The Nationals and their fans bid a reluctant farewell to Seattle after the team pounded a Mariners staff with the lowest ERA in baseball for 10 home runs over three days in pitcher-friendly Safeco Field. Manager Matt Williams told reporters before the series that it was not necessarily a measuring stick for a team that has struggled against top competition. Even so, it was a huge confidence-builder for the Nats, who can now head into the stretch run feeling that they are currently capable of...

We've finally reached that point in the season. It's the first day of September and there's only four more weeks of regular season baseball left. It's been a long road to get to this point and the finish line is in sight. Baseball players, managers and coaches all view the season as a marathon. The fans hanging on to every pitch during the season mostly do the same, though overreactions happen. Take the Orioles' trip to Wrigley Field two weekends ago as an example. Some fans would have...

Manager: Don Mattingly, fourth year Record: 77-60 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.279/.337/.465, 35 doubles, 19 HR, 91 RBIs); RF Yasiel Puig (.298/.384/.489, 33 doubles, 9 triples, 13 HR, 59 RBIs); OF Matt Kemp (.279/.345/.468, 31 doubles, 16 HR, 64 RBIs); LHP Clayton Kershaw (16-3, 1.73 ERA, 0.84 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats: 1-2, 10 runs scored, 10 runs allowed Pitching probables Sept. 1: Roberto Hernandez vs. Gio Gonzalez, 8 p.m., MASN2 HD Sept. 2: Clayton Kershaw vs....

Welcome to Sept. 1 and the always popular, always unforgettable roster expansion. I liken it to wearing your stretchy pants on Thanksgiving. Two pitchers are joining the Orioles today from Triple-A Norfolk, according to manager Buck Showalter. He hinted that one may not be on the 40-man roster. I'll repeat that Ryan Webb and Joe Saunders are pretty strong candidates to find a locker inside the home clubhouse this morning. Infielder Kelly Johnson will show up and immediately check to make...

If you list a job description for Adam Jones it might include driving in runs and showing leadership. For Chris Tillman it might include anchor the top of the rotation. For other players that job description might be less clear cut, but for players like Ryan Flaherty and David Lough it must includes the words 'be ready.' That pair combined for five hits, four runs and three RBIs in the Orioles' 12-8 win over Minnesota on Sunday. Flaherty went 2-for-5 with a triple and three-run homer....

Two wins in three games against a Mariners team fighting for a spot in the postseason is nothing to sneeze at. Though the Nationals have largely had their way with the Mariners over the years, a series win in Seattle this season is significant. Losing pitcher Tanner Roark lamented one bad pitch to Dustin Ackley on Sunday afternoon: a meaty fastball that Ackley turned on for a three-run homer that helped the Mariners to a 5-3 victory and prevented a Nationals sweep at Safeco Field. The Nationals...

Well, he did miss his first flight and didn't arrive until the fourth inning, but new O's outfielder Alejandro De Aza is now settling into the Orioles clubhouse. He talked briefly with reporters after today's game. "I did miss my first flight, but I'm happy to be here. Glad to be here," he said. "It's great, at the same time I get to know a lot of people there. This is part of the business. One day you're here, another day you can be somewhere else." De Aza was asked about jumping...

The Orioles hold a nine-game lead in the American League East, tying their season high, following today's 12-8 win over the Twins before 40,905 at Camden Yards. A season-high 23 games above .500 is nose-bleed territory. The Orioles are 37-17 since June 30, the best record in the majors. They're 21-6 at home since June 30 and have outscored opponents 139-82. Is that good? Manager Buck Showalter talked yesterday about how different players have stepped up, how it can't always be the same...

The Orioles have not lost this year when they have hit three or more homers in a game. Today, they produced eight runs on three swings in a 12-8 victory over the Minnesota Twins. The Orioles have taken the first three games of this series that ends here tomorrow. Now at 79-56, they are a season-high 23 games over .500 and have opened a nine-game lead over the Yankees atop the American League East. The game featured a grand slam by J.J. Hardy, a three-run shot by Ryan Flaherty and a solo blast...

You can't say Bryce Harper doesn't take instruction well. At Safeco Field, there's an eatery on the second deck in right field called the Hit It Here Cafe. Guess where Harper deposited his ninth home run of the season in the second inning? The mammoth blast, measured at 418 feet by the Mariners, staked Tanner Roark and the Nationals to a 1-0 lead. It was a no-doubter off the bat; the only question was how far it was going to carry. It glanced off a Plexiglass window of the cafe, bouncing...