March 31. May 7. Finally. Nationals manager Matt Williams announced that Wilson Ramos returns to the lineup today against the Dodgers, batting fifth and catching for Stephen Strasburg. Just like he did on opening day March 31. Ramos suffered a left hamate fracture in his hand in that first game against the Mets, had surgery and now has rehabbed to the point that he's ready to return to the lineup. Ramos said his hand feels strong and he has done enough running to be ready to return. "Feels...

It's rare that Monday night baseball turns into legitimate Tuesday morning baseball, but that's what happened earlier this week between the Nationals and Dodgers. Once the rain that held up the early evening game had passed, what appeared to be a few hundred people (if that) huddled behind their respective team's dugouts at Nationals Park to root, root, root for their own team well into the wee hours of the morning. One of Washington's most reliable players, right-handed starting Jordan...

There are scouts and talent evaluators both inside and outside the Nationals organization who feel that Blake Treinen would make for a terrific late-inning reliever at the big league level. He has the velocity for it, throwing a fastball that has been clocked at 100 mph in the past, possesses a hard sinker that gets plenty of ground balls, and also mixes in a slider that is an effective pitch for him. But the 25-year-old Treinen showed yesterday that if the Nationals would like to continue...

It could be the toughness of the American League East, or it could just be the curse of the Orioles' starting pitcher. However, whatever the reason, as has been the case over the last few seasons, the Orioles have relied heavily on their bullpen arms during the first five weeks of the 2014 season. Through 30 games, Orioles starters have pitched a combined total of 171 2/3 innings - the second-lowest amount in the majors. (The lowest is Detroit, which has played two fewer games.) This...

Does Tommy Hunter need to put runners on base before he dials it up and gets hitters out? Is he really the new Don Stanhouse, as MASN's Rick Dempsey said? The new Orioles closer is 9-for-10 in save chances after getting out of a one-out, runners on second and third jam against Tampa Bay last night. Hunter's stats after he gets a runner or runners on base are very impressive. Opposing batters are just 5-for-26 (.192) with nine strikeouts against him when they bat with one or more on base....

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Now it makes sense. The decision to outright infielder David Adams and the unexplained opening on the 40-man roster. Hints that more moves could be coming. The extra rest provided for catcher Matt Wieters. The use of Wieters as the designated hitter last night. He's hurt. Wieters has a sore right elbow, and the idea that the discomfort first surfaced in his forearm conjures up images of Dylan Bundy, who had the same sensations last spring and underwent Tommy John...

Stop me if you've heard this one before: An error opened the floodgates to another disappointing Nationals loss. The Nats entered Tuesday night's game with 27 errors, third-most in the National League, and another pair of fielding miscues resulted in four unearned runs in an 8-3 loss to the Dodgers. Facing reigning Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who was making his return following a stint on the disabled list with back problems, was bad enough, but the Nats again gave away runs that...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles catcher Matt Wieters will fly to Pensacola, Fla., Tuesday morning to have his right elbow examined by renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews. He's scheduled to come back to the team later in the day, and manager Buck Showalter hopes to have him behind the plate for the second game of the series against the Rays. Showalter didn't provide much information beyond confirming that Wieters had an MRI on his elbow during yesterday's break in the schedule. "He's...

In your first major league start, you hold the Los Angeles Dodgers to no earned runs over five-plus innings. Your fielding error allows the opponent to start a rally. But it is just three runs. Nationals right-hander Blake Treinen took the loss in an 8-3 defeat, but it was not because he wasn't ready or didn't have the stuff to compete. He did. "Obviously, I am excited to get an opportunity to come up here and play with this team," Treinen said. "Not so much nerves, as it was just trying...

Blake Treinen pitched his heart out tonight in the Nationals' 8-3 loss to the Dodgers, allowing just three unearned runs over five-plus innings against a dangerous Los Angeles lineup. Now Treinen will head back to Triple-A Syracuse and try and build off a strong first major league start. The Nationals optioned Treinen back to Syracuse after tonight's game, but they are not yet ready to announce a corresponding roster move. "We don't know that at this point," manager Matt Williams said....