As Ian Desmond's 23rd homer of the season sailed over the fence last night at Citi Field, I thought to myself, "Self, there's no way you could've seen this coming." Desmond hit .253 with eight home runs and a .656 OPS last season. Anyone that says they expected the Nationals' shortstop to be batting .295 with 23 homers and a .854 OPS and to have a suddenly near-flawless glove this season is lying to themselves. Given what he's done this season, Desmond is a sure candidate for the most...

Nate McLouth is doing a nice impression of Nick Markakis. Put anyone atop the order and they seem to heat up. Markakis batted .335 with 15 doubles, two triples, five homers, 28 RBIs, 34 runs scored and an .879 OPS as the leadoff hitter. McLouth has five hits in this series and is 10-for-23 on the homestand, raising his average to .279 with the Orioles. McLouth doubled with two outs in the third inning, again pulling the ball into the right field corner, but J.J. Hardy grounded out. McLouth...

After the Orioles' pitching staff gave up 31 runs in the four games of the Yankees series, the Birds staff has allowed just four in two games against Tampa Bay. In fact, the Orioles are 5-1 in their last six games against the Rays, allowing just eight total runs in those six games. The starters had gone six consecutive games without a quality start, pitching to an ERA of 6.67 in that time, until Miguel Gonzalez delivered one last night, allowing just two runs over six innings. When the...

The Orioles have won their 80th game. Let that sink in for a minute. What else is there to say? With a sweep today, the Orioles will finally end the 14-year losing streak that has plagued this team, its fans and the city of Baltimore. Confederate money, 30-3, Jeff Maier, Raffy -gate, Mazzilli, The Mother's Day Massacre, Armando Benitez, Omar Dhal, BJ Ryan, Kurt Ainsworth - all will be wiped away. The Orioles can no longer be lumped together with the laughing stocks of sport. No longer can...

The Orioles' rotation gained another confirmed starter today. Left-hander Zach Britton will start Saturday in Oakland, leaving Sunday's starter as the only mystery in the three-game series. Left-hander Joe Saunders will take the mound on Friday. Chris Tillman said he hasn't been told when he'll get back into the rotation. It could be Sunday in Oakland or Monday or Tuesday in Seattle. Jason Hammel is undergoing his MRI this morning, and the Orioles hope to have the results before they...

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...