The Nationals leave Philly and head to Miami for the final series before the All-Star break trailing by six games in the division. They snagged just one of the four games against the Phillies this week, leaving them with a 47-45 record. Five games above .500 is the best the Nats can hope for heading into the break, and with the Marlins playing much better ball of late (they're 20-17 since a 13-40 start), you can no longer guarantee a series win when they're in the opposing dugout. Some...

Manny Machado hasn't even completed his first full season in the majors, and it's already difficult to discern which of his defensive efforts qualifies as "the play." Until Sunday, it was the pump-fake-to-first-throw-to-third showing against the Rays from last season; then he went gunning down the Yankees' Luis Cruz last week on an off-balance throw from foul territory to one-up himself. Manny does more than doubles. Machado's efforts are part of an overall defensive renaissance in...

Danny Espinosa was 6-for-64 with 33 strikeouts over his first 19 games after he was sent to Triple-A Syracuse by the Nationals. Espinosa, 26, was initially placed on the disabled list and, after a minor league rehab stint, was optioned to the Chiefs on June 19. As Nats general manage Mike Rizzo explained at that point, in an interview on 106.7 the Fan, the 2008 third-round pick was there to work on his swing from both sides of the plate. "Once we feel that he's ready and capable to perform...

In terms of possibly adding a starting pitcher via another trade, it appears, at least for now, that the Orioles are taking a wait-and-see approach. They want to see how their rotation looks with recent acquisition Scott Feldman and the return from the disabled list of Wei-Yin Chen, who got the win Wednesday night. That was the indication Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette gave when asked yesterday if the club is still pursuing another starter right now via a trade. "We added...

PHILADELPHIA - Denard Span's night got off to a rough start from the get-go. He sent a pop-up foul leading off the first inning, only to have Chase Utley's error give him another shot in the at-bat. He then shot a liner at Utley, who skied to make the catch and rob Span of a hit. In his second at-bat, Span laid down a bunt that he thought rolled foul. He stood near the batter's box for a couple seconds until he saw that the ball had stayed fair and was going to be turned into an easy 2-6-3...

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado didn't get a hit in four at-bats last night. He also didn't get his blood pressure up due to another expanded strike zone. Machado's been ejected only once this season for arguing balls and strikes - say the magic word and win a seat in the clubhouse - but he's nearly bitten through his tongue to avoid others. The frustration may not show on his youthful face or his demeanor, but it's churning inside of him. "I had a little sitdown with him the other...

The Orioles couldn't make it through the night without another roster move. The club announced that it optioned pitcher Josh Stinson to Triple-A Norfolk. A corresponding move will be announced on Friday. Stinson, 25, didn't appear in a game after being recalled yesterday afternoon as the bullpen replacement for Kevin Gausman. He had one previous stint with the Orioles this season, allowing five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in an April 24 start against the Blue Jays. The Orioles chose to...

PHILADELPHIA - It might be a little deceiving when you look at the box score and see the Phillies committed four errors behind starter Kyle Kendrick tonight. One of those errors came on a dropped foul pop-up. Two came on one play with the bases empty. Another came on a diving stop by third baseman Michael Young, who stole a single and then handed Kurt Suzuki two bases. Still, the fact of the matter is that the Phillies committed four errors and the Nationals didn't turn any of them into a...

The Orioles announced after tonight's game that they have optioned right-hander Josh Stinson to Triple-A Norfolk. Stinson, 25, had one previous stint with the Orioles this season, making a start against Toronto on April 24, allowing five earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched in a no-decision. He did not appear in a game after being recalled yesterday. A corresponding roster move will be announced before Friday's game.

When the Nationals promoted second baseman Anthony Rendon to the majors, it meant the next edition of their top prospect list will change a bit at the top. Rendon was the No. 1 prospect, so his promotion elevated right-hander Lucas Giolito and outfielder Brian Goodwin on the list. Baseball America executive editor Jim Callis believed that Giolito and Goodwin were definitely at the top of the list of Nationals prospects, but his new list won't come out until after the season. In my opinion,...