Another half-game has been chipped off the Nationals' lead in the National League East. Atlanta won again last night, beating the Marlins to move within five games of the Nats in the division. They're making a charge now. The Nats will get a chance to respond against a reeling Dodgers team which has lost eight of its last 11 games and is currently a game back of the second NL Wild Card spot. It'll be Jordan Zimmermann going against Aaron Harang tonight in the opener of a three-game set....

The Orioles welcomed Chris Tillman back to their rotation tonight by scoring seven early runs for him. Tillman may not have needed that many to once again beat the team that drafted him in the second round in 2006. Out since Sept. 2 with right elbow discomfort, Tillman gave up just three hits and one run over six innings as the Orioles routed the Mariners 10-4 in Game 1 of a three-game series. The Orioles improved to 83-64 with their 28th win in the last 41 games and moved to within a...

The Pirates must wonder why they didn't get this Nate McLouth in the first two months of the season. McLouth hit a leadoff home run tonight and added a single and walk, as the Orioles stormed to a 9-1 lead over the Mariners in the fourth inning. McLouth hit .140/.210/.175 in 34 games with the Pirates. He began tonight hitting .262/.335/.411 in 39 games for the Orioles, and he's got four home runs since they selected his contract from Triple-A Norfolk. Not a bad replacement for Nick...

The Orioles picked up tonight where they left off on offense Sunday in Oakland. A day after getting nine runs in a win over the A's, the Orioles scored three in the first inning and four in the second tonight to take a 7-1 lead after two innings at Seattle. It started with the first batter when Nate McLouth homered to right on an 0-2 pitch for his eighth career leadoff homer. Later in the inning, Mark Reynolds produced an RBI infield hit and Manny Machado plated a run with a single up the...

Earlier, in this space, I encouraged Nationals fans to enjoy the first season of rainbows in Washington since 1969. Well, after this past weekend's gruesome three-game sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, storm clouds have appeared on the horizon. The Nationals still hold baseball's best record, and their lead in the National League East over the Braves is at five games after Atlanta's 7-5 win over the Miami Marlins. As Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche recently said, "Any day you...

Only two months into this minor league season, I heard rave reviews from a couple of well placed sources about the progress of right-hander Nathan Karns. Finally healthy, after recovering from shoulder surgery that forced him to miss the 2010 season, Karns rolled through the 2012 season and earned Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors. He made a quick jump from low Single-A Hagerstown to high Single-A Potomac early in the season. And the Nationals didn't just pick Karns because he had a...

Let's point this out first about the Seattle Mariners: They may be a last-place team, but before anyone thinks the Orioles will walk right into SafeCo Field and rip off three easy wins, consider that the Mariners have the AL's fourth-best record since the All-Star break. .683 - Oakland (41-19) .607 - Orioles (37-24) .583 - Texas (35-25) .567 - Seattle (34-26) The Mariners also have the third-best ERA in the American League at 3.76, meaning that over these last three series the O's have...

On one level, the Orioles have already put 14 years of misery to rest by clinching their first winning season since 1997. Now they're seeking another first since that same year - a playoff berth. While it isn't a certainty with their final 13 games coming against AL East foes, the O's chances look good with a little bit of padding in the wild card standings and a narrow margin behind the Yankees for first place in the division. Baseball's playoff format is a little different from the last...

The Orioles' lineup again includes Chris Davis batting third as the designated hitter, Endy Chavez playing right field and Robert Andino starting at second base. It worked yesterday in Oakland. Manager Buck Showalter will hope for similar success tonight in Seattle. For the Orioles: Nate McLouth LF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 1B Manny Machado 3B Endy Chavez RF Robert Andino 2B Chris Tillman RHP For the Mariners: Ackley 2B Gutierrez CF...

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones has been named one of six finalists for the 2012 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, presented by the MLB Players Association to those who inspire others to higher levels of achievement by their on-field performances and contributions to their communities. The players will vote on Sept. 19. Past recipients of the award include Michael Young, Curtis Granderson, Torii Hunter, Albert Pujols and current Oriole Jim Thome, who could rejoin the team in Boston after...