more all or nothing this season? That is one reason why their record when scoring more than four runs jumps out at you. The Nationals are 66-9 when scoring four or more runs in a game this season. They are 14-52 when scoring three or fewer. Ironically, the Phillies series had two games that were against that average - the 11-inning 9-8 loss on Friday and the 3-2 win on Sunday. But it just seems that the Nationals score zero to three runs...

Manager: John Farrell, second year Record: 63-80 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: DH David Ortiz (.263/.359/.515, 25 doubles, 32 HR, 98 RBIs); LF Yoenis Cespedes (.263/.303/.464, 34 doubles, 21 HR, 94 RBIs, 82 R); CF Mookie Betts (.287/.354/.470, 33 G, 7 doubles, 4 HR, 11 RBIs, 20 R, 5 SB); RHP Joe Kelly (3-3, 4.13 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) Season series vs. O's: 6-7, 45 runs scored, 55 runs allowed Pitching probables Sept. 8: Joe Kelly vs. Miguel Gonzalez, 7 p.m., MASN HD Sept. 9: Anthony Ranaudo vs....

We've all heard the saying "chicks dig the longball," and if that's the case, the Orioles must have a ton of female fans. Frankly, I think guys dig the longball just as much. It's exciting, and we men enjoy excitement, too. The Orioles have finished in baseball's top five in home runs every year since 2011. They led MLB last season with 212 bombs and are out in front this year with 188. There's another saying that says you live and die by the home run. When things are going well and...

It didn't take long for Nationals manager Matt Williams to reveal his next closer. Two days after Rafael Soriano blew his seventh save of the season and fifth since the All-Star break, Drew Storen emerged from the Nats bullpen in the ninth inning of Sunday's 3-2 win over Philadelphia and set the Phillies down in order. For fans weary of watching Soriano's ineffectiveness in recent weeks, a scoreless inning, let alone a clean one, was a welcome sight. Now it will be up to the Nats'...