The Nationals are battling to stay in the National League East race. Their All-Star pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, was done after two innings Sunday. They continue to struggle hitting with runners in scoring position and will try to rebound after getting swept at home by the Dodgers. But even though four months of the season are nearly complete, there's still time. And, they can learn from the Dodgers and Rays about what a winning streak can do to change a season. The Dodgers and Rays were...

The Nationals were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in their first series back from the All-Star break, losing close ballgames Friday and Saturday, while having their lunch handed to them Sunday, with Jordan Zimmermann getting rocked for seven earned runs in two innings. It's the stuff of nightmares for a team that needs to win just about every series from here on out to remain relevant in the standings. Forget about the playoffs for a moment. The Nats, at 48-50, sit in third place in the...

First off, it's really good to be back in the states! I always have a great time when I return to visit my relatives and my grandparents' house in Italy, but there's no place like home. Other countries have many things that they can offer to us, as well as us to them - not the least among them is the great sport of baseball! Now that the All-Star break is behind us, the next big hurdle in the season is the non-waiver trade deadline next Wednesday. I'm sure that many writers will feverishly...

A big week of baseball has arrived. While the Orioles begin a four-game series at Kansas City tonight, the Tampa Bay Rays begin a four-game series at Boston. The Rays are baseball's hottest team with 13 wins in 14 games. But the Rays have also recently taken advantage of a weak schedule. Tampa is 15-2 in July and has played against Houston, the White Sox, Minnesota and Toronto this month. The Rays' pitching has been very impressive and anyone that has watched this team over the last few...

The Orioles begin a four-game series tonight in Kansas City, where Scott Feldman is 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA in 10 career appearances, including five starts. Manager Buck Showalter moved Feldman ahead of Jason Hammel in the rotation following the All-Star break. Alex Gordon is 6-for-15 with a double and triple against Feldman. Billy Butler is 5-for-24 with a home run. J.J. Hardy is 8-for-22 with three doubles against Royals starter Wade Davis. Matt Wieters is 8-for-23 with two doubles. Wieters...

For the third day in a row, the Orioles took an early lead at Texas and went on to win behind a solid starting pitching performance. Tonight, the Orioles led 4-0 after four innings and won 4-2 to complete a three-game sweep, as Chris Tillman picked up his 12th win. The Orioles improved to a season-best 13 games over .500 at 56-43 with their seventh win over the last eight games. The O's completed their first three-game sweep at Texas since July 21-23, 1997; however the O's did sweep a...

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman understands how the West was won. Tillman began tonight with a career 10-1 record and 2.03 ERA in 12 starts against the American League West, and he's leading 4-1 as the game moves to the bottom of the seventh inning. Tillman is trying to produce the Orioles' seventh quality start in the last eight games. He hasn't dominated tonight, but he's held the Rangers to one run so far. In three career starts in Arlington, including tonight, Tillman has allowed...

Does Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts look more comfortable at the plate these days? Roberts is 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored tonight, and 4-for-6 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored in the last two games. Roberts is 6-for-14 in his last five games. He's collected hits in six of the last nine, raising his average to .266. Ryan Flaherty is going to have all sorts of trouble getting off the bench with Roberts in a groove and Henry Urrutia on the roster. Roberts doubled...

Nate McLouth is leading off tonight against a left-hander, the Rangers' Martin Perez, rather than moving down the order and surrendering the top spot to Nick Markakis. Manager Buck Showalter could be playing a hunch - or the hot hand. McLouth led off with a single tonight, making him 6-for-14 in his last four games. He has a double, triple, RBI and three runs scored during the streak. Third baseman Manny Machado wore his batting gloves for his first at-bat last night, then took them off...

Jordan Zimmermann has battled through a stiff neck and found a way to pitch at a very high level over the last couple of months. Strangely enough, with the discomfort in his neck dissipating, Zimmermann turned in the worst outing of his career this afternoon in the Nationals' 9-2 loss to the Dodgers. Zimmermann has been on anti-inflammatories over the last week or so, and he made a conscious effort over the All-Star break to rest the neck to try and get it back to full strength. While the...