It's not hard to pinpoint the major failing in tonight's 3-1 Nationals loss. It's the same issue that's plagued this team pretty much the entire season. The Nats scored a single run over 10 innings. They went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They left 12 runners on base. Davey Johnson's team had the bases loaded and one out in the first. The Nats got a leadoff double in the second. They put two runners on with one out in the third. They had two on with one out in the seventh....

The Orioles are playing a rare Sunday night game, which gives manager Buck Showalter more time to craft his lineup. He's probably got a few already made out. That's the norm with Showalter. The Rangers are sending another southpaw to the mound: Martin Perez, who gave up two earned runs (four total) in six innings July 9 at Camden Yards. Left-handers are batting .286 against him, compared to .257 by right-handers. Consider that stat, and factor in Henry Urrutia's success against...

It was a night where the Orioles got plenty of early offense, consistent starting pitching and more good defense. They moved 12 games over .500 for the first time in 2013. The O's led 7-0 after three innings tonight and beat Texas 7-4 to take the first two games of this three-game series. On Sunday night, the O's go for their first three-game sweep at Texas since July 21-23, 1997. The O's did sweep a four-game series at Texas in July of 2010. On their fourth try, the Orioles finally moved...

Two trips to the plate, two bases-loaded situations. Henry Urrutia's first major league game tonight has been anything but dull. Urrutia lined a single off Rangers left-hander Joseph Ortiz with no outs in the top of the third inning for his first major league hit and RBI, increasing the Orioles' lead to 5-0. Ortiz, who replaced starter Ross Wolf, threw two straight sliders. Urrutia fouled off the first one and pulled the second one into left field to score Chris Davis, who remains in the...

Gio Gonzalez did all he could tonight. He threw six scoreless innings, tied a career high with 11 strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 2.89. Thanks to a Roger Bernadina pinch-hit single to right in the sixth, the Nationals had a 1-0 lead when Gonzalez left the game. They just couldn't hold it. Drew Storen surrendered back-to-back two-out hits in the top of the seventh, allowing the Dodgers to tie the game at 1-1. Skip Schumaker doubled off the wall in right-center, then came around on Mark...

Orioles left fielder Nate McLouth singled and stole second base tonight. It might not seem like a big deal, but it's noteworthy. McLouth hadn't swiped a base since June 19. He attempted only one since that night, getting thrown out in a June 22 game against Toronto. Pitchers have been quicker to the plate with McLouth on first base, and he's been extremely patient. McLouth scored tonight on Adam Jones' single, and Nick Markakis scored on Chris Davis' single for 2-0 lead. Davis was...

For the second straight night, the Nationals had a golden opportunity against Dodgers pitching, loading the bases early in an inning. For the second straight night, the Nats squandered the chance, left the bases loaded and heard a chorus of boos from the crowd at Nats Park. Last night, the Nats had the sacks packed with none out in the fourth and failed to score. Tonight, they had the bases juiced with one out in the first, with a chance to pounce all over Zack Greinke, who hadn't allowed a...

After posting such a high batting average at two levels of the O's minors this year, how well will the 26-year-old Cuban outfielder, Henry Urrutia, hit major league pitching? It's a good question, and there is no formula that can truly take a player's minor league stats and project what they will be in the major leagues. In some cases, the major league stats can be better. Take Manny Machado, for instance. Last year in 109 Double-A games, he batted .266 with 26 doubles, 11 homers, 59 RBIs,...

The Nationals had hoped to have Ross Detwiler back in their rotation coming out of the All-Star break, ready to go after missing some time due to a lower back strain. Now, barring a surprise development, Detwiler, who last pitched July 3, won't be appearing in a major league game until after the current 11-game homestand. Detwiler threw a bullpen session today, but it was a brief one. The left-hander threw just 20-25 pitches, and manager Davey Johnson said pitching coach Steve McCatty...

The promise of first baseman Adam LaRoche making a quick turnaround and returning to the field tonight is not going to happen. LaRoche is recovering from flu that will keep the veteran out of the starting lineup tonight for a second consecutive game. Nationals manager Davey Johnson said LaRoche might be available only to deke Dodgers manager Don Mattingly into using another pitcher in the late innings. Of course, if Mattingly reads this blog, that probably won't happen now. "Adam is real...