As he continues his climb up the Orioles' single-season home run list, Chris Davis talked about his latest honor of sorts today. He is going to be a Sports Illustrated cover boy. Davis is being featured on one of the Aug. 26 issue's regional covers in a profile written by Tom Verducci. Davis said his knowledge of the magazine goes back to his childhood. "I was at my grandparents' house and I saw there were like 150 Sports Illustrated issues under the coffee table," he said. "I asked,...

CHICAGO - Roger Bernadina was released by the Nationals on Monday, but he won't be going too far, either geographically or within the realm of Major League Baseball. Bernadina has signed with the Phillies, the team announced today, meaning the Nats will see the speedy outfielder in about a week and a half when they head to Philadelphia for a three-game set against their division rivals. After clearing waivers, Bernadina - who had been the longest-tenured Nats player prior to Monday - was...

Nate McLouth will try to snap an 0-for-17 streak tonight while the Orioles attempt to avoid being swept by the Rays at Camden Yards. Nick Markakis is batting sixth tonight between Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy. 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 Brian Roberts 2B Steve Pearce DH Wei-Yin Chen LHP

Renew your expiring Season Plan or become a new Season Plan Holder now and you are eligible to receive up to 15% in Bonus eCash rewards loaded directly onto your Ultimate Ballpark Access Account to use at concessions and for merchandise Plus, receive loyalty points for free tickets, upgrades, parking and access to one-of-a-kind experiences with your new purchase of a season plan Washington Nationals fans who renew their expiring season plan or purchase a new 2014 season plan can earn Bonus...

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo hasn't given up on the season, but at a time when the Phillies fired a legend, Charlie Manuel, there is a similar question for the Nationals: If there is no hope for the team by Sept. 1, is it best for manager Davey Johnson to work the final month? Johnson, who said before the season that this would be his last, deserves to go out on his own terms, but the final month could give Rizzo a chance to see how Randy Knorr looks as a manager and how he handles...

Right-hander Jake Johansen made exceptional progress this summer at short-season Single-A Auburn. Johansen was an astounding 1-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 10 starts for the Doubledays. He allowed no hits in five innings on Aug. 17, striking out six batters and walking just two. The Nationals' top selection from the 2013 draft performed so well, in fact, that he was promoted Tuesday to low Single-A Hagerstown. His first start for the Suns is Friday. How did Johansen do so well? Did his...

Sometimes the best moves a general manager can make are the ones that look confusing at first. Keep in mind general managers are allegedly smarter than the media and bloggers, and should be a couple of steps ahead of us. One the surface, the David DeJesus trade looks weird. The Nats don't need him for this season and his $6.5 million option is a lot to pay for a bench player for 2014, but let's look at the Nationals bench, or let's not because H.P. Lovecraft couldn't describe a monster as...

CHICAGO - It really wasn't too long ago that Dan Haren could have, based on the numbers, been legitimately considered the worst starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. As of June 22, Haren led the majors in home runs allowed and had the highest ERA of any qualified starter in the National League. His WHIP was 1.43 (in other words, he was allowing an average of nearly 1 1/2 batters to reach via a hit or a walk every inning) and his OPS against was .888. Over the last six weeks, things...

CHICAGO - It's easy to chuckle about the fact that the Nationals put 21 runners on base and scored just four runs now that tonight's 4-2 win is in the books. Had the end result been different, Davey Johnson and the guys in the Nats clubhouse wouldn't have been laughing. The Nats had 14 hits and drew seven walks off Cubs pitching tonight. But somehow, entering the ninth inning, they still had put just two runs up on the scoreboard. They got two big insurance runs in the ninth on RBI...

Well, this morning, there is not too much to be cheerful about or encouraged about for the Orioles. It's been a disappointing series against Tampa Bay, one where they had a chance to gain ground on a key rival and make progress toward a playoff berth, but they have not. Check out these numbers: * The Orioles are now 5-9 against Tampa Bay, including a 2-6 mark at home. They have lost seven of the last eight meetings this year between the teams and should they lose tonight, they would be swept...