LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - It looked for a second like the Braves were going to tie tonight's game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Jordan Parraz singled up the middle just behind the second base bag. Joey Terdoslavich (boy, what a name that is) made a turn around third and was ready to head for home, but Nationals second baseman Will Rhymes made a diving stop of the ball, hopped to his feet and kept Terdoslavich at third. One pitch later, reliever Jeremy Accardo got Elmer Reyes...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Jordan Zimmermann has been working on his changeup for three years now. He's struggled to get a good feel of the pitch in the past, had issues finding the right arm action and searched for the proper velocity to maximize the changeup's effectiveness. Zimmermann didn't trust his changeup last year, and therefore threw it just 2.2 percent of the time. And now? "It feels really, really good right now," Zimmermann said following tonight's start against the Braves....

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Tyler Clippard took a while before getting into a spring game, but once he did, he looked just like his old self. Clippard pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning tonight, striking out Christian Bethancourt swinging for the second out of the frame. The right-hander threw nine pitches, seven for strikes. He threw three changeups, by my count. That pitch is still nasty, even on March 1. We got a bit of a surprise in the sixth when Anthony Rendon trotted out to shortstop to take...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Bryce Harper put the Nationals on the board just three batters into tonight's game at Champion Stadium, smacking an opposite-field home run off Braves starter Julio Teheran. The wind is blowing out to left here tonight, and a ball that looked like it might come down feet short of the fence ended up landing on the berm just beyond the wall. It's Harper's first home run of spring and makes him 7-for-11 on the Grapefruit League season. The reigning National League...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Every time the Nationals make the trip here to face the Braves, I look forward to watching Bryce Harper take batting practice, assuming he's on the trip. About 20-40 feet beyond the right field fence here, there's a castle-like tan wall that stands maybe 20 feet tall. I'm not really sure what purpose it serves, but it's out there, and it serves as another target for the heavy-hitting Harper. Harper has no problem clearing the Champion Stadium right field fence...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Based on all we know about Anthony Rendon and the makeup of the Nationals' roster, it was probably safe to assume that Rendon has no shot at making the team out of camp this year. After all, Rendon has only 133 career professional at-bats under his belt, and he batted just .162 in 21 games at Double-A Harrisburg last year, the highest level he saw in 2012. Rendon, the Nationals' top pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, has battled injuries for much of the last...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Nolan Reimold made the decision to remove himself from today's game before he batted in the bottom of the second inning. As it turned out, he was allowed to hit and responded with a long home run. The at-bat easily was the best part of his brief day. Reimold said he's going to take a "day or two off from throwing" because of soreness in his right shoulder that, obviously, doesn't impact the way he swings a bat. "I just had a little bit of shoulder soreness and this is...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Did Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts have fun today? "Every day's a fun day on the field," Roberts replied with a smile. Roberts is just happy to be playing again, and going 3-for-3 with a home run today simply added to his joy. "It's been too many days in the training room. Baseball's fun when you can get out there and play. It's definitely been good so far." Roberts homered to right field leading off the bottom of the first inning. He singled to left in the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Today's game ended with Orioles first baseman Steve Pearce throwing out the Pirates' Jordy Mercer at the plate on an infield hit. Orioles 6, Pirates 5. The news on Nolan Reimold is fairly encouraging. Reimold was removed from today's game after hitting a home run in the second inning because of a sore right shoulder, according to manager Buck Showalter. Reimold apparently notified Showalter of his condition before stepping to the plate. Showalter doesn't believe that...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Pirates scored a run in the third, fourth and fifth innings off right-hander Mike Wright, reducing the Orioles' lead to 4-3. Matt Wieters delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, but Gaby Sanchez hit his second home run of the day leading off the top of the sixth, this one off left-hander Mark Hendrickson. Wright is the first pitcher to work three innings for the Orioles this spring. Brian Roberts' home run was his first since April 13, 2011. Tip of the cap...