Orioles manager Buck Showalter has another decision to make tonight regarding his starter at second base. Yamaico Navarro started three straight games before stepping aside last night for Alexi Casilla, who made two dazzling plays in the field and also singled and scored from first base on Nick Markakis' double. "Alexi put on a show at second base," Showalter said afterward. "What a game he had. My gosh. He was impressive." Casilla is 0-for-2 against Phil Hughes, who starts tonight for...

Last season, Jim Johnson blew three saves in 54 chances, while this year, he's blown three consecutive opportunities. The Orioles closer is scuffling and the team is stuck in a season-worst six-game losing streak. Johnson has allowed eight earned runs in his last three appearances and has watched his ERA jump from 0.95 to 4.22. Arguably one of the best at his craft a season ago, Johnson is a unique breed of closer. He doesn't overpower hitters or record high strikeout totals; he forces...

The end of a tough road trip may not be the right moment, but the time is coming for the 2013 Nationals to fish or cut bait. The basic facts were laid out in a USA Today article Monday that cited the Nationals' offense as 29th in batting average and OBP, and 27th in runs scored among major league teams. It did not get better last night as another struggling pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong, found his A-game against the Nationals, crafting a three-hit shutout over five innings before leaving with a...

The frustration is building. And it's not being put to a productive use. As if yesterday's 8-0 loss wasn't enough, a loss that dropped the Nationals to a 23-22 on the season, manager Davey Johnson told reporters after the beatdown at the hands of the Giants that reliever Ryan Mattheus, one of the Nats' key setup guys, broke his right hand Sunday evening when he punched a locker. Mattheus had allowed five runs in an inning of work Sunday, more than doubling his ERA, sending it to 4.96. He...

Of course, Jim Johnson is going to be the main topic of conversation for Orioles fans today - and he will be in this blog entry, too. But first, a few other points to make. Of the five relievers the Orioles used last night, three gave up runs and a fourth let in an inherited runner. The batters went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. A runner was at second base in the last of the ninth with two outs, but the O's couldn't come up with the hit to produce the walk-off win. The blame...

Sunday's game was pretty ugly. This one rivaled it. The Nationals dropped a 13-4 decision to the Padres on Sunday and followed that up with an 8-0 blowout loss to the Giants tonight in the first game of a three-game set. Zach Duke gets stuck with the loss after allowing four runs over 3 1/3 innings in a spot start, but he was far from the only Nationals player to underperform tonight. Craig Stammen surrendered two runs on seven hits over 2 2/3 frames. Henry Rodriguez gutted his way through...

The Orioles will activate Miguel Gonzalez from the 15-day disabled list this afternoon and hand him the ball tonight at Camden Yards. Nobody is asking me about Gonzalez, but I'm getting plenty of inquires about other players. And I keep getting them. The same ones. On this blog and via Twitter (@MASNroch). That's why I created "Because You Asked" and all of the sequels. You ask, I answer. You ask again, I answer again. It's the School of Roch dance. And as always, please keep your hands...

Making his first big league start since July 10, 2011, Zach Duke could go just 3 1/3 innings tonight, and as we go to the fifth inning, Duke and the Nationals trail the Giants 5-0. Duke didn't pitch incredibly poorly tonight, allowing just one extra-base hit in his spot start, but the Giants just base-hit him to death. They put up seven hits on Duke, knocking the veteran left-hander from the game. Craig Stammen came in to relieve Duke and allowed three runs (two of which were charged to...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't ready to change closers after Jim Johnson's third consecutive blown save. Asked if there was any doubt that he would go right back to Johnson tonight in another save opportunity, Showalter replied, "Come back tomorrow and watch it again." "He was one pitch away," Showalter said after the Orioles' 6-4, 10-inning loss to the Yankees at Camden Yards that extended their losing streak to six games, their longest since May 26-June 1, 2012. "It's tough....

After talking about his recent struggles after tonight's game Jim Johnson was asked about the Orioles' losing streak that has reached six games. "Three of them are my fault," he said. "The other guys do their job. If I do mine we are not standing here. I think everyone is doing a great job, I'm not pulling my weight, but I'll figure it out. "Ball was up. That seems to be a common theme lately. Not making an adjustment. I'm doing everything to work though it and just need to execute....