SAN FRANCISCO - As I've said in the past, I don't put much stock in how the standings look in June, especially not when it comes to jockeying for a division lead when there are still around 100 games left on the schedule. That said, some people seem to really care about that sort of thing. For those people, here's a link to the up-to-date major league standings. I have a feeling you'll like what you see when you scroll down to the National League East portion of the page. When Ryan...

SAN FRANCISCO - Five batters into tonight's game, the Nationals led 3-0. They drew eight walks on the night and grinded out at-bats against a tough Giants pitching staff led tonight by Matt Cain. They got six-plus innings of two-run ball thrown by Tanner Roark - another quality start - and again leaned on their bullpen to lock down a close game in the late innings. And they played exceptional defense, with Ryan Zimmerman making multiple impressive grabs (including one spectacular catch to save...

Wei-Yin Chen went seven innings for the third time this season tonight. For the first time, he did not allow any runs as the Orioles beat Boston 6-0. Now 7-2 with an ERA of 3.76, Chen gave up just four singles in his 87-pitch outing. "I felt great out there pitching," Chen said through his interpreter. "I was glad to help the team get a win. In previous outings, I could not go deep in the game, but today I was able to do that. I'm happy about that, especially against the Red Sox. I gained...

Is Kevin Gauman pitching for his spot in the rotation tonight in the series opener against the Blue Jays? The Orioles are on the verge of activating Miguel Gonzalez from the disabled list following last night's start at Double-A Bowie. Gausman could be optioned to create room in the rotation, but what if he turns in another quality start tonight? Gausman held the Athletics to one run and four hits over seven innings Saturday night for his first major league win as a starter. His fastball...

Neither rain nor lengthy delays could stop the Orioles from taking two of three games from the Red Sox at Camden Yards. Wei-Yin Chen may be the majors' most overlooked seven-game winner. He was superb tonight, shutting out the Red Sox on four hits over seven innings in a 6-0 victory. He didn't walk a batter and struck out a season-high seven. "Wei-Yin was really good," said manager Buck Showalter. "I was thinking today, I don't know whether it was kind of getting on a consistent...

Wei-Yin Chen retired the first 11 batters he faced tonight and pitched seven scoreless innings as the Orioles beat Boston 6-0 in a rain-delayed win over the Red Sox in front of 25,886 at Camden Yards. The game was halted by rain before the last of the seventh at 9:11 p.m. It resumed after a 1-hour, 38-minute delay with just a few hundred hearty fans remaining to see the end as the O's took two of three in the series. Orioles pitchers gave up just one run this entire series over 27 innings,...

The Nationals stepped into AT&T Park Wednesday night winners of nine of their last 11 and looking to hand the Giants their first three-game losing streak at home this season. Matt Cain was a more than gracious host in the first inning, struggling with his command and walking the first three batters he faced. Adam LaRoche made him pay with a single just to the right of second base, plating Denard Span and Anthony Rendon, and the Nationals led 2-0. A Ryan Zimmerman groundout brought home...

Kevin Gausman's best start as a major league pitcher was last Saturday night against Oakland. Now he'll try to do that two times in a row. Gausman went seven innings, allowing just four hits and one run against the A's. He walked one, fanned six and threw 102 pitches. After Sunday's game he got a great compliment from the Oakland clubhouse. The A's are one of the American League's highest scoring teams and Branden Moss is one of their middle of the order hitters. "That guy, I got to...

The Washington Nationals today placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the 15-Day Disabled List (right hamstring strain) and recalled catcher Sandy Leon from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Leon went 8-for-44 (.182) with a double, a home run (April 14 at Miami off Kevin Slowey) and three RBI in 13 games during a six-week span with the Nationals earlier this season. Defensively, Leon threw out...

Wilson Ramos will need seven to 10 days to recover from a right hamstring strain, so the Nationals have placed their oft-injured catcher on the 15-day disabled list and will suggest that he modifies his workout routine to incorporate more running in hopes of preventing future hamstring injuries. "He got an MRI this morning and officially it's a Grade 1 strain of his hamstring," manager Matt Williams told reporters this afternoon in San Francisco. "It's the opposite side of his previous...