When Wilson Ramos strode to the plate with two on and two outs in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied 5-5, Nationals manager Davey Johnson turned to his bench coach, Randy Knorr. "He's had a good day," Johnson told Knorr. "He might as well just hit one out here." Ask, and you shall receive. In his first game off the disabled list after missing 44 games with a strained left hamstring, Ramos crushed a three-run, go-ahead homer off Brewers righty Brandon Kintzler, a long shot over...

It finally happened. The ground beneath our feet didn't freeze over. Dogs and cats aren't best friends. But Orioles center fielder Adam Jones did, indeed, draw a walk in the first inning. Jones' two-out free pass off White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana was his first since May 18. That's 43 games and 184 plate appearances - the longest stretch in baseball. He left Eric Hinske in the dust. The Orioles lost to the Rays that day, 10-6, at Camden Yards despite Jones going 2-for-4 with a home...

Over the last couple of months, Drew Storen has either been really good or really bad. During a 17-appearance stretch, Storen didn't allow an earned run in 16 of those games. Now, in his last two appearances, Storen has surrendered a total of seven runs. Today, it was the Brewers putting up three runs on Storen in the seventh inning, turning a 5-2 Nationals lead into a 5-5 tie. Storen allowed a solo homer to Yuniesky Betancourt with one out in the seventh, and after striking out Norichika...

Checking in with a few notes and stats as the Orioles play the series finale this afternoon in Chicago: * Here is a good stat for the Orioles: They are 8-3 when they play the third game of a series after splitting the first two as they have in Chicago. They have won five in a row in such situations. They are 3-1 at home and 5-2 on the road when the third game decides the series. * Now here is a strange stat: The White Sox are 8-7 against the AL East and 25-41 vs. the rest of baseball. * The...

Davey Johnson was asked why he flipped Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth in the batting order today. "I don't know. Because I'm supposed to do something," Johnson joked. The man knows what he's doing. Desmond and Werth are a combined 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in their new spots in the lineup, and Werth's run-scoring single in the first gave the Nats a lead that has only grown since. The Nats have a 3-1 lead after three innings, with Adam LaRoche, Werth and Ryan Zimmerman each notching...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter is batting shortstop J.J. Hardy fifth and second baseman Brian Roberts sixth for today's series finale against the Chicago White Sox. Hardy has batted fifth in 31 career games, posting a .231/.274/.346 line. Roberts has appeared in the sixth slot in four previous games during his career, going 2-for-2. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B J.J. Hardy SS Brian Roberts 2B Nate McLouth LF Nolan Reimold DH Taylor...

Happy Fourth of July from Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.! It wasn't always the case, but attending baseball games at Nats Park on Independence Day has become a tradition of mine. While I've lived in the District since 2005, I've been able to watch the Nationals as they've developed since their inception. It's been a staple of my summers. Just as being at Nats Park to watch baseball in the nation's capital on the day in which we celebrate our country's birth, heading down to the...

This week, the Baltimore Orioles got an early start on the trade deadline period and did not wait until late July to make a deal. Despite their 48-37 record as of this morning, the Orioles - as most know - have a need for starting pitching, like most teams. They rank 29th in the majors with a 4.41 ERA and obviously if the Orioles want to make a run for the postseason, the pitching situation must improve. The Orioles got some much-needed pitching help as they acquired right-hander Scott...

A sleep-deprived Davey Johnson is the best kind of Davey Johnson. Johnson was in rare form this morning when meeting with reporters before today's 11 a.m. game, ripping jokes - many of which were self-deprecating - and telling stories that even he admitted made him look a bit nuts. The ball got rolling when Johnson was asked why he decided to switch up his lineup by flipping Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth, putting the free-swinging Desmond in the No. 2 hole and Werth in the No. 6 spot. "I...

Catching a new pitcher for the first time might seem like a challenge. For Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, who returned from the disabled list today to form a battery with rookie right-hander Taylor Jordan, the new alignment might help keep his mind off the left hamstring injury that kept him out of the lineup since May 15. "It was a long rehab for me. ... I'm excited to be back," Ramos said Thursday morning in the Nats clubhouse. "For me, I feel like I can help the team a little bit. I...