Gio Gonzalez looks to get back on track this afternoon against the New York Mets. In his last start on Sunday against the Athletics, Gonzalez lasted just 4 1/3 innings, gave up nine hits, seven earned runs and walked three. Gonzalez earned his first win this year against the Mets on April 2 in the Nationals' second game of the season. For the Nationals: CF Denard Span 3B Anthony Rendon RF Jayson Werth C Wilson Ramos SS Ian Desmond 2B Danny Espinosa 1B Tyler Moore LF Nate McLouth LHP Gio...

Bud Norris hopes history repeats itself tonight in Kansas City, but only to a point. In his only career appearance against the Royals on May 21, 2013, Norris tossed six scoreless innings before the Astros bullpen blew a 3-0 lead. Norris is making his fifth road start tonight for the Orioles. He's 1-2 with a 5.48 ERA away from home. In his last outing, Norris was working on a quality start until Detroit's Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Norris hit Torii Hunter, the...

Mets starter Jon Niese went into yesterday's outing with a 1.67 ERA in 32 1/3 career innings at Nationals Park, with 33 strikeouts and two walks. Those numbers might've inspired some confidence in the 27-year-old starter. Niese got rocked for five runs on eight hits in just four innings, however, thus continuing a recent trend of Nationals hitters demolishing left-handed pitching. After last night's win, the Nats are hitting .286 with a .339 on-base percentage and .434 slugging percentage...

Are the Orioles slumping or surging? I can't keep it straight. The rotation is a concern because the starters aren't working deep enough in games, except for Chris Tillman tossing a nine-inning shutout last night in a 4-0 victory over the Royals. The offense is ice cold, except for Chris Davis homering last night, Nelson Cruz producing two more RBIs and the Orioles actually scoring in three different innings. This is a hard team to figure out. Zach Britton still appears to be the closer,...

It had to be a nice feeling for Orioles fans to see Chris Tillman pitch so well last night. Sure, Kansas City is not a great hitting club but a complete-game shutout against any team is noteworthy. For Tillman, it came at a time when some questions were being raised about his health, his velocity, his first-inning struggles and his recent overall effectiveness. One good outing doesn't shove aside every concern, but it took care of most of them I think. Tillman said his groin injury was not...

The Nationals returned home with a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets, thanks to timely hits by Jayson Werth, Scott Hairston and Tyler Moore. Wilson Ramos also had a big RBI sac fly and scored a run in support of winning pitcher Tanner Roark. Werth went 2-for-4 with a first inning run-scoring single. But his catch at the right field wall to prevent a three-run shot by Daniel Murphy, that would have tied the contest in the ninth inning, turned into a game-changing moment. "When it was hit, I...

What was looking like a quiet 5-2 victory suddenly turned a bit more interesting in the bottom of the ninth, when Rafael Soriano issued two two-out walks and Daniel Murphy sent a fly ball high to right field. Jayson Werth leaped at the wall, made a catch that may or may not have saved the game from being tied, and then dropped a "Mean Girls" reference at me immediately after the dramatic win was complete. Quite a finish. Your browser does not support iframes. The Nationals escaped with the...

The Orioles made their agreement with Heath Bell official tonight, saying via Twitter that the veteran reliever will report to Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday, pending a physical. Hold the Grant Balfour jokes, please. Most of these guys actually pass the physical. "Bell is a proven veteran pitcher with experience who has agreed to a Triple-A deal," executive vice president Dan Duquette tweeted tonight. "We believe he can help our major league club later this season." According to...

Chris Tillman began this night with a career ERA of 9.00 against Kansas City and with an ERA of 6.49 over his last five starts. But if there were any concerns about Tillman, they were silenced tonight. Tillman pitched a complete-game five-hitter on 117 pitches as the Orioles blanked Kansas City 4-0 at Kauffman Stadium. Tillman walked one and fanned three batters. He is now 4-2 with an ERA of 3.34. This was the Orioles first complete-game shutout since Scott Feldman threw one against the...

Seeking to improve their bullpen depth and provide options at closer down the road, the Orioles have agreed to terms with veteran right-hander Heath Bell on a minor league contract and will assign him to Triple-A Norfolk. Bell is expected to sign his contract later tonight. Executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed the agreement in a text message, referring to Bell as "an interesting sign for 3A." The Orioles didn't have much interest in Bell, 36, over the winter after the Rays...