Taylor Teagarden is catching today. Matt Wieters found out he was getting the day off as bench coach John Russell began posting the lineup on the magnetic board outside the clubhouse. Manny Machado moves up to sixth for the second time in his major league career. For the Orioles: Nate McLouth LF J.J. Hardy SS Wilson Betemit DH Adam Jones CF Chris Davis RF Manny Machado 3B Mark Reynolds 1B Robert Andino 2B Taylor Teagarden C Wei-Yin Chen LHP For the Rays: Desmond Jennings LF B.J. Upton...

Manny Machado's defense at third base has been very solid since he got to Baltimore on Aug. 9. He has certainly surprised some people with a flawless move over the diamond from short. But has he surprised himself with how well he has done there? "I wouldn't say I'm surprised, but you know I'm athletic, and I'm a shortstop. It's a tough adjustment, but I think I've been doing it pretty well," Machado said before yesterday's game with Tampa Bay. "Whenever I have time, I go out there...

At 8 1/2 games up in the division, it would take a momentous collapse for the Washington Nationals to lose it. Think about it this way. If the Nationals go 9-10 in their remaining games to finish with a record of 98-64, the Braves would have to win every game to win the East outright or go 17-1 to tie. As commanding as the Nationals' lead is, nothing is over. Every one of the Nationals' remaining opponents are over .500 and in the hunt for the wild card, the two most dangerous being the...

Whenever I was asked to make a prediction for the 2012 season, I would point out how the Orioles could approach .500 if the rest of the division came down to them. How they couldn't afford injuries to key players. How their young starters needed to take the next step forward. Pretty much the same thing I said in 2011 and 2010. I didn't claim to be breaking new ground. Well, the division came down to the Orioles. I got that one right. But they haven't avoided injuries and their young...

Bring the magic numbers down another couple notches. The Nationals keep grooving while seemingly everyone else around them in the National League with the exception of the suddenly unstoppable Phillies (what's up with those guys?) is faltering. With last night's win over the Mets and another Atlanta loss, the Nationals' lead in the NL East is up to a season-high 8 1/2 games and their magic number to win the division is now 11. Toss in another Dodgers loss, and Washington's magic number...

This must be pretty exciting for Nate McLouth. Batting .140 and let go by the Pittsburgh Pirates in late May, now he's batting .279 and leading off for the Orioles and tonight getting mobbed by his teammates after a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth provided a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay. "This is neat," McLouth said. "Almost daily you can kind of sense and feel the excitement growing. The crowds, it's almost like a college football crowd to to be honest with you. It's been neat to...

Make a great defensive play in the top of the ninth. Single and score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Just another night for Manny Machado, who at this time last year was leading Frederick to a Carolina League championship. Machado had just about everyone in the Yard marveling at his play that got the last out of the Tampa ninth. He charged in to field a slow roller off Evan Longoria's bat and then made a fake throw to first, spun around and threw back to third. Rich Thompson had...

The Orioles and Yankees remain in a first-place tie in the American League East, with both teams winning by one run. The Orioles are 26-7 in one-run games after tonight's 3-2 victory over the Rays. A win tomorrow will allow the Orioles (80-62) to end their streak of 14 consecutive losing seasons, but the bar has been raised so much higher. Nate McLouth's walk-off single scored Manny Machado, but it was the rookie's play at third base to end the top of the ninth that prompted the first...

This and that as the Nationals earned their 89th win of the season in a 2-0 win at New York against the Mets: • Pretty amazing to think Tyler Moore had played first base his entire career and had two games in left field at Triple-A Syracuse before being promoted to the Nationals. Now with Michael Morse laboring with a sprained wrist, Moore's play in left field, and that forward thinking the franchise had to work him in the outfield at instructional league last season, are paying...

On a night when the two teams struggled often to get a clutch hit, the Orioles got two big ones in the last of the ninth to beat Tampa Bay 3-2 in front of 26,076 at Camden Yards. Manny Machado led off the inning with a single to left off Kyle Farnsworth and moved to second on Robert Andino's sac bunt. Then Nate McLouth ripped a single off the right-field wall down the line to give the Orioles a walk-off win and put them three games ahead of the Rays. Jim Johnson pitched the top of the ninth...