Nate McLouth stole two more bases for the Orioles in the series-opening game at Oakland on Thursday night. He now has seven steals on the year in eight attempts. McLouth is tied for second in the AL right now with those seven steals with Oakland's Coco Crisp, trailing only Jacoby Ellsbury of Boston with 10. At that pace, he would steal 51 bases this season. The club record is 57 by Luis Aparicio in 1964. While McLouth may not keep up this pace or threaten Aparicio's single-season record,...

Coming into this season, what type of team did you envision the 2013 Washington Nationals being? You probably didn't see the Nats hitting a collective .235 or getting on base at a .299 clip. I'm guessing you didn't see them leading the majors in errors and sitting dead last in fielding percentage. There's a good chance you didn't see the reigning National League East champions ranking in the bottom half of the league in team ERA. Yet entering last night's ballgame, that's where the...

Jason Hammel picked up his third win. Chris Davis hit his eighth homer with two RBIs, while Nick Markakis and Nate McLouth drove in two runs each tonight as the Orioles beat Oakland 10-2 in the opener of a four-game series. The win was impressive for a few reasons: * It started badly for the Orioles, who allowed two unearned runs to fall behind 2-0 in the second inning. That inning saw J.J. Hardy and Manny Machado both commit errors and Adam Jones misplay a fly ball into a double. The...

Jason Hammel was at 80 pitches through five innings tonight. Seemed like a pretty good bet to become the first Orioles starter to make it through the seventh. Not anymore. Hammel needed 24 pitches to complete the sixth and strand two runners. That's 104 pitches. Manager Buck Showalter shook Hammel's hand in the dugout. It's up to the bullpen now - except for closer Jim Johnson, who has pitched in three straight games and needs a break. Hammel threw 113 pitches in his last start against...

The Orioles' streak of 17 consecutive extra-inning victories ended with Wednesday's 6-5 loss to Toronto. The Orioles matched the 1949 Cleveland Indians for most consecutive extra-inning victories in major league history. I reviewed the box scores from all 17 games and came away with the following facts and figures: * The average number of innings played per game during the streak fell just shy of 12 (11.82352941176471, to be exact). The longest game of the streak by innings played was 18...

No need for anyone to get Danny Espinosa any birthday gifts. He gave himself the best present he could ask for tonight. On his 26th birthday, Espinosa delivered two clutch knocks, helping power the Nationals to a much-needed 8-1 win over the Reds. "I always feel like during the season I typically struggle on my birthday," Espinosa said. "In the minors, I was always hot in the first month, and my birthday would come around and I'd suck on a big 0-for-4." Not tonight. Tonight, Espinosa...

Manager Davey Johnson has harped on it the last couple of starts for his top-of-the-rotation guys. Stephen Strasburg and Thursday's starter, Gio Gonzalez, have been unable to consistently get ahead early in at-bats at the start of games. It has ended up hurting their results. They began the season a combined 2-5. Last season, they combined for 36 wins. On Wednesday, Strasburg failed to get a strike on the first pitch in the first frame. The Cardinals put up three runs on three hits and went...

While Davey Johnson might not enjoy having to sit down with reporters and answer questions about his team's performance after every single game, you can bet that experience was a bit easier to take tonight than it had been the last four days. Johnson's Nationals smacked 12 hits and picked up an 8-1 win over the Reds tonight, snapping a four-game losing streak and getting back on track after what had been a fairly trying week for the guys in the Nats' clubhouse. "Real satisfying," Johnson...

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy popped up to end the second inning tonight and strand Chris Davis, who drew a walk off Oakland right-hander Jarrod Parker. Hardy is in 2-for-20 and 4-for-33 slumps that have lowered his average to .177. He did produce a hit in the 10th inning yesterday that almost won the game for the Orioles, but Rajai Davis threw out Manny Machado at the plate. Hardy's average dropped from .269 in 2011 to .238 last season, and manager Buck Showalter vowed to remove him from...

The Nationals have picked up general manager Mike Rizzo's option for 2014, a team source confirmed tonight. Rizzo and the Nationals are in negotiations on a long-term extension, the source said, but there is no immediate need to get a deal done. In addition to his 2014 option, Rizzo also has an option for 2015 written into his contract, which was signed after the 2010 season. MLB.com first reported that the Nats had officially picked up Rizzo's option. The Washington Times initially...