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'...

With his next home run, Nelson Cruz will become the sixth player in Orioles history to hit 40 or more homers in one season. Cruz hit his 38th and 39th yesterday during his seven-RBI game in the win over Tampa Bay. Chris Davis tops the list with 53 (2013) and is followed by Brady Anderson with 50 (1996), Frank Robinson with 49 (1966), Jim Gentile with 46 (1961) and Rafael Palmeiro with 43 (1998). Cruz is tied with Palmeiro (1995-96) and Boog Powell (1964) for sixth on the club's single-season...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles have left Tropicana Field. No '80s hair band promotions, no dogs barking in the upper deck, no Wiggles concerts, no kids introducing batters over the PA system, no rap-artist felines spinning records. The series against the Rays will be remembered for some costly mistakes by the Orioles and its overall weirdness. And if there's one thing The Trop can deliver, it's a healthy dose of weird. Ryan Flaherty is on the team because he's regarded as a good...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles' magic number is down to 12. Their lead in the American League East is 9 1/2 games, exactly where it stood before they arrived at Tropicana Field. Was it pretty? Absolutely not. Is it a requirement? Absolutely not. Nelson Cruz drove in all seven runs for the Orioles in their 7-5, 11-inning win over the Rays. Cruz became the first player with at least seven RBIs to account for all of his team's scoring since Colorado's Jason Giambi on May 19, 2011 in...

The Nationals salvaged their series against the Phillies with a 3-2 win on Sunday. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez outdueled fellow southpaw Cole Hamels for the win. The offense was powered by two solo home runs from Adam LaRoche and a sacrifice fly from Scott Hairston. Drew Storen also earned his second save of the season after working a perfect ninth inning. The win could not have come at a better time as the Nats begin a three-game series with the Braves tomorrow night. Here's what the...

Nelson Cruz would not let them lose. The Orioles' slugger drove in seven runs today with two homers and a triple as the Orioles beat Tampa Bay 7-5 in 11 innings to avoid a sweep at Tropicana Field. Just when it looked like Tampa Bay would beat the Orioles at their own game, by hitting home runs, Cruz flipped the script. The Orioles went to the ninth down 4-2, but Cruz's three-run triple gave the Orioles the 5-4 lead. But Ryan Flaherty's error at shortstop led to an unearned run for the...

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...