PITTSBURGH - I've managed to make it through a two-city road trip without losing my cell phone charger, which for me is a remarkable feat. I'm quite proud of myself, if you couldn't already tell. The Nationals have reason to be proud of themselves, as well. They finish this road trip, one which started with two more tough losses to the Braves, by winning four of their last five and scoring at least five runs in consecutive games for the first time since April 10-11. Yup, it had been...

So many moments from yesterday's game jump out at me as I replay it in my head. And the best part is I can mentally fast-forward through the commercials. Jason Hammel throwing 38 pitches in a three-run first inning and still making it through the sixth to improve his record to 5-1. It was a gritty performance. A lot of pitchers would have been gone by the third. J.J. Hardy homering for the second time in two games. He's got four two-hit games since April 26. Maybe his bat is finally heating...

It's not conventional wisdom for a major league team to "get healthy" on the road, and even less conventional for it to happen against a hot team, but that's just what seems to have happened to the Nationals as they wrapped up their 4-3 road trip. In Pittsburgh, where the Nats have not won a series since 2010, the Nats took two games from a Pirates team that had won six of nine, including a series win over St. Louis. And they did it behind several players whose contributions this season...

The Nationals' offense is certainly not where it wants to be. But it is making progress. One way to achieve the consistency it needs for the team to be a contender is for every player in the lineup to be healthy at the same time. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman returned Friday but now right fielder Jayson Werth is suffering from hamstring tightness. Werth hopes to be back in the lineup when the two-game series with the Tigers opens up Tuesday at Nationals Park. But the biggest trend recently...

Dylan Bundy has started his prescribed six weeks of rest after getting a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection last Monday in his right forearm/elbow area from orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews in Gulf Breeze, Fla. An MRI on Bundy's right elbow came back clean. PRP is blood plasma that has been enriched with platelets and stimulates the healing of bone and soft tissue. Zach Britton received a PRP injection last spring because of chronic soreness and weakness in his left shoulder. To...

Maybe it wasn't quite as dramatic as his ninth-inning homer at Fenway Park earlier this year but Manny Machado's latest homer was a big one today for the Orioles as they beat Los Angeles 8-4 in the finale of an 11-game west coast road trip. The Orioles went an impressive 7-4 on the trip, going 3-1 each at Oakland and Anaheim sandwiched around a 1-2 series in Seattle. Down 3-1 after the first inning, the O's tied the game 3-3 on J.J. Hardy's two-run homer in the fourth. But Los Angeles...

PITTSBURGH - Seven batters into today's game, the Nationals looked to be heading for a disastrous conclusion to their seven-game road trip. Bryce Harper had already been ejected. Gio Gonzalez's first pitch of the game had been crushed into the left field seats by Starling Marte, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. Ryan Zimmerman committed his fifth throwing error of the season. Gonzalez had the bases full with Pirates and nobody out. Things could've gotten out of hand in a hurry. Instead,...

Knowing Jason Hammel, he's going to pick apart his start today and give himself a failing grade. He's a harsh critic. Hammel needed about two hours to get through the bottom of the first inning - and that's only a mild exaggeration - but he made it through six innings and is in line for the win. Hammel gave up four runs and nine hits, walked three, struck out five and threw a wild pitch. He threw 107 pitches, and most of them seemed to come during that marathon first inning. Three of...

PITTSBURGH - The Nationals beat the Pirates 6-2 this afternoon, taking two of three from Pittsburgh and wrapping up a winning road trip. Danny Espinosa drove in three, Tyler Moore hit a three-run homer in the eighth and Gio Gonzalez bounced back from a rough first inning to throw six solid innings. The highlight we'll see all over the national TV highlight reels tonight, however, will involve Bryce Harper, who was ejected in the first inning for arguing a checked swing that was ruled a third...

PITTSBURGH - Given the way Adam LaRoche has been swinging the bat the last few days, and the way Tyler Moore has struggled to put the bat on the ball the last couple days, you can't really blame the Pirates for intentionally walking LaRoche to get to Moore with first base open in the top of the eighth inning. Just like yesterday, Moore was off to a rough start today, striking out in all three at-bats this afternoon, all three looking. But after falling behind in the count 0-2 with two...