SAN FRANCISCO - There's an old saying in the baseball world. It goes: "Momentum is the next day's starting pitcher." The Nationals have won eight of their last 10. Over those 10 games, they've outscored their opponents 62-18. Their starters have delivered 10 straight quality starts, and in their last six games, Nats starters have struck out 47 and walked none, making them the first team to do so since 1914. Last night, the Nats put a thumping on the best team in baseball, handing them...

SAN FRANCISCO - The Giants have been red-hot lately. The Nationals cooled them off a bit tonight. The Nats pounded out eight extra-base hits, plated nine runs and handed the Giants their most lopsided defeat of the season in a 9-2 loss. The nine runs the Nats scored were the most the Giants have allowed this season. Ian Desmond drove in a career-high five runs, Denard Span had two doubles and a triple, and Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos also added two hits each in the Nats' eighth win in their...

On Saturday night, Kevin Gausman gave the Orioles starting rotation a shot in the arm. Last night, Bud Norris did the same. The Orioles recently had an 18-game stretch where they didn't get a single start of at least seven innings. Now, Gausman and Norris have done that twice in three games. The Orioles have gotten some good starts lately, but they've also gotten some terrible ones. The issue moving forward starts at the top of that rotation - Chris Tillman and Ubaldo Jimenez need to get it...

Chris Davis reached base last night on a bunt single. I could hear fans everywhere rejoicing. Locking arms and dancing in circles. And still wondering why he didn't do it in extra innings with the winning run on third base. It's one way to beat the shift, though opposing managers gladly will let a guy who hit 53 home runs last season square up and do his best Mickey Rivers impression. Davis now has one career bunt hit. That's it. Maybe that's why he's not inclined to try it with the...

Bud Norris pitched eight innings of scoreless baseball tonight to lead the Orioles past Boston 4-0 as they get this series off to a good start. What was working for Norris out there? "Little bit of everything," he said. "We are always focused on getting ahead in counts and really fastball command. Caleb (Joseph) called a great game and the guys made the plays behind me. Just that extra little bit of focus to play the game." Norris gave up just three hits tonight and threw 98 pitches. He...

It's becoming a common sight with Adam Jones at the plate. If he hits a home run, the ball is going to right or right-center field. His shot to right-center in the first inning tonight off Boston's Jake Peavy got the Orioles started toward a 4-0 win before 19,729 at Camden Yards. Why the opposite-field approach? "You know me. I don't know," said Jones, who notched his 150th career homer. "Seeing the ball deep and hitting it. I don't know. I don't ask questions. "It helps. I'm...

Manny Machado talked to a large group of reporters around his locker after tonight's game and said he spoke to his teammates earlier during a team meeting. "You go up there and say what you're feeling," Machado said. "I went up there and apologized to everyone here. Just go about it, say what you've got to say. "This is the thing about this team. We will all fight together and grind it out together. If we lose, we all lose. This is the good thing about this Oriole team. We are going to...

It didn't take long for the Nationals to break on top at AT&T Park. Denard Span led off the first with a double to right off Ryan Vogelsong, took third on Kevin Frandsen's groundout to second and scored when Jayson Werth doubled to left. The Nationals now turn to right-hander Stephen Strasburg to see if he can keep the Giants at bay. Strasburg entered the game as the strikeout leader in the National League with 101 punchouts. Update: It's 2-0 in the second, after Ian Desmond tripled home...

After a 2 1/3 inning-outing by their starter yesterday, the Orioles were hoping Bud Norris could get deep into tonight's game against Boston. Norris not only got the Orioles deep into this game, he pitched darn well while doing it. Norris pitched eight scoreless innings as the Orioles beat Boston 4-0 in front of 19,729 to start a three-game series. This was the Orioles' fourth shutout. The right-hander gave up just three hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Norris threw 98 pitches to...

Anthony Rendon inched closer Monday to a return to the Nationals lineup. The third baseman hasn't played since Friday night, when he took a Carlos Quentin grounder off his right hand, forcing his removal from the game. X-rays showed no fracture, but the hand has been swollen and tender. Rendon swung in the cage yesterday, but still reported some soreness, especially around the thumb area. That put off his return at least one more day and led to today's try with the bat. "It's a little bit...