Manager: Walt Weiss, second year Record: 40-58 Last 10 games: 3-7 Who to watch: SS Troy Tulowitzki (.340/.432/.603, 18 doubles, 21 HR, 52 RBIs, 71 R); 1B Justin Morneau (.312/.345/.502, 20 doubles, 13 HR, 60 RBIs); RF Charlie Blackmon (.305/.351/.477, 17 doubles, 14 HR, 52 RBIs, 18 SB); LHP Jorge De La Rosa (10-6, 4.39 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats: 0-3, 7 runs scored, 18 runs allowed Pitching probables July 21: Franklin Morales vs. Doug Fister, 8:30 p.m., MASN HD July 22: TBA vs....

As America commemorated 45 years since the first human steps on the moon Sunday, the Nationals were celebrating some milestones and anniversaries of their own on the way to their 53rd victory of 2013, a 5-4 walk-off win over Milwaukee. Gio Gonzalez labored through one of his more difficult starts of the season, but he collected five strikeouts in his 3 1/3-inning stint. The last of those, dealt to Rickie Weeks leading off the third, was the 1,000th of Gonzalez's career. In his seventh...

Manager: Mike Scioscia, 15th year Record: 59-38 Last 10 games: 8-2 Who to watch: CF Mike Trout (.313/.400/.612, 29 doubles, 23 HR, 74 RBIs, 69 R); 1B Albert Pujols (.276/.326/.483, 20 doubles, 20 HR, 65 RBIs, 59 R); LF Josh Hamilton (.293/.372/.440, 18 XBH, 27 RBIs); RHP Jered Weaver (10-6, 3.43 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) Season series vs. O's (2013): 2-5, 27 runs scored, 30 runs allowed Pitching probables July 21: Matt Shoemaker vs. Bud Norris, 10 p.m., MASN2 HD July 22: Hector Santiago vs. Miguel...

A quick check of your calendar will serve as a simple reminder that this is the season of the rumor in baseball. Sure, there's that little period in December called the Winter Meetings, but in terms of in-season action, this is when it starts to get good. Everything is leading up to about 11 days from now when the non-waiver trade deadline hits and we really see what teams are contenders and which ones are pretenders. For the Orioles, it's pretty clear they are the former. The Birds find...

That one play, really that one at-bat, made the game. Bottom of the ninth, Anthony Rendon at first base, two outs. Brewers reliever Rob Wooten was on the cusp of getting out of the inning. He had relied on his slider and curveball to get to two outs and had made it difficult for any Nationals to get a good swing. But veteran Jayson Werth is known for waiting out pitchers. He makes them come to him. He waited for Wooten to throw a strike. And he couldn't early in the at-bat. A mixture of...

Are the Orioles headed from the frying pan into the fire? They have left Oakland, where they faced the team with the best record in the majors, to head to Anaheim to face the Los Angeles Angels, who have baseball's second-best record. The Angels are 59-38 and while they trail Oakland by 1 1/2 games for the American League West lead, they are red-hot right now and have the best home record in baseball. On Sunday, the Angels scored twice in the ninth off Seattle's Fernando Rodney to turn a...

The Orioles will make a roster move today, recalling pitcher Bud Norris from Double-A Bowie and optioning a reliever or one of their catchers. They won't carry three of them all season. Steve Clevenger didn't get a start in Oakland and is vulnerable, but we'll see. He did catch the bottom of the eighth yesterday as manager Buck Showalter cleared his bench. Showalter may want to carry the extra bullpen arm after yesterday's debacle in Oakland. Preston Guilmet worked the eighth, but he...

The first Kevin Gausman-Sonny Gray pitching matchup went to the Orioles. This one went to the A's. In a big way. Oakland took an early 3-0 lead in the third and then poured it on, scoring seven runs in the middle innings to rout the Orioles 10-2 this afternoon. Oakland (61-37) takes two of three for the second time this year against the Orioles. The O's fall to 53-44 and their American League East lead is now three games over Toronto and New York, who both won today. On June 7, Gausman gave...

Manager Matt Williams seemed a bit relieved to see the Nationals pull off a walk-off 5-4 win over the Brewers Sunday after a back-and-forth affair that seemed dangerously close to a loss. Rafael Soriano might've taken his third blown save in the top of the ninth, but Jayson Werth was able to give the Nats a series victory with his two-out RBI double in the bottom of the frame. Ryan Zimmerman provided a huge two-run homer, tying the game as part of the Nats' three-run fourth inning. It was...

Somebody had to do it. The Orioles needed a hit this afternoon against Athletics starter Sonny Gray, and J.J. Hardy stepped up with an RBI double in the top of the fifth. Chris Davis scored from first base after a leadoff walk, and the Oakland lead was down to 4-1. The Orioles needed more, but Manny Machado struck out and Ryan Flaherty and Caleb Joseph grounded out. It was a poor at-bat for Machado, who flailed at breaking stuff and couldn't get the runner to third. The last pitch bounced in...