Manager: Ned Yost, fifth year Record: 20-19 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: C Salvador Perez (.275/.333/.449, 4 HR, 12 RBIs); 1B Eric Hosmer (.304/.343/.418, 15 doubles, 18 RBIs); RHP Yordano Ventura (2-2, 2.34 ERA, 1.11 WHIP); RHP James Shields (5-3, 2.54 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) Season series vs. O's: 2-1, 16 runs scored, 6 runs allowed Pitching probables May 15: Yordano Ventura vs. Wei-Yin Chen, 8 p.m., MASN HD May 16: Jeremy Guthrie vs. Chris Tillman, 8 p.m., MASN2 HD May 17: Danny Duffy vs. Bud...

With Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper out, the Nationals are missing three of their best hitters, and in the cases of LaRoche and Zimmerman, they are missing the two highest OPS players on the team. While the addition of Kevin Frandsen, the emergence of Zach Walters and the resurgence of Danny Espinosa have improved the Nationals bench with so many key offensive weapons missing, it is like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole. Scoring runs is going to be a daily struggle for the...

"The difference between Tommy (Hunter) and Jimmy (Johnson) is that Jimmy had a track record," Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the media after Hunter blew his third save of the season on Tuesday against the Tigers. "Tommy does, too, with certain other things, so there's some unknown about where this will go with Tommy." A season ago, Johnson blew nine saves as the Orioles closer. The O's ended up finishing the season 85-77, 6 1/2 games back of a wild card spot in the American League....

Hello, East Coast. Nice to see you again. It seems like we haven't had an off-day at home in years. In reality, it's been five weeks. But still, nice to be home, get to sleep in your own bed and relax for a day. The Nationals come back to the area with a 21-19 record, now trailing the Braves by 1 1/2 games in the National League East. Not where they'd like to be, for sure. But yesterday's big comeback win, their 12th come-from-behind victory of the season, gave them a series win on the road...

Are we still stressing over the closer situation or an offense that scored in only three innings during the three-game series against the Tigers? Maybe it's the rotation, which has produced only 13 quality starts in 38 games. Or Matt Wieters' elbow, which eventually could require ligament-reconstructive surgery. J.J. Hardy still hasn't hit a home run. Chris Davis has two. David Lough, once projected as the regular left fielder, is batting .176. Jonathan Schoop is batting .224. Ryan...

After falling behind in today's series finale, the Nationals were on the verge of returning to D.C., with a 1-5 record from their six-game road trip. To say today's game was a must-win might be a little exaggerated, but boy was it important. The Nats capitalized on seven strong innings from Doug Fister and a bases-loaded hit from Ian Desmond in the top of the ninth for to beat the Diamondbacks 5-1. Denard Span's leadoff walk in the ninth started the Nats' rally. Anthony Rendon then...

In the fourth inning today, Detroit right-hander Justin Verlander threw a pitch behind Nelson Cruz. An inning later Cruz hit a three-run homer to cap off a five-run O's rally. What did Cruz think about the Verlander pitch that went behind him? "I cannot tell. I think he was dealing. I don't know if it was on purpose or not. Only he knows that. I think that got me going, woke me up," Cruz said. He felt that did fire up the Orioles, who had that big inning but still lost 7-5. "Yeah, kind...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter confronted plate umpire John Tumpane this afternoon after both teams received warnings following a Justin Verlander pitch that sailed behind Nelson Cruz in the bottom of the fourth inning. Bud Norris was ejected Friday night after hitting Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter. Verlander wasn't tossed today, and Showalter sought an explanation. "I'm just trying to figure out the consistency of it," he said after the Orioles lost 7-5 at Camden Yards. "You get one...

We've got a pitchers' duel in Arizona. After scoring a combined 15 runs in the last two games, the Nationals and Diamondbacks are scoreless through three innings. Doug Fister has thrown 52 pitches, allowing three hits and striking out four in three innings. Three of Fister's outs have come via the groundball, which is a good sign for the Nats' sinker ball pitcher. Fister's counterpart on the mound, Brandon McCarthy, has not allowed a hit and has struck out two through three. Update:...

It was Justin Verlander against Kevin Gausman, but this was no pitchers' duel. Detroit moved out to a 6-0 lead this afternoon and then held off the Orioles for a 7-5 win and sweep of this three-game series in front of 36,727 at Camden Yards. The Orioles have lost four in a row to fall to 20-18. They are 1-5 against the Tigers and 3-9 against the American League Central. Detroit scored two in the third and three in the fourth off Gausman to take a 5-0 lead, and added an unearned run in the...