The Nationals have recently done an excellent job of getting off to good starts on road trips against first place teams. Two weeks ago, after winning a series in San Diego, the Nationals took on a then 42-21 San Francisco team and won three straight games. This week, facing a 47-30 Milwaukee team, the Nationals won the first two games of the series and held the Brewers to two runs in those games. On Tuesday night, the Nationals won what felt like one of their more significant gut-check...

Coming off Tuesday's 16-inning win in Milwaukee, the Nationals certainly didn't have a quiet morning leading up to this afternoon's series finale at Miller Park. The Nats needed seven relievers to cover 10 innings in last night's victory, so a move to add an arm to the bullpen was a near-certainty. So Washington called up right-handed pitching prospect Taylor Hill from Triple-A Syracuse and designated reserve infielder Greg Dobbs for assignment. Manager Matt Williams discussed the...

Taylor Hill's breakthrough with Triple=A Syracuse and the Nationals' need for length in their bullpen following last night's 16-inning game has landed the 25-year-old in the major leagues for the first time. Hill is having a tremendous first full season at Triple-A, tying for the International League lead with a 1.92 ERA, leading the IL with 93 2/3 innings and ranking second with a 0.99 WHIP. Stingy, indeed. Now he finds himself in a Nationals uniform, filling a long-relief role. "It's...

When Ubaldo Jimenez makes his 16th Orioles start tonight, fans will be watching early on to see how his control is. Jimenez has walked five or more in three straight starts, with 16 walks over 14 innings in that stretch. The right-hander has often walked a lot of batters during his career, but his walk rate as an Oriole is the worst of his career. He is averaging 5.6 walks per every nine innings. Last year for Cleveland, he averaged 3.9 per nine. Jimenez is 0-4 over his last eight starts,...

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals have officially called up right-handed pitching prospect Taylor Hill from Triple-A Syracuse, and designated infielder Greg Dobbs for assignment to make room on the 40- and 25-man rosters. The Nats have 10 days to release, trade or outright Dobbs to the minors. Hill, 25, will be making his first appearance in the majors and will be available in relief today. On top of those two roster moves, the Nats reinstated utility man Jeff Kobernus from the 60-day disabled list...

The Orioles have one confirmed starter for their weekend series against the Rays at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman will be recalled and start Game 1 of Friday's split doubleheader. The rest is up in the air. Meanwhile, the Rays will send right-hander Alex Colome (0-0, 4.50 ERA) to the mound in Game 1 and right-hander Jake Odorizzi (3-7, 4.29 ERA) in Game 2. Left-hander Erik Bedard (3-5, 4.25 ERA) will start Saturday and right-hander Alex Cobb (2-6, 4.10 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Sunday. The...

MILWAUKEE - While still getting over the fact that we very nearly saw Adam LaRoche pitch last night ... What a ballgame that was at Miller Park last night and into this morning. In addition to some idiot sliding down Bernie Brewer's slide, we had 16 hard-fought, drama-filled innings between two division-leading clubs. The Nationals trailed 2-1 going to the eighth, but Anthony Rendon knotted things up with a solo shot to right-center, a homer that led to more than two more hours of...

It's almost that time of year again, that time when fans get a say regarding who takes the field at a Midsummer Classic of sorts. It's almost time for the All-Star Game. This year's game will be hosted by the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis and voting runs through Thursday, July 3 at 11:59 p.m. It's always interesting to see who the Nationals get to send to the All-Star affair despite the fact that I've personally never gotten too into that particular exhibition...

The long major league season is nearing its halfway point and the Orioles have yet again been heavily reliant upon the bullpen. Since the return to winning ways in 2012, the bullpen has been impressive despite being over-worked - in particular in 2012. The 545 1/3 innings pitched by relievers in 2012 were fourth-highest in the majors, while the 514 innings pitched in 2013 were the 11th-highest. With respect to ERA, the mark of 3.00 in 2012 was the fifth-best in the majors, compared to 3.52 in...

MILWAUKEE - That ballgame have enough for ya? Tremendous pitching, sparkling defensive plays, gutty efforts from guys on both ballclubs. It was one of those games you hate to see one team lose. Fortunately for the Nationals, they weren't that one team tonight. The Nats pulled out a 4-2, 16-inning win over the Brewers tonight, and they got contributions from throughout the roster. Anthony Rendon tied the game in the eighth with a solo homer to the opposite field. The bullpen worked 10...