Right-hander Tanner Roark certainly did not what that to happen again. He pitched pretty well, but faced an opposing pitcher who recently has had the Nationals' number. On Aug. 25, Roark allowed two earned runs in a 3-2 loss to A.J. Burnett and the Phillies. Burnett struck out 12 batters in that game. On Saturday, Roark surrendered three earned runs and again lost to Burnett, this time 3-1. Burnett allowed the Nationals' only one run. Despite the loss, his second straight to the Phillies,...

A.J. Burnett kept his successful streak against the Nationals going, and the Phillies kept on rolling. Burnett allowed just one run over seven innings in the Phillies' 3-1 win this afternoon, giving him just his third win since June 20. All three of those wins have come against the Nats. The Phillies, meanwhile, earned their fifth series win in their last six sets. The last-place Phils have surprisingly gotten hot recently, winning series over the Mariners, Cardinals, Braves and now two sets...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Nick Hundley was behind the plate for the Orioles yesterday after Caleb Joseph started Friday night's series opener against the Rays. He had two hits, missing a home run by inches, but the walk-off passed ball defined his day. Baseball, like life itself, isn't always fair. We could flip a coin to decide today's starter, though manager Buck Showalter may have more sophisticated methods. It won't be Matt Wieters, of course, since he's recovering from...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles have lost back-to-back games for the first time since being swept at Wrigley Field. They've dropped their last five road games. Today brought a first, however. A walk-off passed ball. Nick Hundley missed Andrew Miller's fastball and Yunel Escobar raced home with the winning run. The Rays are assured of winning the series following today's 3-2 victory over the Orioles at Tropicana Field, a game that featured quality starts from both teams and some costly...

Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark allowed two earned runs in a tough 3-2 loss to right-hander A.J. Burnett and the Phillies on Aug. 25. In their rematch Saturday, it took the Phillies only three innings before they connected for two earned runs. With one out in the third, Burnett singled. With two outs, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley singled to load the bases. Ryan Howard smacked a base hit through the infield, scoring two runs, and the Phillies led 2-0. The Nationals enjoyed only a single...

That was a tough way to lose. The Tampa Bay Rays took advantage of an error and passed ball to score in the last of the ninth this afternoon and beat the Orioles 3-2 at Tropicana Field. This is the first time all year that the Orioles have lost an American League East road series. They went 7-0-1 in their first eight. Batting against Brad Brach, Yunel Escobar led off the ninth and reached on an error by shortstop Ryan Flaherty. He went to second on a sac bunt and third on a flyout. Later...

With three runs scored in Friday night's loss, Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon now has 101 for the season and has retaken the major league lead in that category from Minnesota's Brian Dozier (100). Rendon is only the fourth player in team history to eclipse the 100-run mark in a season, joining Alfonso Soriano (119 in 2006), Ryan Zimmerman (110 in 2009) and Nick Johnson (100 in 2006). But the triple-digit total is just one aspect of Rendon's game. In addition to playing sparkling...

Following Friday night's blown save by closer Rafael Soriano - which eventually resulted in a 9-8,11-inning loss to the Phillies - Matt Williams said Soriano will take a couple of days off. The Nationals manager was clear about the plan for Soriano. But Williams wasn't ready to pinpoint exactly who will replace him in the ninth inning for the time being. Matt Thornton, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen will likely get the bulk of the late-inning work, with Ryan Mattheus also a possibility as the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - If the Orioles carry a slim lead into the late innings or are tied today, will Darren O'Day be summoned from the bullpen at Tropicana Field? He won't be hard to find. The bullpens are situated in foul territory. Right out in the open, in prime line drive territory. O'Day says he's ready. The left hamstring is feeling better and he wants to pitch. "My hamstring was sore, my high hamstring," he said. "I think I might have broke up some scar tissue or something....

The Nationals expanded their roster further this afternoon, recalling outfielder Michael A. Taylor and reliever Ryan Mattheus from Triple-A Syracuse Taylor, 23, is back with the Nationals for the second time this season after hitting .304 with a .390 on-base percentage and a .526 slugging percentage in 110 games with Double-A Harrisburg and Syracuse. After recording 17 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs, 61 RBIs and 34 stolen bases in 98 games, Taylor was named the Double-A Eastern League...