ATLANTA - When Kurt Suzuki came over to the Nationals in the middle of last season after a trade with Oakland, there was one pitcher he was especially excited to work with. He had seen plenty of highlights of Stephen Strasburg on TV and had an idea what to expect from the Nationals' ace. He had already caught Gio Gonzalez when the left-hander was with the A's. There was another Nats starter with whom Suzuki wasn't too familiar. But one of Suzuki's former teammates with the A's, Josh...

If there's one theme that we as fans have seen with the Baltimore Orioles since last season, it is this: manager Buck Showalter will find a way for everyone on his team to contribute. It seems that there is a different player contributing on a daily basis for the Orioles to attain another postseason berth; however, so far, in the first month of the 2013 campaign, one player has stood out to me. Well, it is not Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Chris Davis, nor Matt Wieters - it's Nate...

Jordan Zimmermann's 2-0 win over Atlanta last night helped the Nationals snap the team's nine-game losing streak against the Braves. It's already apparent that the Nats have a few growing pains in their transition from the 2012 season to 2013, but that's the thing about baseball - you never quite know exactly how a singular game is going to shake out, let alone an entire season, until it's all said and done. What's great about Zimmermann's success this season thus far is that his work...

Chris Tillman is making his second career start tonight against the Los Angeles Angels, and his first in their home ballpark. Considering that he's an Anaheim native, this is a pretty big deal. He may have to beg teammates for their spare tickets. Tillman owns a victory against the Angels. He allowed three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings on Aug. 14, 2009. That's it. One start, one win. Tillman has only faced three current Angels. Josh Hamilton is 0-for-6 with three strikeouts against him,...

Taking a look at some questions and, as always, seeking your answers to some Orioles topics this morning: Why is Adam Jones struggling on defense? He seems to be getting some poor jumps, poor reads and sometimes running poor routes. Not a good combination. Jones can be a lightning rod for criticism and those waiting for some material to criticize are getting it. It seems almost every ball hit his way these days is a tough chance, but they are plays with a degree of difficulty that we have...

Well, that could have gone better. Adam Jones again had some tough defensive plays that he failed to make. Wei-Yin Chen lasted just four innings. The Orioles' offense failed to score over the first five innings against Aaron Harang, who entered with an ERA of 11.37. Seattle beat the Orioles 8-3 tonight to take the series finale and snap the O's streak of four straight series wins. They were looking to win five consecutive series for the first time since 1999. Jones could not haul in...

Tonight's game had been largely forgettable until the Orioles scored twice in the sixth inning, but we should hold onto the memory of Zach Clark making his major league debut. Clark will turn 30 in July. He agreed to terms on a professional contract while standing with scout Dean Albany in the parking lot at UMBC. It wasn't a hard negotiation. He settled for a cool $1,000. The Orioles interrupted Clark's eighth minor league season yesterday by recalling him. And here he is, pitching in...

ATLANTA - Twice already this season, Jordan Zimmermann has taken the mound with the Nationals riding a three-game mini losing streak and gotten things back on track. Tonight, it was eight stellar, two-hit innings from Zimmermann that propelled the Nats to a 2-0 win over the Braves, their first victory against Atlanta in their last 10 tries. "We needed that one bad and he went out there and pitched a blueprint game," manager Davey Johnson said. "That was outstanding. Some good fastball...

WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman looked back to 100 percent health on the field, his hamstring returning to full strength, during his rehab assignment with the high Single-A Potomac Nationals on Wednesday night. "Everything went great," Zimmerman said. "It was good to get back out there. Everything felt fine so I will work out tomorrow at the stadium and fly to Pittsburgh tomorrow night. "I came here and got ready for a game (doing) everything that I would...

Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen hadn't allowed a run in his last 13 innings before tonight. He fell behind 1-0 in the first after a line drive fell in front of center fielder Adam Jones to spark the Mariners' two-out rally. He fell behind 3-0 in the second after Jesus Montero tripled on a ball that bounced off the heel of Jones' glove as he raced to the warning track. It could have been a whole lot worse in the first. Chen threw 28 pitches, the last a called third strike on Dustin Ackley...