Matt Wieters and Brian Roberts have returned to the Orioles' lineup today after beginning yesterday's game on the bench. Nick Markakis moves up to third after hitting fifth yesterday and going 3-for-4. For the Orioles Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Matt Wieters C J.J. Hardy SS Brian Roberts 2B Bud Norris RHP For the Giants Marco Scutaro 2B Brandon Crawford SS Brandon Belt 1B Buster Posey C Hunter Pence RF Pablo Sandoval 3B Roger Kieschnick...

The Nationals will shoot for the sweep in this three-game series against the Phillies this evening, with Stephen Strasburg (5-9, 3.01 ERA) taking the ball for the Nats and right-hander Kyle Kendrick (9-8, 4.29) going for the Phils. Steve Lombardozzi will play second base for the Nats today, with Anthony Rendon getting a day off. This will be Wilson Ramos' eighth time starting behind the plate in the Nats' last nine games. For the Nats CF Denard Span 3B Ryan Zimmerman LF Bryce Harper RF...

The Orioles are looking for their 22nd series win this year and their 10th on the road. They're 20-17 in series finales, including 3-3 since the All-Star break. A win today would mark the team's first back-to-back road series victories since May (3-1 in Anaheim on May 2-5 and 2-1 in Minnesota on May 10-12. Center fielder Adam Jones will try to extend his hitting streak to nine games this afternoon, which would tie his season high. Jones is batting .484 (15-for-31) during his streak, with...

Stop whatever it is you're doing, folks. I've got some shocking news to pass along. The Atlanta Braves actually lost a game yesterday, snapping their 14-game winning streak. Apparently the Upton brothers and their teammates are human, after all. With that Atlanta loss and the Nationals' win over the Phillies, yesterday marked the first time since all the way back on July 25 that the Nats actually made up ground on the Braves. The Nats have now won two games in a row, and the deficit in...

Bud Norris makes his third start for the Orioles this afternoon, and so far he's been a big hit because he hasn't allowed them. See what I did there? Norris has permitted three runs and nine hits in 12 innings, with four walks and 13 strikeouts. He's won both starts. Norris is 0-2 with a 3.52 ERA in four career starts against the Giants, including 0-2 with a 4.41 ERA in three career outings at AT&T Park. Buster Posey is 4-for-7 with a double against Norris. Marco Scutaro is 4-for-8 with...

Batting practice pitcher Ali Modami informed Jayson Werth after his sixth-inning single that the outfielder was one hit away from 1,000 for his career. Werth didn't need to wait long before putting himself in that thousand-hit club. Just an inning later, Werth launched a two-run homer to left, giving the Nationals their first lead of the game and pushing Werth into four-digit-hit territory for his career. "Definitely a milestone," Werth said. "When you set out playing this game however...

Right-hander Tanner Roark achieved another milestone Saturday by earning his first major league victory. And it took only 12 pitches. Roark retired six consecutive Phillies in the sixth and seventh innings. The Nationals' offense scored six runs in those two innings to come back and win 8-5. "It felt great, the come-from-behind win," Roark said. "Great team effort, bats came alive and it was awesome to watch." Roark had watched starter Taylor Jordan allow four runs in the second inning...

As if it wasn't enough that Jayson Werth continued his lengthy hot streak with a two-run go-ahead homer in the seventh that lifted the Nationals to victory tonight, it just happened to be Werth's 1,000th career hit and it just happened to come against the 34-year-old's former team. Quite a memorable set of circumstances for Werth, who earned a curtain call after the home run and ended up going 3-for-5 with three RBIs in the Nats' 8-5 win over the Phillies. On the season, Werth is now...

Just one pitch after Bryce Harper's popped-up bunt turned into a game-tying safety squeeze, Jayson Werth reached the 1,000-hit mark in style. Werth lofted the first pitch of Zach Miner's outing just over the left field wall, giving the Nationals a 6-4 lead. The Nats right fielder got greeted warmly upon his return to the dugout, and the fans got in on the act, as well, requesting a curtain call. Werth obliged, bounding out of the dugout and giving the fans a wave. The fact that his 1,000th...

Back on July 30, the Orioles began a stretch of playing 14 games in a 17-game stretch against teams with a losing record. Today they play Game 11 in that run and they are 6-4 so far, going 2-1 vs. Houston, 1-2 vs. Seattle, 2-0 at San Diego and 1-1 at San Francisco. They have won two of three series and today's game will decide the series with the Giants. After today, this stretch continues against a winning team with three at Arizona, followed by another club with a sub-.500 record when the...