During some rough patches in April, Nationals players and coaches kept saying it was early in the season and things would turn around. The mild frustration started to become a little more palpable as the team lost games and the offense had trouble with its consistency. But all that time, the Nationals stayed close to the .500 mark. And in the last week, that patience has started to pay off. With Wednesday's 3-1 win over Detroit, the Nationals have won three in a row and five of their last...

Is it too early to start checking the standings? If not, the Orioles and Red Sox are tied for first place in the American League East. The news that Brian Roberts will undergo surgery today on his right hamstring didn't send the Orioles scrambling for another second baseman. They acquired Alexi Casialla and kept Ryan Flaherty as insurance policies in case Roberts returned to the disabled list and was lost for an extended period. Manager Buck Showalter batted him ninth to avoid disrupting...

Getting Jim Johnson to talk about himself at any length may be harder than trying to hit Jim Johnson, who tonight tied the Orioles' club record with his 34th straight save. But in a rare moment for him, Johnson was asked about his pitching tonight and his evolution into a top closer. He is better at the job now, he feels, than he was when he first got the ball in the ninth. "I think it is more about knowing what kind of pitcher you are," Johnson said. "I do it differently than other...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter spoke to second baseman Brian Roberts for about 20 minutes today, going over the upcoming hamstring surgery and looking ahead to his eventual return to the lineup. "He's very frustrated by it, as we are, but Brian Roberts is going to come back and make a contribution to this club this year," Showalter said. "I've got a good feeling about that." Roberts will undergo surgery Thursday in Dallas to repair a muscle in his hamstring. His recovery time is an...

OK, so it wasn't a complete-game one-hitter. He didn't allow just two baserunners over eight innings. But Jordan Zimmermann turned in another gem tonight, and he did it against arguably the most dangerous offensive team in baseball. Zimmermann went seven innings, allowing just one run on seven hits. He walked two, struck out eight and lowered his ERA to 1.59. Over his last three starts, against the Reds, Braves and Tigers - all potent lineups - Zimmermann has allowed just one run on 10...

Jim Johnson put his name in the Orioles' record book tonight and Chris Tillman provided a fourth straight quality start in a 5-3 win over Kansas City at Camden Yards. Johnson pitched the ninth inning to record his 13th save in 13 chances on the year. It is his 34th consecutive save conversion, which ties the Orioles team record set by Randy Myers in 1997. Johnson's last blown save was July 30, 2012. Johnson has 71 saves since Sept. 7, 2011 to easily lead the majors in that span. With the...

The Orioles' bullpen turned in three scoreless innings tonight in relief of starter Chris Tillman to complete a 5-3 victory over the Royals before 12,344 at Camden Yards. The Orioles have their first four-game winning streak of the season. Troy Patton retired the side in order in the seventh. Darren O'Day struck out the first two batters in the eighth before allowing an infield hit to Eric Hosmer and hitting Lorenzo Cain on the leg. Brian Matusz entered the game to face left-handed...

Miguel Cabrera's incredibly impressive start to the season continues. Jordan Zimmermann's incredibly impressive scoreless innings streak comes to an end. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on Cabrera's RBI single to left, scoring Torii Hunter. Cabrera now has 37 RBIs on the season, best in the majors, and he's now batting .387, also tops in the big leagues. He's decent, I guess. That run is the first one Zimmermann has allowed in more than 20 innings. The...

For the third time in his last four games, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy has hit a home run. Hardy deposited an 80-mph slider from Royals starter Luis Mendoza inside the left field foul pole to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Matt Wieters led off with a single, continuing his recent tear, and Hardy followed with his sixth home run of the season. Wieters doubled twice and drove in three runs last night, including the game-winner in the eighth inning. Hardy has...

Maybe something has to give here tonight. Chris Tillman has pitched very well over his last three starts, but he has not pitched very well at all in three career starts against Kansas City. Tillman makes his seventh start of the year tonight. He is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA. Over his first three starts, his ERA was 7.07. Over his past three, he is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.31, allowing just 14 hits and three runs over 20 2/3 innings. In his career against K.C., Tillman is 0-2 with an ERA of 10.93. He's...