It might have gotten overlooked a little bit last night because of some of the weird plays that went on in the Nationals' 4-3 win over the Marlins, but Jayson Werth continued to rake, homering again to give him 20 longballs on the season. It also might have gotten overlooked because, well, Werth raking is pretty much just commonplace at this point. After his effort last night, Werth is now batting .324 with a .403 on-base percentage and .530 slugging percentage this season, leading the Nats...

BOSTON - This isn't exactly how the road trip was supposed to unfold. The Orioles will try to avoid being swept tonight at Fenway Park. Then, they'll fly to New York for a three-game series against the Yankees. Then, it's off to Cleveland, which also is ahead of the Orioles in the wild card race. Having fun yet? I scanned Twitter following last night's 4-3 loss while waiting for manager Buck Showalter to meet with reporters. Naturally, I came across more nonsense about how the Orioles...

Steve McCatty is a jokester, a guy never afraid to make one of his pitchers smile to lighten the mood in a big spot. He's also a bit of a disciplinarian at times, scolding pitchers who he feels aren't working to their strengths. So what type of speech did McCatty give Drew Storen tonight, when the Nationals' pitching coach came out of the dugout in the top of the seventh with two on, none out, Giancarlo Stanton at the plate and Storen having a 2-0 count on the Nationals-killer? "He just...

BOSTON - In their continuing search for a right-handed hitter, the Orioles have put in a waiver claim on Twins outfielder Josh Willingham, an industry source confirmed late tonight. The Orioles are attempting to work out a trade for Willingham, 34, who's batting .215/.347/.391 with 19 doubles, 12 homers and 45 RBIs in 88 games. He's a career .257/.360/.475 hitter with 179 homers in 10 major league seasons with the Marlins, Nationals, Athletics and Twins. Willingham is signed through the...

Tonight's ballgame ended more than four hours and 10 minutes after it began, with a 72-minute rain delay in there, 11 total pitchers making an appearance and the Nationals and Marlins combining to go 3-for-23 with runners in scoring position. Not the prettiest of games, that's for sure. But don't tell Davey Johnson that. "It was a nice ballgame, since we won it," Johnson said. The Nats held on for a tight 4-3 win in a game in which both starting pitchers were done before they'd seen...

Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg only tossed 22 pitches Wednesday thanks to a 72-minute rain delay. Strasburg pitched only two innings in the Nationals' eventual 4-3 win over the Marlins. Manager Davey Johnson said the one hour, 12 minute rain delay played a big part in why he decided to shut down Strasburg for the night and move on to Craig Stammen. But he also was concerned about Strasburg's back. "Actually, after about I guess it was 45 minutes, we asked him how he was,...

Plenty of teams have come back from 4 1/2 games out to make the playoffs this late in the year. Teams have come from 7 1/2 back this late in the year. Those are the margins the Orioles are behind right now in the wild card and AL East races. Teams have come back from those deficits, but the 2013 Orioles don't look like they will be one of those teams right now. Last night, Boston won the kind of a game the 2012 Orioles won. Come from behind late and then shut the other team down in the ninth...

BOSTON - Orioles third baseman Manny Machado raced into shallow left field, his glove raised, his eyes locked on a looping ball off the bat off Red Sox pinch-hitter Mike Carp. He almost had it. He only got air. Carp's single scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to break a 3-3 tie. The Orioles lost 4-3 and fell 4 1/2 games behind the Athletics for the second wild card. "I thought I had it," Machado said. "Just a little bit short. Jumped too early. "I...

BOSTON - The Orioles have lost eight one-run games in a row, the latest a 4-3 defeat to the Red Sox tonight at Fenway Park. Last season, they were 29-9 in one-run games. So much has changed. Manager Buck Showalter watched his club surrender a 3-1 lead, the Red Sox moving ahead on Mike Carp's two-out bloop single in the bottom of the eighth. The ball barely eluded the glove of third baseman Manny Machado as he raced into shallow left field. Boston tied the game in the seventh on Dustin...

Giancarlo Stanton kills the Nationals. Just kills them. He might not kill them like Andrew McCutchen kills them. But Stanton still kills them. You get the idea. The Marlins' right fielder absolutely obliterated a 2-2 slider from Ryan Mattheus to dead center leading off the sixth, tying the game 2-2. It was Stanton's 17th homer in 47 career games against the Nats. The ball was just crushed, on a line, and if not for a wall about 30 feet beyond the center field fence, that one still might...