He has got one of the most famous brothers in all of baseball. He is a southpaw looking to make it to the majors. He has played for a national champion. But all the questions come back to his talented younger brother, Bryce. Left-hander Bryan Harper of the Hagerstown Suns says that is all good, because his dream is to someday join his brother with the Nationals. "I will at least have the opportunity to play with him at some point," Bryan said. "That is one driving factor. Obviously,...

If you want to talk about the changes, upgrades and improvements in the Orioles' minor leagues over the last, say, 10 or more years, Baltimore native Gary Kendall is a great guy to talk to. The 2013 season is his 14th in the Orioles' organization and he has managed at Bluefield, Delmarva, Aberdeen and Bowie. This will be his this third year as Baysox manager after he led the team to a record of 75-66 in 2011 and to a mark of 78-64 last year. In 2012, he guided the team to an Eastern League...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - I woke up and it hit me. This is my last morning in Florida until I make a return trip to The Trop. I left my house on Feb. 11. I have no idea if I'll be able to find it. The challenge will be to catch my 9:20 p.m. flight out of Tampa. Today's game begins at 3:10 p.m. I really can't afford one of those 18-inning thrillers, or five pitching changes in the top of the eighth inning. Should I be forced to leave before the final out, we'll never speak of it...

You might not know it by looking at his pitching line - or his batting line, for that matter - but Gio Gonzalez was battling a pretty bad headache during his 2013 regular season debut tonight. Gonzalez started feeling the headache prior to first pitch and relied on consistent massages on his temple from trainer John Hsu and some Advil in order to get through his six shutout innings in the Nationals' 3-0 win. "Every inning, all the way to the fifth, where it was constantly getting massaged...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tommy Hunter left a pitch over the middle of the plate tonight in the bottom of the ninth inning. Then came the slow walk to the clubhouse. Matt Joyce, who began the game on the bench, homered to right field to give Tampa Bay a wild 8-7 victory over the Orioles. Joyce got ahead 3-1 and evened the series. "He put a good swing on it," Hunter said after allowing the first walk-off hit of his career. "It was just not an executed pitch." Hunter retired the side in...

It was just one inning, but symbolically, it was crucial for Drew Storen. You could see the determination, focus and drive on the face of Storen these first few days during pregame warmups and you knew whenever his first game arrived it would be important for many reasons. Erasing the memory but learning from the experience of Oct. 12 in the National League Division Series against the Cardinals drives Storen, even though it's not something that is talked about every day. But Ryan Zimmerman...

The Nationals are red-hot to start the 2013 season. So is their hitting coach. The heater in the Nationals' tunnel serves an important purpose on a night when the temperature at first pitch was 45 degrees and dropped quickly. But for Rick Eckstein, the propane heater nearly did more harm than good. "He went down there and started talking to one of the hitters that was sitting close to the fire, and he was standing close to the fire," manager Davey Johnson said, a smile on his face after...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It could take hours to dissect all of the moments and decisions that helped to shape the Orioles' 8-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays tonight at Tropicana Field. We don't have that kind of time, so let's just get to the highlights. Wondering why Wei-Yin Chen was removed from the game after 5 2/3 innings and 84 pitches? "It was a good first start for him," said manager Buck Showalter. "He was a little up early but he made some adjustments and got the ball down and went...

What a wild game. What a bad ending for the Orioles. Matt Joyce hit a solo homer off Tommy Hunter leading off the last of the ninth as Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 8-7 to leave both clubs 1-1. Joyce entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh and had a key bunt single then. Last year, the Orioles were an AL-best 14-2 when the game was tied after eight innings. They were also 29-9 in one-run games but now are 0-1 in 2013. The Orioles bullpen allowed six runs in this game as the O's blew...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Well, that escalated quickly. Wei-Yin Chen left tonight's game after giving up a two-out RBI single to Ben Zobrist in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Orioles led 4-1, and Luis Ayala was called upon to get the final out. He got it, but not before Evan Longoria singled and Shelley Duncan mashed a three-run homer to left field. Orioles 4, Rays 4. Duncan hit into a double play and struck out against Chen, who's charged with two runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings,...