Repeating a stat I dropped last night, the Nationals have now won two in a row and still have two more games against a Padres team that has lost seven straight by a collective score of 39-12. As if that didn't look good enough for the home team, the Nats will send their two top pitchers this season - Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg - to the mound in these next two games. The Braves, meanwhile, have lost three in a row. That leaves the Nats' deficit in the National League East at...

Outfielder Steven Souza is having an outstanding first half for Double-A Harrisburg, and his play has been rewarded with an invitation to the Eastern League All-Star Game on July 10. "It is an honor," Souza said recently. "It is going to be a fun experience. I just thank the lord for blessing me with such a good season and some good teammates to help me through the year. I am looking forward to spending it with my family and my agent." Souza is batting .280 through 48 games, with 11...

There have been a host of times over the last seven weeks where Gio Gonzalez has gone out, pitched a gem and been stuck with a tough-luck loss or a no-decision. In tonight's 8-5 Nationals win, Gonzalez threw 50 pitches in the first two innings, allowed eight runners to reach base in the first four frames and still got the win. Baseball can be a funky game sometimes. Gonzalez was able to minimize the damage early on, allowing just a run in the first and a run in the third, and then pitched...

For the immediate future, I think the Orioles need to make a change with their closer's role. I never thought I'd feel this way - not after seeing how good he was last year and most of this year, too - but I don't think the O's should use Jim Johnson if there is a save situation on Saturday. I am not saying Johnson should lose the job for good, but just for now. He is struggling to throw strikes and keep the ball down in the zone. Until he gets that back, it is just costing this team too...

NEW YORK - Manny Machado turns 21 today. No more jokes about not being able to legally order a beer. Machado's nine-game hitting streak ended last night. Has nothing to do with his age. Jim Johnson has walked 14 batters this season. He walked 15 in 2012. He's not getting the ball down, he's falling behind in the count and he's either walking batters or giving up hits. Anyone who's waiting for manager Buck Showalter to publicly criticize Johnson - say, during O's Xtra - knows nothing...

Since homering in dramatic fashion in his first at-bat off the disabled list, Bryce Harper has gone 0-for-18 with three walks and an RBI. Defensively, he's dropped two fly balls in the five games that he's been back in the Nationals lineup since returning from left knee bursitis. With Harper perhaps not 100 percent healthy and perhaps pressing from a mental standpoint, manager Davey Johnson says he's going to give his young outfielder the rest of the weekend off. "I think he's just...

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter was clearly agitated following tonight's 3-2 loss to the Yankees. Plate umpire Gary Darling's strike zone did nothing to improve his mood. It actually soured it. Asked to name a key play in the ninth inning, Showalter replied, "I'd look more at the other eight innings. I don't dwell on that. There were some things we could do to make it different. The umpires' calls are umpires' calls. What are you going to do? Strike zones are strike zones....

NEW YORK - Orioles closer Jim Johnson had 51 saves in 54 chances last season. He's already blown six saves this year, doubling the amount from 2012, to go along with seven losses. Johnson still began the night leading the majors with 29 saves, but he hasn't been the same pitcher. And he's being asked the same questions while standing at his locker. Tonight, it was his error while attempting to field Brett Gardner's bunt that compounded his problems. A four-pitch bases-loaded walk to...

We all know Chris Dickerson has contributed to this team. He is batting .269 with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs, but most importantly, he's half of this amazing handshake with Adam Jones.

NEW YORK - Miguel Gonzalez threw 92 pitches in the first five innings tonight at Yankee Stadium. Not the most efficient outing, but he continues to hold a 2-1 lead. Gonzalez walked the No. 9 hitter, David Adams, leading off the bottom of the fifth. Ichiro Suzuki doubled with one out, and the Orioles walked Robinson Cano intentionally with first base open. Cano was 0-for-2 tonight and 2-for-17 lifetime against Gonzalez, but the walk is pretty much an automatic move. It also proved to be the...