With one victory today, the Nationals avoided a sweep by the Phillies, extended their lead in the National League East to seven games, trimmed their magic number to 14 and got some momentum back on their side before a three-game series against the Braves starts tomorrow. Not a bad day at the office. The Nats got six strong innings from Gio Gonzalez today, were led offensively by Adam LaRoche's two solo homers and Scott Hairston's go-ahead sac fly, and saw Drew Storen close it down with a...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - We're headed to the 10th inning today after another miscue in the ninth burned the Orioles. Zach Britton is charged with his fourth blown save after converting 18 in a row, but the tying run is unearned after Ryan Flaherty's error on Evan Longoria's ground ball leading off the inning. Flaherty made a high throw that pulled Chris Davis off the bag. He also committed an error in the ninth yesterday afternoon, and Nick Hundley's passed ball let the winning run cross...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - We said it wouldn't get weird. This series has included some odd moments, such as yesterday's walk-off passed ball. Today brings us an inside-the-park home run by Tampa Bay's David DeJesus in the fourth inning that increased the Rays' lead to 3-0. Bud Norris hadn't allowed more than three home runs in any start this season. All three today have come with two outs. DeJesus sent a fly ball into left-center field. Alejandro De Aza ran it down, but David Lough slammed...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Dogs are barking in the upper deck today at Tropicana Field. Pets must be part of the Rays' promotion. They've got a few baseballs to retrieve. The Rays hit two home runs off Orioles starter Bud Norris in the bottom of the first inning, with Evan Longoria and James Loney going back-to-back with two outs. Longoria jumped on a first-pitch 93 mph fastball. Loney lined Norris' eighth pitch, a 94 mph fastball, to right field. There wasn't much doubt on Longoria's...

Well, things are off to an interesting start this afternoon at Nationals Park. With one out in the top of the first, Grady Sizemore singled to center fielder Denard Span. With two outs, Marlon Byrd singled on a line drive to Span, which scored Sizemore. Byrd was able to advance to third following throwing errors by Span and third baseman Anthony Rendon. The Phillies lead the Nationals 1-0 at the end of one inning. The run was charged as an earned run to Gio Gonzalez, who threw 19 pitches...

The Orioles need a win this afternoon at Tropicana Field to avoid being swept by the Rays and to avoid extending a road losing streak to six games. The streak began when the Orioles were swept at Wrigley Field. The Orioles have scored just six runs during the five-game streak, and they have been outscored outscored 19-6 in the five games. In this stretch, the Orioles have just 26 hits, three homers and a .168 team batting average. They have just 13 hits in 64 at-bats (.203) the last two days...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles need a win today to avoid being swept in consecutive road series for the first time since July 4-10, 2011 in Texas and Boston. The Orioles have lost five straight road games for the first time since losing seven in a row Sept. 13, 2013 to April 5, 2014. They've been held to two runs or fewer in their last five road games, their longest streak since May 28-June 2, 2010, according to STATS. They haven't been held to two runs or fewer in six straight road...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles are looking to avoid the sweep vs. the Rays this afternoon, but the starting lineup doesn't include Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and J.J. Hardy. Jones and Markakis say they're just using the opportunity to rest, both of them welcoming the idea to get off the turf at Tropicana Field. Likewise, Hardy, who experienced back spasms Friday night, said he doesn't want to take any chances on the turf. Manager Buck Showalter expects all three to be in the lineup...

The Nationals will try salvage the series against the Phillies this afternoon and end a two-game losing streak. Left-handers Gio Gonzalez and Cole Hamels will square off on the mound. With Hamels starting, Bryce Harper is out of the lineup and Scott Hairston is starting in his place. Hairston is a .392 hitter with five doubles, five home runs and nine RBIs in his career against Hamels. For the Nationals CF Denard Span 3B Anthony Rendon RF Jayson Werth 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond LF...

So where does Kevin Gausman fit in on a potential Orioles playoff roster? There seems to be a feeling that Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris and Miguel Gonzalez would be the top four starters, in some order, should the O's advance to a playoff series. That may prove true. But Gausman made a strong case for his inclusion in that rotation yesterday. He pitched well for the start before that also. He needs to string a few more good outings together this month to continue to state his...