It was nearly one of the most thrilling, electrifying wins of the season, and if it had come to fruition, it would have clinched the Nationals a playoff spot in dramatic fashion. Down six, with six outs to go and three of their key hitters out of the game, the Nationals went on the comeback trail, bringing 12 men to the plate in one inning, tying the game and sending Nats Park into a frenzy. "It was an awesome inning to be a part of," said Michael Morse, who had a home run and a two-run,...

June 16: Tyler Moore crosses home plate ahead of the tag but is called out by home plate umpire Tim Timmons. September 15: Adam LaRoche is ruled to have come off the bag by Marvin Hudson. The runner is called safe and the following batter, Jason Heyward, hits a two-run, game-tying homer. September 19: Home plate umpire Alan Porter forgets to watch Matt Kemp running to home as Ryan Zimmerman makes the tag on Adrian Gonzalez. The umpires decide to award the Dodgers with an additional run. Every...

The Orioles are getting a much-deserved day off in Boston. They've played 29 innings in the last two nights. They have plenty stored up. Only one starter is confirmed for their weekend series, with Miguel Gonzalez pitching on Friday. Chris Tillman is expected to start Saturday or Sunday. The Red Sox are countering with Jon Lester, Aaron Cook and Felix Doubront, who are a combined seven games below .500. Cook has the lowest ERA at 4.93. Doubront is the only one in the group who's above...

Just when you thought this might go 18 innings again, Adam Jones hits a game-winning homer. With one out in the top of the 11th, Nate McLouth singled off Seattle's Josh Kinney. Jones followed with a two-run shot to left and the Orioles had a 3-1, 11-inning victory over the Mariners to sweep this series. This is the Orioles' first three-game sweep in Seattle since May 16-18, 1997, the last year they made the playoffs. For Jones, it was his 30th homer and 19 of them have either tied the game...

Jesus Flores had a pretty good view of the controversial play in the fourth inning tonight when home plate ump Alan Porter incorrectly called Matt Kemp safe at home. When Ryan Zimmerman placed a tag on Adrian Gonzalez for the third out of the inning, Kemp was still a good distance away from Flores and home plate. And the Nationals' catcher says he was blown away by what he saw as a "terrible call." "I didn't know they were arguing about the play, because when I saw Zimmerman tagging...

When home plate umpire Alan Porter ruled that Matt Kemp had touched home plate before Ryan Zimmerman tagged out Adrian Gonzalez for the final out of the fourth inning, it didn't seem like a huge deal. The Nationals were already trailing 5-0 at the time and starter John Lannan had been knocked out of the game. Kemp's run just added another tally onto what seemed like a lopsided affair. Turns out, that run ended up playing a major factor in the outcome of today's game. And Davey Johnson...

In his first appearance with the Nationals since June 30, right-hander Chien-Ming Wang fought back from a first offering wild pitch to go 2 1/3 innings against the Dodgers on Wednesday night in Game 2 of a doubleheader. The Nationals eventually lost the game 7-6. He had been active since September 4, when he returned from a lengthy rehab assignment at Double-A Harrisburg. Wang had allowed 12 total runs in his final two minor league appearances. But Wednesday, manager Davey Johnson said Wang...

The Orioles news seems to run together, but I seem to remember a conference call being set up at the Winter Meetings for new coach DeMarlo Hale, formerly of the Boston Red Sox. I didn't know much about Hale, but I've learned that he's one heck of a third base coach. Hale hasn't gotten much heat on this blog. Third base coaches can be lightening rods. They're too passive or they get too many runners thrown out at the plate. Hale will never be mistaken for passive. He's pretty...

Josh Beckett had pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. Davey Johnson had essentially thrown in the towel, taking Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche and Jayson Werth out of the game. It sure looked like the Nationals were going to have to wait another day to lock up a playoff spot. Well, maybe not. Six Nats runs came around to score in the bottom of the eighth, turning a laugher for the Dodgers into a fantastic ballgame. Twelve Nats came to the plate as they smacked two homers...

In John Lannan's first three major league starts this season, he allowed a total of five earned runs, pitched to a 2.41 ERA and earned the win in all three games. I was starting to believe the Nationals would be best off just running Lannan out there every day. You can't argue with guy who wins every time he takes the mound, can you? It wasn't the same Lannan out there today. And there's no chance Lannan moves to 4-for-4 in the win category. The lefty went just 3 2/3 innings, allowing...