Bryce Harper has two outfield assists in a two-inning span tonight, both on tremendous bullet throws in to second base, both of which wiped the leadoff hitter from the basepaths. In the fifth, Harper went into a slide to cut off a Freddy Galvis base hit before it got into the left field corner, then hopped to his feet and threw out Galvis at second. Steve Lombardozzi applied the tag to Galvis after the Phillies' left fielder had slid past the bag, and Harper pumped his fist as he saw second...

Chris Davis turned 50 tonight. Not his age. Heaven forbid. But Davis hit his 50th home run in the top of the eighth inning to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead. Davis crushed a changeup from Blue Jays' right-hander Steve Delabar leading off the inning, sending the ball to the opposite field, as he tends to do. Delabar had replaced Sergio Santos. Davis has tied Brady Anderson's single-season club record for home runs set in 1996. Anderson also reached the milestone in Toronto, connecting off Pat...

The first inclination among some Orioles fans tonight will be to rip Jason Hammel for his start in Toronto. Two home runs in five innings. A 3-0 deficit. I'm focused more on how Todd Redmond shut out the Orioles over 6 1/3 innings. Todd Redmond. Sound familiar? The Orioles selected him off waivers from the Reds on Feb. 8. He didn't do much to impress in spring training, and the Blue Jays claimed him off waivers in late March. Barely worth a mention in the transactions. Redmond absolutely...

The list of Nationals players currently riding hot streaks - and it's a lengthy list - can be expanded to include Wilson Ramos. Ramos smoked a solo homer to left leading off the bottom of the second inning tonight, giving the Nats a 2-1 lead over the Phillies and giving Ramos four homers in his last six games. The Nationals catcher got a 1-0 cutter from Kyle Kendrick and didn't miss it, crushing the pitch into the Phillies bullpen. Ramos now has 14 homers on the season in just 240...

While Chris Davis may be hitting homers at a lesser rate in the second half of the season and will very unlikely finish with 60 home runs, he has still had a monster year. There are some numbers to put that in perspective. For instance, Davis is pretty much lapping the field when it comes to extra-base hits. With 49 homers and 40 doubles, Davis leads the majors with 89 extra-base hits. Mike Trout is second, but 19 behind Davis with 70, and Miguel Cabrera is third with 69. Davis has 15 more...

Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty said Stephen Strasburg wasn't trying a new pitch in Thursday's bullpen session in New York. There was the possibility, raised by manager Davey Johnson today, that the reason Strasburg came down with the irritation in his throwing arm was because he had tried a new pitch in the throwing session. Strasburg was scratched from Friday's scheduled start with right forearm tightness. "I was standing there," McCatty said. "All pitchers play with grips all...

Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from tonight's scheduled start against the Phillies due to right forearm tightness, but the Nationals don't think the injury is anything serious. Strasburg is expected to make his next start this Thursday, Sept. 19. Reporters were surprised when we made our way into the Nationals clubhouse this afternoon only to see that Ross Ohlendorf was listed as tonight's scheduled starter. Manager Davey Johnson said that Strasburg, who had Tommy John surgery on...

The Orioles are looking for their first road series win against an American League East opponent since April 8-11, when they took two of three at Fenway Park. Since the start of the 2012 season, the Orioles are 11-4 at home against the Blue Jays. They're 9-14 in their last 23 games in Toronto. The Orioles are averaging 5.7 runs per game in their seven games at Rogers Centre this season, more than a full run (4.5) higher than their average in their other 64 road games. The Orioles are batting...

Danny Valencia's hot bat stays in the Orioles' lineup tonight against Blue Jays right-hander Todd Redmond, and Baltimore native Steve Clevenger will make his first appearance with the team he rooted for growing up. Clevenger is behind the plate for Jason Hammel's first start since Aug. 28. Valencia is batting .212 against right-handers and .380 vs. left-handers, but he's 23-for-42 (.548) since Aug. 4 and had a game-tying three-run homer last night against the Yankees. Edwin Encarnacion,...

If you're headed to Nationals Park and you're excited about seeing Stephen Strasburg start for the Nationals in the opener of a three-game series against the Phillies, you're going to be disappointed. The Nationals have scratched Strasburg from tonight's start. No reason was given, but he's not on the lineup posted in the clubhouse. Instead, right-hander Ross Ohlendorf is listed as tonight's starting pitcher. We'll update with news about Strasburg when it becomes available. In the...