On Saturday, Nationals Park was awash in an unbroken sea of red jerseys and caps as 40,000 loyal fans came to enjoy baseball played in remarkably clear, crisp autumn weather. Much has been written about the disappointing attendance at Nationals games. Too much has been said about the preponderance of Philadelphia fans who overrun the loyal Washington rooters when their team is in town. Too many have said this is a football town and always will be. Put that teapot away, the tempest fugit. (From...

On Friday night, the Boston Red Sox come to town for the final home series of 2012's regular season. Friday is also the Sept. 28, which will mark the one-year anniversary of last season's spectacular finish to the regular season. I'll spare everyone the details yet again, however the act of Robert Andino hitting an RBI single to win it for the Fighting Showalters followed almost immediately by Evan Longoria hitting a walk off homer in St. Petersburg, Fla., is something that will not soon...

BOSTON - Rather than condense 18 innings into one game today, the Orioles will spread them out over two. Thank goodness for the expanded roster. The Orioles will play a doubleheader against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards after going 6-3 on their road trip, the finale ending in their third one-run loss this month and their ninth of the season. The Orioles were held to one run for the first time since an Aug. 29 loss to the White Sox. It was their lowest output on the road since a 5-1 loss in...

The Orioles and Yankees remain separated by just one game with 10 regular season games remaining. New York plays three at Minnesota, four at Toronto and then three at home with Boston. The Orioles play four against Toronto and three against Boston at home and then three on the road versus Tampa Bay. Here is how close things are: The Orioles just saw a six-game win streak snapped while New York had a seven-game streak end Sunday. The Yankees are 13-8 in September. The Orioles are 14-7. The...

It was an uneven defensive performance for the Nationals Sunday, as they committed two errors and lost two fly balls in the sun in a 6-2 loss to Milwaukee. Outfielders Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth each lost fly balls in the sun. The fly balls dropped to the ground in front of them for base hits. Harper said it was tough to see the ball as the afternoon sun moved through the sky. "You can't catch what you can't see," Harper said. "Nothing you can do about it. The sun monster got me and...

The Nationals held a "jerseys off their backs" promotion today, giving their game-worn jerseys to fans. The promotion was perfectly timed. "It was a good day to give the jersey away," Johnson said. "I don't wanna wear that one. That one was unlucky." You'd have a hard time finding a game the Nationals have played this season which was as sloppy as the one they played today. The Brewers hit few balls all that hard, but they still notched 15 hits. The Nats made two errors and lost two...

BOSTON - The bullpen phone rang and reliever Tommy Hunter answered it. That's how Dylan Bundy's major league debut got under way. Then it got complicated ... and comical. "Tommy Hunter answered the phone and told me I was going in. I said, 'What?' and I couldn't find my glove. Took me about a minute to find it," Bundy said. "He told me to get going, so I was like, OK, its happening, and I got loose as quick as I could." Bundy said he was ready when manager Buck Showalter signaled...

BOSTON - The Orioles lost and the Yankees lost. Same as it ever was - the Orioles still one game back in the American League East. Manager Buck Showalter covered many topics in his postgame session with the media, including starter Chris Tillman, rookie Dylan Bundy's major league debut and those darned shadows over home plate that challenged umpire Al Porter as much as the hitters. "(Tillman) gave us a really good chance," Showalter said. "If we had done a couple things defensively, he...

For the Orioles, a good road trip had a tough ending that produced a rare one-run loss. They fell 2-1 to Boston, but remained one game out of first place as the Yankees lost 5-4 to Oakland. The Orioles fall to 87-65 and their six-game win streak comes to an end. They are now 27-9 in one-run decisions. In the top of the ninth, the Orioles loaded the bases with one out, but Manny Machado grounded into a forceout at home and pinch-hitter Ryan Flaherty was called out on strikes to end the...

BOSTON - The wait is over. Dylan Bundy made his major league debut in the eighth inning with a runner on second base, one out and the Orioles trailing the Red Sox 2-1 after back-to-back doubles by Dustin Pedroia and Cody Ross off reliever Luis Ayala. Catcher Ryan Lavarnway flied to center on Bundy's second pitch, a 92 mph fastball. Danny Valencia flied to right on a 2-2 pitch, a 94 mph fastball, after Bundy threw an 84 mph cutter, 94 mph fastball, 83 mph cutter that produced an ugly swing...