Manager: Brad Ausmus, first year Record: 21-12 Last 10 games: 7-3 Who to watch: 1B Miguel Cabrera (.291/.333/.485, 5 HR, 29 RBIs); DH Victor Martinez (.325/.377/.577, 8 HR, 22 RBIs); RHP Justin Verlander (4-2, 2.67 ERA, 43 K); LHP Drew Smyly (2-2, 2.96 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) Season series vs. O's: 2-1, 18 runs scored, 13 runs allowed Pitching probables May 12: Rick Porcello vs. Bud Norris, 7 p.m., MASN HD May 13: Drew Smyly vs. Ubaldo Jimenez, 7 p.m., MASN HD May 14: Justin Verlander vs. Wei-Yin...

With the news the Nationals will be without first baseman Adam LaRoche for what could be until the end of the month of May, the offense is now without three of its top hitters. It feels like catcher Wilson Ramos just got back from a left hand fracture. Now, LaRoche takes his place on the sidelines, out with a quad injury on the 15-day disabled list. And it is not like any of the three players will be coming back any time soon. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is likely out until mid-June with a...

PHOENIX - I'm not one of those guys who calls a game in May a "must-win" or overreacts about a talented team's performance early on in the season. I'm really not. Trust me. I buy into the whole idea that it's a 162-game season and that there's plenty of time for things to come around, if a team plays well enough. That said, this three-game series coming up here in Arizona is a big one for the Nationals. And I say that for a couple of reasons. It's pretty evident that the Nats are...

The Orioles sure do have a lot of roster turnover for a club that's five games above .500 and holding onto first place in the American League East. They're making another bullpen move this afternoon after optioning left-hander T.J. McFarland following yesterday's 5-2 loss to the Astros. They placed catcher Matt Wieters on the 15-day disabled list and activated first baseman Chris Davis. And they continue to check the market for available backup catchers. Executive vice president Dan...

There were reports over the weekend indicating that the Orioles are aggressively pursuing adding another catcher. That may be true, but Caleb Joseph is one of their current catchers. A major leaguer for just five days, right now he's aggressively pursuing what the big league experience is all about. For a long time, it looked like the 27-year-old Joseph might never make it onto a big league roster. He played at Double-A Bowie for parts of the last four seasons and no player has ever played in...

Nationals manager Matt Williams covered Gio Gonzalez's struggles, the dugout incident and other shortfalls he saw in Sunday's 9-1 loss to the A's, as well as the sweep as a whole. Here are some selections from Williams' postgame media session. On whether he had anything special to say to the team after being swept: "No. We got manhandled today. Last night, we had a chance to win one and that didn't happen. Three more tough games on this road trip, so we've got to regroup and play well...

Gio Gonzalez was far from his best when making his first start in Oakland since the A's traded him to the Nationals in December 2011. The game had essentially been decided by the time the second inning was done with the Nats trailing 7-0 after two on the way to a 9-1 loss to the Athletics. Gonzalez had easily his worst start of the season, allowing seven runs on nine hits, including two homers, in 4 1/3 innings. The left-hander walked three, struck out four and saw his ERA jump from 2.91 to...

The Orioles optioned left-hander T.J. McFarland to Triple-A Norfolk after today's game, and a corresponding roster move will be announced tomorrow. Manager Buck Showalter had indicated that the team might need to call up a right-handed long reliever for the Tigers series, which begins Monday, because of Detroit's righty-leaning lineup and the need to use McFarland for three-plus innings Sunday. "We'll see. We'll talk about it," Showalter said after the game. "We'd like to make sure...

The Orioles announced after today's game that they have optioned left-hander T.J. McFarland to Triple-A Norfolk. McFarland, 24, has posted a 3.86 ERA (7.0IP, 3ER) in three appearances for the Orioles, including a 3.0 inning appearance this afternoon in which he allowed two earned runs.

The Orioles' designated long man in the bullpen, left-hander T.J. McFarland, worked three-plus innings today in a 5-2 loss to the Astros before a sellout crowd at Camden Yards. The club will discuss bringing up another reliever for Monday night's series opener against the Tigers. "We'll see. We'll talk about it," said manager Buck Showalter. "We'd like to make sure we have some length there. Detroit's primarily right-handed." Going by matchups, Showalter would prefer a right-handed...