Jason Hammel threw 60 pitches in the bullpen today and will report to Double-A Bowie for Thursday's game against Binghamton. "As of right now, everything is good to go," Hammel said. "I threw an extra inning's worth of pitches today. I probably threw 45 like I did yesterday, and then after that I did some sequences, throwing all pitches to simulated batters, stuff like that." The Orioles want Hammel to throw 45-50 pitches for Bowie on Thursday and are hoping to get him through three...

Jayson Werth missed yesterday's game with an infection in his right foot, but the Nationals' hottest hitter is back in the lineup today, serving as the designated hitter. Werth is batting a ridiculous .384/.481/.661 since the All-Star break, so the Nationals will be plenty happy to have him back in the cleanup spot today. Tyler Moore will get his third straight start in left field, and Anthony Rendon is back playing second base today. Dan Haren (4-0 with a 1.32 ERA in his last six games)...

Nick Markakis has now gone 31 games without an extra-base hit and 51 games, since June 24, without a home run. Orioles batting coach Jim Presley doesn't feel there is any one specific reason for the power falloff for Markakis, who is batting .210 with an OPS of .500 in 20 August games. "I think it is more mental than anything," Presley said. "I think he feels like he should drive the ball better. It's been a while since he's had an extra-base hit. He knows it. We all know it. It...

Yesterday, Brian Roberts played second base and Ryan Flaherty was the designated hitter in the Orioles lineup. Today, they've switched roles for the finale of a three-game series against the A;s. Flaherty is at second base and Roberts is the DH against A's rookie Sonny Gray. For the Orioles: Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Chris Davis 1B Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Nick Markakis RF J.J. Hardy SS Ryan Flaherty 2B Brian Roberts DH Scott Feldman RHP For the Athletics: Coco Crisp CF Jed...

The chances of the Nationals making the playoffs are still very, very low. I'm talking incredibly low. According to Baseball Prospectus' playoffs odds report, the Nats have just a 1.9 percent chance of earning a postseason berth. This is after the Nats' five-game winning streak, making them 11-4 in their last 15 games. It's after they got back over .500 for the first time in nearly six weeks. The postseason odds are so low because despite this recent hot streak, the Nats still trail the...

Despite yesterday's loss, the Orioles already have clinched their first season series over the Athletics since 1998. So, you know, there's always that. The Orioles trail the all-time series, 249-251, and I largely blame Sal Bando and Herb Washington. And a little bit of Bill North. You're not completely innocent, Dick Green. The Orioles are 14-23 in one-run games this season and have lost seven in a row. That's one of the biggest differences from 2012. Today's starter, Scott Feldman,...

The Orioles' latest one-run loss was Saturday at Camden Yards. Coco Crisp hit a homer in the top of the ninth and Oakland beat the Orioles 2-1. One season after the Orioles had a 29-9 record in one run games, to post the best win percentage in major league history, they are now nine games under .500 in the one-run decisions. The Orioles have gone from first to worst in the American League in this stat and they are now 14-23 in one-run contests. It gets a bit worse. The Orioles have lost...

Left-hander Brett Mooneyham had some control issues in his initial start for high Single-A Potomac. Mooneyham walked six batters in three innings, allowing five hits, six runs and one strikeout in taking a 6-2 loss against Winston-Salem on Thursday. He allowed a two-run shot in the first inning by Kevan Smith. It was only his fourth setback in 14 decisions this season. He had come in 10-3 in 17 starts with low Single-A Hagerstown, sporting a 1.94 ERA. These next few weeks will be a great...

As rocky as things have been at times lately, the Nationals have now tied their longest winning streak of the season. Tonight's 7-2 win over the Royals gives the Nats their fifth straight win, matching streaks put together from May 4-10 and Aug. 9-14. Jordan Zimmermann went 7 2/3 strong innings, allowing two runs on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. He gets back on track after a rough outing in Chicago. Ian Desmond had his 18th homer of the season and drove in two, Chad Tracy...

In the Nationals' four-run fourth inning, they did a lot of little things right, things that they haven't done much of this season. They had examples of nice situational hitting, like Wilson Ramos staying on a 1-2 cutter from Wade Davis and lifting a fly ball to right that went as a sacrifice fly to plate Ryan Zimmerman. Driving in runners from third with less than two outs has not been the Nats' forte this season. They had some smart, aggressive baserunning, like Bryce Harper tagging up...