CHICAGO - Davey Johnson is again loading up his lineup with right-handed hitters against a left-handed starter, leaving Adam LaRoche and Denard Span on the bench in favor of Tyler Moore and Scott Hairston. Moore will play first base and bat sixth, while Hairston will play left field and bat eighth. Bryce Harper will slide over and play center field tonight and hit leadoff as the Nats face Cubs left-hander Chris Rusin. Rusin has a 3.06 ERA in six starts this season, and he's surrendered just...

Catcher Matt Wieters will attempt to further inflate his career average against the Rays tonight as the Orioles try to even the series following last night's one-run loss. Wieters fell a triple short of the cycle last night and is batting .337 lifetime against the Rays, the highest average for any player with a minimum of 40 games. He's 2-for-5 with a home run lifetime against right-hander Alex Cobb, who's making his second start since being hit in the head by a line drive on June 15. Cobb...

This is the Aberdeen IronBirds' 12th year in the short-season Single-A New York-Penn League. With 16 games left in the regular season, Aberdeen is hoping for its first playoff berth. The IronBirds are 30-26 and lead their division by 1 1/2 games over Brooklyn and 4 1/2 over Hudson Valley. They host Hudson Valley tonight at Ripken Stadium as Hunter Harvey, the Orioles' 2013 first-round pick, makes his debut with Aberdeen. The IronBirds have won 10 of their last 15 games and manager Matt...

CHICAGO - As reported by FOXsports.com's Ken Rosenthal last night, just hours after the Nationals acquired David DeJesus in a trade with the Cubs, they placed him back on revokable trade waivers. In essence, that means DeJesus might not be around for all that long, after all. This is a strange bit of news, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, but there are a couple of theories here. First, it's possible that the Nationals simply made a mistake putting in a waiver claim on...

I talked to a few fans today while running errands, and they unanimously classified last night's loss as the most frustrating of the season. And it didn't include a blown save, which I thought was a prerequisite. Must have been all those wasted scoring opportunities. The four consecutive innings with a runner at third base and one out that didn't alter the score. The failings coming against a division rival that's trying to pull away in the wild card race. Going into tonight's slate of...

As an organization, the Washington Nationals have largely eschewed big international signings. Last week, they paid $900,000 for Anderson Franco and the front office has said it will be more aggressive in international markets moving forward. Prior forays have been disappointing at best. They got nothing except legal fees for the $1.4 million they paid to Dominican phenom Smiley Gonzalez in 2006. They tried again in 2009 when they landed Cuban emigre, Yunesky Maya, who commanded a four-year, $8...

The Nationals won't be moving their spring training headquarters to Kissimmee, Fla. Last night, Osceola County commissioners voted 4-1 against constructing a new complex and stadium for the Nationals, who want to move their Grapefruit League operations out of Viera, Fla. Those commissioners voting against the $98 million deal said that any potential benefits from the project were outweighed by the county's investment in it. Monday's vote followed last month's 3-2 rejection of the team's...

I'm sure you've heard people say "baseball is a funny game." It's typically the cliche saying that fans throw out when they can't explain the outcome of the three-hour sporting event they dedicate their life to over the course of 162 days between April and September. For me, that inexplicable nature is part of the reason I love this game so much. Though, I can certainly understand it driving some people absolutely bonkers. On Tuesday night, the Texas Rangers clobbered the Houston Astros...

CHICAGO - I failed to mention this here on the blog last night, but if you're able to stomach a depressing stat, I've got one for you. Last night's loss marked the 64th defeat for the Nationals this season. That evens their number of losses from all of 2012. In other words, in order for the Nats to match their record from last season, they'll need to go 38-0 the rest of the regular season. I'm no Major League Baseball scout. I'm no mathematician. Neither of those roles would suit me...

For the Orioles, what a difference a year makes in one-run games. From an amazing 29-9 mark last season to 14-22 this year. Last season, from June 1 through the end of the regular season, the Orioles went 21-4 in one-run games. That is a remarkably low total of four one-run losses in four months. In comparison, the Orioles lost four one-run games on their last road trip of eight games. They have now lost six consecutive one-run decisions and are 1-8 in their last nine one-run games. That is...