The Nationals open a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez takes on right-hander Trevor Cahill. Gonzalez is 3-3 with a 3.34 ERA and Cahill steps in at 3-8 with a 3.92 ERA. Cahill is 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA in his last six starts. The Nationals lineup has been announced and Chad Tracy is playing third base instead of Ryan Zimmerman. Heading to clubhouse to check details as to why Zimmerman is not in lineup today. For the Diamondbacks: SS...

A six-game hitting streak isn't enough to get Ryan Flaherty in the Orioles' lineup tonight against the Cleveland Indians at Camden Yards. Alexi Casilla, who's 9-for-26 (.346) with a double, triple, home run and eight RBIs against Justin Masterson, is starting at second base. Catcher Matt Wieters is batting sixth after being lowered to seventh last night and hitting a home run. For the Orioles Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Matt Wieters...

Seeds planted by The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce blossomed into a success-making return on investment for the community today, thanks to the Baltimore Orioles. In a generous investment to help secure a more prosperous future for greater Sarasota, the Baltimore Orioles organization has pledged $150,000 to Sarasota Tomorrow Next, The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce's regional economic and community development initiative. The announcement came at a press conference at Ed Smith...

The Washington Nationals recalled first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League and placed right-handed pitcher Dan Haren on the 15-Day Disabled List, retroactive to Sunday, with right shoulder inflammation. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Moore is batting .158 with five doubles, two home runs, 13 RBI, six walks and seven runs scored in 38 games this season with the...

Tyler Moore's stay at Triple-A Syracuse didn't last long. The Nationals placed right-hander Dan Haren on the 15-day disabled list this morning and filled his roster spot by recalling Moore, the first baseman/outfielder who was sent to Syracuse on June 10. The move on Haren, who is battling right shoulder inflammation, is retroactive to Sunday, the day after his most recent start in a disappointing season. Signed to a one-year, $13 million free agent deal in the offseason, Haren is 4-9 with...

The Nationals front office wants to do something about the mess the team finds itself in. But where do they turn? Tom Boswell on Monday made the case that the Nationals have joined the club of elite teams with money enough to buy their way out of the jam. Washington has been a huge untapped media market for decades and one lonely winning season is all it took to bring baseball fans out of the woodwork in D.C. Average attendance in D.C .is almost 34,000 per game. Fans are coming out because...

A season ago, baseball pundits cited smoke and mirrors and luck as the reasons the Orioles were competing atop the American League East and in the hunt for their first spot in the postseason since 1997. These same experts reported that the O's would fall back to earth and that their record was unsustainable due to their historic success in extra innings and games decided by one run. With nearly the same roster and in an even more improved AL East, the Orioles have continued their winning...

Before I dive into things this morning, some brief housekeeping notes. I spent nearly 10 hours at jury selection yesterday (what a fun process that was!) and was eventually chosen to serve for a trial starting today. The trial is scheduled to last two days, so I might be out of action through Wednesday, although I'm hoping things move swiftly and I'm able to make my way to Nats Park for tomorrow's game. Regardless, Byron Kerr will have you covered on all Nationals updates today, as I'll...

Nick Markakis went 2-for-4 with a home run last night to record his 27th multi-hit game this season. Only four players in the American League had more than 27. Markakis has 363 career multi-hit games, leaving him two behind Melvin Mora for the 10th-most in franchise history. Markakis is batting .438 (7-for-16) with a home run, a walk and two runs scored in his last four games against the Indians dating to July 21, 2012. Among players with at least 50 at-bats against the American League...

Not good enough. From time to time, we hear Buck Showalter say that phrase. It fits for O's starting pitching over the last seven games and it fits for the Orioles' starting pitching for most of this season. For a brief time, it looked like the Orioles were turning a corner. From June 2-16, the Orioles got a run of nine quality starts over 14 games and they went 9-5 in that stretch. But over the last seven games, they have gotten just one quality start and their pitchers are barely...