It was not a start for Danny Espinosa, but his ninth-inning at-bat turned into a positive beginning for a veteran coming off a rough season. With the Nationals down 5-4, two out and Ian Desmond at first base, Espinosa strode to the plate to face Mets closer Bobby Parnell. Espinosa fought off several two-seam fastballs in an eight-pitch at-bat. "I am taking at-bats as they come. I got my name ... called," Espinosa said. "I was ready and I was prepared. I felt good going into that...

NEW YORK - Let's run through everything that happened yesterday at Citi Field, shall we? In Matt Williams' first game as a big league manager, he had his star left fielder, Bryce Harper, take a shin to the head in the second inning, leaving him lying flat on his back for a couple minutes as trainers tended to him. Williams had his cleanup hitter and catcher, Wilson Ramos, leave the game with a hand injury, the severity of which is not yet known. He saw his ace, Stephen Strasburg, give up...

The Orioles win their first game of the season and now they're off? Who planned this schedule? OK, it's pretty typical in the majors. I guess teams get exhausted after that first game. Or fans need 48 hours to find their way back to the ballpark. As I reflect on the 2-1 win on opening day, my thoughts keep returning to Ryan Flaherty's play at third base. He easily could be overshadowed, but he played a critical role in the outcome. Flaherty isn't Manny Machado. He isn't trying to be...

In baseball, you can't hide. If you have a poor defender playing shortstop or right field, you can almost count on the ball getting hit there often. If you are on the spot and under scrutiny in your new role as Orioles closer, you don't get to ease into your season. So it was for Tommy Hunter. How the O's do in the ninth inning figures to have a lot to say about their one-run record and their overall record for this season. In 2012, they were a remarkable 29-9 in one-run games and made...

The Orioles improved to 39-22 all-time on opening day with today's win over Boston. They have won 11 of their last 14 openers, including the last four in a row. Here are more clubhouse quotes from the 2-1 victory. Nelson Cruz on his homer off Jon Lester that broke a 1-1 tie: "I was looking for a pitch I could drive, especially a fastball. The first two at-bats,I took the first two pitches for strikes. I was hoping he'd throw me the first pitch for a strike again. "He's a great pitcher,...

It was an opening day at Camden Yards filled with emotion, and it spilled into the interview room, where Monica Pence Barlow's husband and family stood near the back and greeted manager Buck Showalter as he entered for his postgame session with the media. Showalter embraced Barlow's mother, Ramona, before taking his usual seat, a poignant ending to the Orioles' 2-1 win over the Red Sox. Barlow would have loved every minute of today's game. "Obviously, you play the game with emotion,"...

Tommy Hunter's first game as the new Orioles closer was certainly eventful. Just close it out against the defending champions and protect a one-run lead against batters like Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz. Well, Hunter did just that, getting a 22-pitch save to preserve the O's 2-1 win at Camden Yards. In the postgame clubhouse interviews, Hunter repeatedly praised the crowd for helping him in the ninth. "Our crowd was legit," he said. "That was awesome. Hope they come out like that for...

NEW YORK - Imagine you're making your major league debut. Your knees would be shaking and your heart would be in your throat if that debut was in July in front of 15,000 fans with your team 10 games out of first place, right? Now imagine that you're making your major league debut on opening day. In front of a sold out crowd of more than 42,000 people. In a tie game. In the bottom of the ninth. You want to talk about nerves? I'm not sure it gets much more intense than that for a big league...

NEW YORK -- Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg persevered in his opening day start against the Mets, battling back following an early three-run homer by Mets left fielder Andrew Brown. That battle to stay in the game and keep his team within striking distance became critical as the Nationals rallied to defeat the Mets 9-7 in a 10-inning seesaw affair. Even though the day didn't start off with a 1-2-3 first, Strasburg was able to stay focused and managed to go on a run of 10 consecutive outs...

NEW YORK - Nationals skipper Matt Williams witnessed a season's worth of twists and turns in his first major league victory as manager, a 9-7 10-inning thriller over the Mets. "Yeah, how about that?" he said. "Lots of stuff. That is good, right in the thick of it, so that was fun." Williams leaned on his coaching staff when strategy points came up during the game. "We talked through everything," Williams said. "I have a stomach ache right now. which is probably pretty normal. Yeah, I...