A glimpse into the possible future of the Nationals' starting rotation is on display as three affiliates continue their postseasons tonight. Double-A Harrisburg opens the best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series tonight in Trenton, N.J., against the Trenton Thunder. Right-hander Blake Treinen takes the hill for Harrisburg. Treinen was part of the three-team trade that sent Michael Morse to Seattle in the offseason. Ian Krol, A.J. Cole and Treinen were traded to the Nationals as part...

As teammates, good friends and roommates, Steve Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore are around each other a lot. That's why, as a joke, an unknown member of the Nationals took Moore's jersey, hat and baseball gloves during the last homestand and put them in Lombardozzi's locker. When Moore walked into the Nats clubhouse and made his way toward his locker, he noticed his stuff was gone. The confused Moore started spinning around looking, trying to figure out what was going on, only to find his gear...

Nick Markakis is batting leadoff again tonight after collecting three hits from atop the order in the series opener against the Yankees at Camden Yards. Markakis is 11-for-32 (.344) with three doubles and a home run lifetime against Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova. Matt Wieters is 11-for-26 (.423) with three doubles, four homers and seven RBIs. Henry Urrutia will serve as the designated hitter and bat ninth. Wilson Betemit is 5-for-16 with two doubles against Nova, but he remains on the...

Here are the answers to the most often asked questions about September: * Why do teams play with 25-man rosters through August and then are allowed to expand to up to 40 for September? It's a rule that has always been, but it's driving managers crazy, and they are becoming more vocal about it. General managers have the power to change the rule, and they will likely take a look at it this winter. The simple solution is to allow roster expansion but designate a certain number of additional...

The Washington Nationals today released their 2014 schedule, which includes 81 home dates, beginning with Washington's 81st home opener since 1901 on Friday, April 4 vs. Atlanta and is highlighted by an attractive slate of weekend visits from the Braves (twice), Phillies (twice), Cardinals, Cubs and Pirates. The Nationals start the 2014 season on the road on Monday, March 31 at Citi Field against the Mets. Washington's 2014 slate both begins and concludes with a significant stretch of games...

The Orioles today announced they will open the 2014 season at home on March 31 against the Boston Red Sox. Next year will mark the 60th Anniversary Season since the club moved to Baltimore from St. Louis in 1954 to become the modern-day Orioles. It is the 61st overall season for the club and their 23rd at Oriole Park. The Orioles will play a three-game series against the Red Sox at Oriole Park March 31-April 3 to open the season, the first of three trips Boston will make to Baltimore in 2014....

Officials from Lee County, Fort Myers and Rockford Construction met yesterday in Washington with Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner to discuss the team's potential move to vacant City of Palms Park for spring training, perhaps as early as the 2015 Grapefruit League season. According to this story in the Fort Myers News-Press, Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais characterized the meeting as a fact-finding mission but sounded hopeful that progress was made that could result in the Nationals...

The Nationals will open their 2014 season with 15 straight games against division opponents, the first three of which will be in New York against the Mets. After kicking off the season on the road, the Nats will return for their home opener on Friday, April 4, to be played against the Braves. The Nats have an 11-game homestand - their longest of the season - in April, including four games apiece against the Cardinals and Padres, and a three-game interleague series against the Angels. Other...

Five home runs in a 9-0 blowout, and still Gio Gonzalez completely stole the spotlight from Rick Schu's offense. He flirted with history for six innings, taking a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh. Then one got away. It was so close, so close to being corralled by Adam LaRoche, so close to being foul, but it was a hit. Gonzalez left the mound at the end of the inning muttering to himself, but he finished the game off as a one-hit complete-game shutout. Just that one cheap hit. Gonzalez...

OK, I'll admit it - I'm a bit of a stat nerd. As much as I'd like to, I don't have a scout's eye for the baseball. The numbers help to tell me who's performing well and who isn't and my love of statistics is a big part of the reason I'm obsessed with this game. For instance, Adam Jones' 31-homer, 102-RBI season tells me he's one of the game's best center fielders. No one at his position has more home runs or RBIs by a longshot. Somehow, Jones' offensive outburst in 2013 has been...