On Wednesday morning at McCormick Field in Asheville, N.C., 22-year-old 2011 third-round pick Matt Purke made his first start of the season for the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns. It was just the fourth professional start for the 6-foot-4 left-hander and one-time Texas Rangers first-round pick who failed to sign with Texas, went to college instead and suffered a shoulder injury, which caused his stock to drop and left him available for selection by the Nationals when the 96th pick of the 2011...

Another sign that the Nationals will surely move out of Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla., in the near future comes today courtesy of Florida Toady, the daily newspaper serving Brevard County (with a tip of the ol' ballcap to Federal Baseball). According to the paper, the Nationals have informed Brevard County commissioners of their intention to exit the facility as early as November 2014. The team's lease on Space Coast Stadium runs through 2017, but the Nationals can break the agreement...

The Orioles and Nationals wrapped up the 2013 edition of the Battle of the Beltways on Thursday night with the O's winning their third game of the four-game, split-stadium series. The series got me to thinking about the early days of this match-up and how much I'd forgotten since these two teams starting playing each other again. And then there's the stuff I never knew from the original days of Baltimore-Washington baseball. I took a look back at the first games between the two franchises in...

The only time that the Nationals were at or below the .500 mark all of last year was four games into the season, when they were the owners of a 2-2 record. That's not to suggest that the Nats' ride in 2012 didn't have some bumps along the way, because it definitely did. But one thing is certain - the first third of this year's ride has been a heck of a lot more turbulent than what we saw during the 2012 regular season. The Nationals are 27-27 after their first 54 games of the 2013...

Before Freddy Garcia pitched eight shutout innings last night, Orioles starting pitchers had pitched to an ERA of 4.90 on the year. That ranked 12th in the American League, ahead of only Toronto, Houston and Minnesota. Those three clubs are a combined 33 games under .500 and two of the three reside in last place. That is not the company the Orioles want to be keeping. But here is a stat to keep in mind: The Orioles' starting pitcher ERA was 4.77 last year at the All-Star break. The starting...

Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth got a bigger test on his sore hamstring and appears to have passed. Playing for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals for the second straight night, Werth went 2-for-3 with two singles, one RBI and one run scored in a 7-3 win over the Salem Red Sox. Werth had to make a pair of catches on flyballs in right field and ran the bases two times on his base hits. His final at-bat came in the sixth inning. Manager Davey Johnson had said Thursday in Baltimore that...

While the Orioles continue to rank at or near the top in several offensive categories, they've totaled the third-fewest strikeouts in the majors. Why is this stat significant? Well, the Orioles ranked sixth in the majors last season with 1,315 strikeouts. So, you know, they're not doing it as much this year. Last year, the Orioles struck out 449 times in 1,829 at-bats in their first 53 games. This year, they struck out 337 times in 1,866 at-bats in their first 53 games. The San Francisco...

BALTIMORE - After a 2-0 loss to the Orioles,= in which his team managed just three hits and played some shaky defense, Nationals manager Davey Johnson didn't have a whole lot to say. Johnson wasn't by any means curt with reporters after tonight's game, but he was brief when discussing the latest frustrating loss shouldered by his team, which now owns a .500 record. How brief? Johnson's postgame press conference lasted just 84 seconds. "We got a bunt and a broken-bat hit and one hard...

BALTIMORE - Freddy Garcia outdueled Dan Haren on Thursday night, but not by much. Garcia used his split-finger fastball "60 percent of the time," shortstop Ian Desmond estimated, and the pitcher was on target in beating the Nationals 2-0. But Haren (4-6) hung in there against one of the hottest-hitting offenses in the majors, allowing just two runs and taking the hard-luck loss. "(Baltimore has) an exhausting lineup, one through nine, anybody can get you," Haren said. "I am glad I threw...

Freddy Garcia last tossed at least eight shutout innings on Sept. 19, 2006 for the Chicago White Sox at Detroit. Tonight he matched that, blanking the Nationals on three hits over eight in the Orioles' 2-0 win. So what was working for him tonight? "Everything, man," Garcia said after his 113-pitch outing. "Good to go out there and perform the way I did and throw a lot of strikes. Don't walk anybody, the guys were making good plays and we scored when we needed it. "They've been hitting...