Orioles manager Buck Showalter is rooting for one of his starters to go seven innings just so he doesn't have to address the topic during every postgame media session. It's a hot topic among reporters. Probably a few fans, too. Wei-Yin Chen has come pretty close, going 5 2/3, 6 1/3, six and six innings this season. He's turned in three straight quality starts. He's allowed three runs or fewer in all four. At the risk of slowing his roll, I'll point out that Chen allowed one baserunner...

How good was Jordan Zimmermann tonight? He was facing a Reds team that had scored the second-most runs in the National League coming into the game, and he held them scoreless. Six of his nine innings lasted just 10 or fewer pitches. He faced 30 batters and threw just 32 balls. You can do the math. That's impressive stuff. "I felt great. This is the best I've felt in a long time," Zimmermann said after his first career compete-game shutout. "A really good slider tonight and a good...

Tonight was Davey Johnson's 268th game as manager of the Nationals. In his mind, the previous 267 starting pitching performances simply don't compare to the one put together by Jordan Zimmermann tonight in a 1-0 win over the Reds. "Since I've been here, that's the best-pitched game I've seen," Johnson said. "Low pitch count, really went after 'em. Never had any qualms at all about letting him hit (in the bottom of the eighth). Even if there was a runner on third and nobody out, I'd...

Catcher Kurt Suzuki loves being a part of a game like Friday night. He worked with his pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, as the right-hander allowed a leadoff single by Xavier Paul in the third inning and nothing else in a 1-0 complete-game shutout for the Nationals. Suzuki had a feeling early on that Zimmermann could do this. It was Zimmermann's second complete game of the year, matching his effort April 15 at Miami. "You can kind of tell," Suzuki said. "It was similar to the game in Miami....

The Orioles have a red-hot hitter sitting on their bench tonight. Nate McLouth is 4-for-8 with two doubles, three RBIs, three walks, five runs scored and three stolen bases in his last two games. He's 8-for-18 with two doubles, four walks, eight runs scored and four stolen bases in his last five games. McLouth has really thrived atop the order, but he's not in tonight's lineup against the Oakland Athletics. Nick Markakis is batting first. Nolan Reimold is starting in left field. Manager...

There have been 13 Reds hitters that have stepped to the plate tonight. One has reached base. Twelve have gone back and had a seat in the dugout. Jordan Zimmermann is dealing here at Nationals Park tonight. The right-hander has faced just one over the minimum through four innings, with a single by Xavier Paul in the top of the third accounting for the lone baserunner. Zimmermann has needed just 41 pitches thus far. He's notched three strikeouts, including one of fearsome Reds slugger Joey...

BOWIE, Md. - Nice home debut for Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia. Playing in front of the Double-A Bowie Baysox fans for the first time here tonight, the 26-year-old Urrutia smoked a solo homer over the center field fence on the first pitch he saw in this game. Urrutia, batting .316 with one homer and five RBIs in his first five Baysox games since joining the team a week ago, led off the last of the second against Harrisburg right-hander Brian Broderick and hit it out to give Bowie a 1-0 lead....

Craig Robinson, the actor probably best known for his role as Darryl from "The Office," is here at Nats Park today to throw out the first pitch. Call me when Dwight Schrute shows up in a mustard-colored short-sleeve button-down to do the same. When Roger Bernadina delivered a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning last night, he finally broke his way into the hit column this season, tallying his first base knock of the season after starting the year 0-for-16. "I kind of forgot how to get...

BOWIE, Md. - It has been an interesting first few weeks of the season for Double-A Bowie's Caleb Joseph. He has been hitting the ball very well for the Baysox, but has had just two starts as a catcher, which was his regular position until this year with the O's organization. But now, after starting 11 times as a designated hitter, three at first base, once in left and twice behind the plate, Joseph is moving back to more catching duty and he got that word recently from Orioles minor league...

One of the many reasons the Nationals are successful on the field and can maintain that tempo throughout a season is the relationship between their manager and general manager. Manager Davey Johnson said he's on the same page with general manager Mike Rizzo when deciding what happens on the field. "He is the best GM I have ever had in a lot of respects," Johnson said. "I like that he is smart and that he played second base. He was a scout. He surrounds himself with intelligent people....