What a weird game baseball can be. Tuesday night, the Nationals dropped their second straight ballgame to the Angels, this one by a 7-2 score. They were back to just one game over .500 through the season's first three weeks and were a win away from being swept. The defense wasn't pretty and hits with runners in scoring position had been largely absent on the homestand. Then, last night the Nats saw the Angels grab control of the game in the late innings. The Nats offense went quiet. Gio...

There are times that I forget that baseball is about the journey and not the destination, but I become so focused on the destination, the unknown future, that I get frustrated when it isn't reached. These Nationals are predicted to win a World Series at some point. The ultimate potential of players like Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg is too great for them not to be a winning team for the foreseeable future, or at least that is what the experts say. So far with those two players together,...

Wednesday night's dramatic 10-8 victory against Toronto may have taken a few years off the lives of Orioles fans, or at least caused some gray hairs, but it was a crucial comeback victory that guaranteed a winning record in one of the most grueling stretches of the O's schedule. This evening, the Birds conclude an extremely difficult 15-game span against American League East opponents. It began with a three-game series in New York against the Yankees way back on April 7, the Bronx Bombers'...

It was strange to watch last night's game without my laptop in front of me or in the trunk of my car. I kept an eye on one of the 5,000 or so televisions at Looney's Pub in Bel Air and saw the Orioles fall behind big and storm back for a 10-8 victory over the Blue Jays. It was nice to get confirmation that other teams can lose sizable leads. Does Nelson Cruz look like a bargain to the rest of you? Imagine how the lineup will look after Manny Machado comes off the disabled list. He's...

Did you catch that on MASN's "O's Xtra" postgame show last night, when Rick Dempsey said that maybe we should start referring to Tommy Hunter as Don Stanhouse? For the younger crowd, Stanhouse was the one-time Orioles closer who had a way of getting into big trouble on his way to a save. Earl Weaver called him "Full Pack," as in Weaver could smoke a full pack of cigarettes nervously waiting for the game to end. I could sense the nervousness throughout Birdland late last night when Toronto...

Two walk-off wins in four days. I bet Matt Williams would like the victories to come a little easier, but he'll take them any way he can get 'em. The Nationals rallied from a 4-1 ninth-inning deficit with four runs in the bottom half of the ninth, picking up a big comeback win and salvaging a game in this three-game set with the Angels. Jose Lobaton led off the ninth with a solo homer, Jayson Werth knotted the score with a two-run double on a 3-0 count and Adam LaRoche then won it with a...

Something about these Nationals, they know how to mount a comeback. A lot has not gone their way this season, from injuries to sloppy defense to inconsistent early innings for the pitchers. But Wednesday reminded baseball that this team never stops fighting. Down 4-1 heading into their last at-bat, the Nationals rallied for four runs and shocked the Angels 5-4. The inning got its start as catcher Jose Lobaton connected off of Angels reliever Ernesto Frieri on an 0-2 pitch, slamming a long drive...

Manager: Bud Black, eighth year Record: 10-12 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: RF Chris Denorfia (.328/.349/.492, 6 XBH, 7 RBIs); LF Seth Smith (.274/.374/.419, 2 HR, 6 RBIs); RHP Andrew Cashner (2-2, 2.10 ERA, 1.05 WHIP); RHP Ian Kennedy (1-3, 3.60 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats (2013): 2-5, 38 runs scored, 41 runs against Pitching probables April 24: Eric Stults vs. Jordan Zimmermann, 7 p.m., MASN2 HD April 25: Robbie Erlin vs. Stephen Strasburg, 7 p.m., MASN2 HD April 26: Andrew...

The wait for the Orioles to hit some homers ended tonight. That worked out well for Chris Tillman, who overcame one bad inning to get the victory. Tillman became just the seventh pitcher in O's history to give up seven or more earned runs in a game and get the win as the Orioles beat Toronto 10-8 at the Rogers Centre. The last time that happened, Koji Uehara was the winner on April 13, 2009. The Orioles, who have blown a few leads lately, turned the tables this time coming from five runs...

Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez got himself out of a pair of jams early and then contributed with his bat to get his team the early advantage. In the first inning with one away, the Angels got a double from Mike Trout and a single from Albert Pujols. Howie Kendrick walked to load the bases. Gonzalez then got Erick Aybar to ground into an inning-ending double play. Ian Desmond caught Aybar's short blooper and then threw back to second base to double up Pujols. In the second frame, the Angels...