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...

Will this be the night that the Orioles see one of their starting pitchers go seven innings or more? Will Jason Hammel become the first in 2013 to do that? Hammel may be the most likely of the O's starters to get that done. The longest outing by an O's starter is 6 2/3 innings, with Hammel doing that on April 7 against Minnesota. Chris Tillman equaled that on Monday against Toronto. The Orioles remain the only team in Major League Baseball yet to have a starter go seven or more. Hammel is...

A week's worth of frustration is all spilling out in the early innings tonight. The Nationals have put up six runs through the first three innings against the Reds, and they have a 6-0 lead. Jayson Werth said yesterday that the Nats had been neither lucky nor good during their recent slide. Tonight, they've been both. The Nats have seven hits, three for extra bases. Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa both homered in a four-run third inning, with Espinosa's shot plating Adam LaRoche, who had...

The Nationals chose to open the season with just one left-hander in their bullpen, and that's the way things will stay for the time being. Despite the Nats having a bullpen ERA of 4.48 over 64 1/3 innings, 21st in the majors, general manager Mike Rizzo is happy with the current construction of the 'pen. Zach Duke is currently the lone left-hander, but the Nats have a number of righties (Tyler Clippard, Ryan Mattheus and Craig Stammen among them) who have good reverse splits, meaning...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled left-hander Zach Britton from Triple-A Norfolk. Britton, 25, has gone 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA (13.2IP, 3ER) in three starts with the Tides this season. The left-hander is 16-14 with a 4.74 ERA (214.2IP, 113ER) in 40 games (39 starts) in the major leagues since 2011. With this move, the Orioles' 25-man roster is now full.

The Orioles confirmed that they have recalled left-hander Zach Britton from Triple-A Norfolk. He's available in the bullpen tonight. Nate McLouth is back in the leadoff spot tonight, which comes as no surprise. Over his last five games, McLouth is batting .462 (6-for-13) with six walks and six runs scored. In the leadoff spot, McLouth is batting .321 (17-53) with 11 walks. McLouth is second in the American League in walks by a leadoff hitter behind Oakland's Coco Crisp (14), but Crisp has...