Shortstop Ian Desmond went 0-for-11 in his return from a left oblique strain that forced him to miss 25 games on the disabled list. But in the last two games Desmond has returned to his All-Star form with home runs in his first at-bat.
Desmond smacked a two-run shot off of Braves' starter Tim Hudson in the first inning Monday, capping a four-run inning that gave the Nationals a 4-1 lead. He finished with two hits in the 13-inning marathon.
On Tuesday, with rain pouring down, Desmond...
If the Orioles are going to win tonight's game against the Rangers, they will need their bullpen to step up again.
Darren O'Day tripped after replacing Chris Tillman with two outs in the seventh. He walked Ian Kinsler and gave up a single to Elvis Andrus.
Pedro Strop replaced O'Day with Josh Hamilton representing the go-ahead run. He fell behind 2-0 on 97 and 96 mph fastballs, got a called strike with a 97 mph fastball, fell behind 3-1 with a 98 mph fastball and threw three straight...
Nate McLouth isn't your prototypical No. 3 hitter, but Nick Markakis shouldn't be batting first if we're playing by those rules.
McLouth scored the Orioles' only run tonight in classic small-ball manner. He walked with two outs in the top of the first inning, stole second base, took third on a throwing error by Rangers catcher Geovany Soto and scored on a wild pitch by Scott Feldman.
(Yes, I think of the Seinfeld bizarro world episode every time I hear Feldman's name.)
Soto didn't do...
Prior to the rain delay, which hit in the third inning, Stephen Strasburg had struck out four hitters over 2 2/3 innings, much of that in the pouring rain.
He sat around for 51 minutes as the tarp sat on the infield, but that time away from the mound didn't slow him down. If anything, Strasburg came back from the delay even stronger than before.
Since the delay, Strasburg has been absolutely filthy. He's struck out six of the eight hitters he's faced; three swinging, three looking.
All of...
Mother nature is trying to work her way into the National League East pennant race.
For the third straight day, we've got a rain delay at Nationals Park. Sunday's delay lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours, last night's game was delayed 56 minutes and now we'll have to wait and see how long we're stuck with the tarp on the field today.
The delay started at 7:43 with the Nationals leading the Braves 1-0 with two outs in the top of the third.
Ian Desmond got the Nats on the board in a pouring rain...
It's a stat that probably doesn't lend itself to a solid, reasonable explanation, but for an Orioles team that is having a good season, they are not a good team in the first game of a series.
They lost the series opener in Detroit, before winning the next two and they lost the opener in Texas last night. The Orioles are just 16-24 in the first game of a series this year (8-12 at home, 8-12 on the road) In the remaining games, the O's are 50-32 (24-17 at home and 26-15 on the road). That...
Another Stephen Strasburg start, more questions about The Shutdown.
They've become expected at this point. Death, taxes, lengthy rain delays at Nats Park and questions about the Nationals' decision to go into the playoffs with Strasburg watching from the dugout.
I've had numerous conversations, dating all the way back to spring training, with people both within and outside the organization about the reason why the team didn't decide to somehow stretch Strasburg's innings out so that...
Despite using all seven relievers in Monday's 5-4, 13-inning marathon win over the Atlanta Braves, Nationals manager Davey Johnson said they will all be available for Tuesday's Game 2.
Even Craig Stammen, who went two full innings, will be available.
"He is probably good to go too," Johnson said. "He is the strongest one out there."
Johnson said the bullpen, which includes three lefties and four right-handers, will be ready if needed after Stephen Strasburg tonight.
"They are all...
Shortstop J.J. Hardy is back in the Orioles' lineup tonight, and Omar Quintanilla is back at second base.
For the Orioles:
Nick Markakis RF
J.J. Hardy SS
Nate McLouth LF
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Chris Davis DH
Mark Reynolds 1B
Omar Quintanilla 2B
Manny Machado 3B
Chris Tillman RHP
For the Rangers:
Ian Kinsler 2B
Elvis Andrus SS
Josh Hamilton CF
Adrian Beltre 3B
Nelson Cruz RF
Michael Young DH
David Murphy LF
Geovany Soto C
Mitch Moreland 1B
Scott Feldman RHP
The Orioles have lost...
08/31/12 12:30 PM Massachusetts @ Connecticut (DB - HD) MASN HD
09/08/12 12:00 PM NC State @ Connecticut (Live - HD) MASN2 HD
09/08/12 3:30 PM Howard @ Rutgers (Live - HD) MASN2 HD
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09/22/12 4:30 PM South Florida @ Ball State (Live - HD) MASN HD
09/22/12 7:30...