The Nationals find themselves in a hole early in Atlanta. After being retired in order in the first, Stephen Strasburg took the mound in the bottom of the inning. Strasburg retired the first two batters he faced, but then issued a walk to Freddie Freeman. Justin Upton followed with a two-run homer to center field. Strasburg then walked Jason Heyward, but struck out Evan Gattis to end the inning. The Nats trail 2-0 at the end of one inning. Update II: Strasburg's struggles continued...

The Orioles' latest homestand begins tonight here against the 2013 National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees come to town Monday. The Orioles begin play tonight with the largest division lead in baseball at five games and with the majors' third-best record at 65-49. St. Louis is 61-52 and is one game out in the NL Central. The Orioles are just 1-5 all-time against the Cardinals. They lost two of three in St. Louis in 2003 and got swept three straight here in 2011. Tonight,...

Jayson Werth is noticeably absent from the lineup for tonight's series opener against the Braves. Over the last few days, Werth has been dealing with shoulder and ankle injuries, and Nationals manager Matt Williams wanted to give the veteran a night off. This comes one night after Werth played all 13 innings in the Nats' 5-3 win over the Mets. "He's pretty banged up. He's been dealing with the shoulder, the ankle," Williams told reporters prior to Friday's game in Atlanta. "Long...

The contingent of former Orioles inside the warehouse this afternoon for the 60th anniversary luncheon included franchise legends Eddie Murray, Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson. They sat together afterward and fielded questions from reporters, with Murray sliding down a seat after spotting all the microphones aimed at the middle one. "That's Frank's seat," he said. This was a rare opportunity to chat with Murray, and he didn't disappoint. Here's a sampling: On being a young leader...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter had another busy schedule today that included a luncheon for the 60th anniversary celebration. He missed the praise heaped upon him by former players. "I left. I had to go and get ready for St. Louis," he said. "I was sitting next to Doug DeCinces. That's impressive. Listening to him and Eddie (Murray) and Al Bumbry, Ken Singleton, Rick Dempsey go back and forth, that was very entertaining. I didn't eat, listening to them talk about Earl (Weaver)....

Reporters got to hear from a steady stream of Orioles and Baseball Hall of Famers today. We heard from some of the greatest players to ever wear orange and black. Yeah, we had a good afternoon. In the last press conference of the day, Hall of Famers Eddie Murray, Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson spoke. Frank spoke eloquently about his time here as a player and the good feeling he has now coming back for tonight's 60th anniversary celebration. What made it special to be an Oriole? "The...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he's leaning toward starting Kevin Gausman on Sunday against the Cardinals and Bud Norris Monday against the Yankees. A final decision probably will be made following tonight's game. Norris held the Yankees to one run over five innings in the Bronx this season before leaving the game with a groin injury. Showalter also will let tonight's game dictate the corresponding roster move Saturday when Ubaldo Jimenez comes off the disabled list and starts...

ATLANTA - The Nationals begin a crucial three-game series with the Braves tonight, but will be without the services of right fielder Jayson Werth. Werth has dealt with right shoulder soreness and an ankle injury in the past few days. Steven Souza Jr. will get the start in right instead and bat eighth. Asdrubal Cabrera will hit second and play second for the Nats. Stephen Strasburg will take the mound and face Ervin Santana. Strasburg has allowed just one run in 14 innings pitched over...

Caleb Joseph is missing from the Orioles lineup tonight in the series opener against the Cardinals. He's homered in his last four games. Nelson Cruz is batting fourth as the designated hitter, followed by Chris Davis. David Lough gets the start in left field. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Nelson Cruz DH Chris Davis 1B J.J. Hardy SS Ryan Flaherty 2B David Lough LF Nick Hundley C Chris Tillman RHP For the Cardinals Matt Carpenter 3B Kolten Wong 2B Matt...

ATLANTA - Yesterday's 13-inning walk-off win over the Mets was significant for the Nationals as a whole. It probably was even more significant for Bryce Harper individually. The victory gave the Nationals a 4 1/2 game lead in the National League East, their largest advantage in the division since September 24, 2012. And now they head into their big three-game set with the Braves riding a wave of momentum. But for Harper, his opposite-field, walk-off homer might've just been the spark that...