It's been a decidedly dismal start to the season for the Nationals defensively. They find themselves in sole possession of last place in the National League in terms of team fielding percentage, while also leading the NL in errors with 22 after last night's series opener against the Angels. This total would have been higher were it not for a scoring change of Yadier Molina's liner at Jayson Werth in Thursday's 8-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals -- a ball Werth either lost in the lights...

There has been a storyline that has been trumpeted a bit on air and in the media that has not actually been true. You often hear about the club being proficient at fielding and this centering on their ability to avoid errors. At the time of this writing (after a particularly gruesome Sunday), the Orioles had the second-fewest errors in baseball. Only the Houston Astros had less. On the surface, this looks great. On the surface, our old friend Henry Chadwick (the guy who invented the box...

Right-hander Tanner Roark did everything he could possibly do to keep the Nationals in the game and continue his home dominance. Roark went 6 2/3 innings and scattered seven hits, allowing no runs with two walks, one intentional, and five strikeouts. He was a workhorse with 105 pitches, 63 for strikes. There is something about Roark at Nationals Park. He has allowed one earned run in 26 innings at home for a 0.35 ERA. Roark said the home numbers are good, of course, but more important to him is...

Over the last four years, few late-inning relievers have been as consistently impressive as Tyler Clippard. Since the start of the 2011 season, Clippard has posted a 2.64 ERA and a 0.964 WHIP, struck out 10.3 batters per nine innings and allowed just a touch over a home run per nine. Right now, however, Clippard's going through a tough stretch. He's allowed at least one run in five of his 11 appearances this season, has a 1.45 WHIP and for whatever reason has struggled to post the clean,...

Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond committed two errors in the Angels' decisive four-run rally in the eighth inning, leading to a 4-2 loss Monday night. Desmond's first error occurred when he bobbled a grounder near the bag at second which allowed Albert Pujols to reach base. With two outs, pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez slapped a game-changing three-run double, and Desmond picked up another error on an errant throw. "I feel bad, obviously, but what are going to do? keep on playing, I guess,"...

Thanks to Tanner Roark's strong start and Angels starter Garrett Richards suddenly losing his control in the fourth inning, the Nationals led 1-0 heading to the top of the eighth inning tonight. The Angels then rattled off four runs off Tyler Clippard, and held on for a 4-2 win. All four of the runs Clippard allowed were unearned; they came in an inning which saw Ian Desmond commit two more errors, giving him nine on the season. The first miscue came on a grounder up the middle off the bat of...

The Orioles may be too rested tonight as they begin their series in Toronto. A night game after a day game? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Left-hander T.J. McFarland has joined the club and will be in the visiting bullpen tonight at Rogers Centre. A corresponding move will be announced this afternoon. Eighteen games into the season and the Norfolk shuttle already is cranked up. I'm wondering about Steve Pearce's immediate future with the Orioles. As I noted yesterday,...

Double-A Bowie first baseman Christian Walker is off to another good start. The 23-year-old right-handed hitter was named the Eastern League's Player of the Week yesterday. Last April, while with Single-A Delmarva, Walker hit .360 with three homers and 16 RBIs on the way to being named O's minor league Player of the Month. He made it all the way to Bowie last summer and starts there this season. Through 17 games, Walker is batting .306 with two doubles, a triple, two homers, 10 RBIs and a...

The Nationals' Tanner Roark struck out three of the first four batters he faced in tonight's opening game of their three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels got a pair of hits in the second and a walk, but Roark worked out of that with a strikeout of Angels starter Garrett Richards to end the inning. In the third, J.B. Shuck was originally called out at first on a grounder to second as he dove for the bag. The Angels requested a video replay review and the call was overturned....

With the arrival of the Los Angeles Angels in D.C. comes the much anticipated matchup between 22-year-old Mike Trout and 21-year-old Bryce Harper. Trout was the 25th overall selection in 2009, while Harper arrived as the first overall pick in 2010. They have been linked because they are both considered power-hitting phenoms and are the faces of the next batch of young superstars to play in the majors. But Harper was not going to buy into the hype prior to Monday's first game of a three-game...