The Nationals were certainly pleased to win 2-1 over the Chicago Cubs on Monday. And getting to 82 victories for the first time since arriving in D.C., and guaranteeing a winning season, is a nice milestone. But there are no banners waving or confetti falling from the ceiling. No balloons or noise makers. C'mon, 82 wins! Celebration time, right? Not quite. Veteran first baseman Adam LaRoche, who hit home run No. 25 for the Nationals' first run, said getting to 82 victories is...

With a bullpen assist, Joe Saunders' second Orioles start sure went a lot better than his first. He picked up his first win with his new team today as the Orioles beat Toronto 4-0 in Game 1 of a three-game series. Coupled with New York's 4-3 loss on the road vs. Tampa Bay, the Orioles moved to within one game of first place in the AL East. Saunders took a perfect game into the last of the sixth. But with two outs, an Adeiny Hechavarria single ended the no-hit bid and gave Toronto its first...

Last week, against all common sense, I tuned my radio to a sports talk station. The host, supposedly a native of Rockville who claimed he knew the area, added his voice to the ad nauseum discussion of the pending end of Stephen Strasburg's brilliant 2012 season. His point: Nationals fans have been supportive of general manager Mike Rizzo's decision on Strasburg because "D.C. just isn't a baseball town." He claimed "real" baseball fans - like those in New York, St. Louis and Boston...

Ross Detwiler is through four scoreless innings having thrown just 52 pitches. Talk about being aggressive in the zone. That's the way to attack most lineups, especially this soft-hitting Cubs order. The Nationals lead 1-0 after four thanks to Adam LaRoche, who blasted his 25th home run of the season in the second inning. The ball came down in the second deck in right. It was struck fairly well. LaRoche has been battling a sore back lately, and he was held out of the Nationals' starting...

This afternoon, the Orioles are trying to win at a ballpark that has often been a house of horrors for them - Toronto's Rogers Centre. The Orioles are just 7-33 in their last 40 games there. During this season though, the Orioles have won seven of nine road AL East series. But one of the two they lost was in Toronto, when they were swept by an 18-9 score May 28-30. In fact, since winning their first two games there this year, the Orioles enter today with a four-game Rogers Centre losing...

Right-handed power arm Christian Garcia is the ultimate example of resiliency. The 6-foot-5, 215 lb. reliever has endured a pair of Tommy John surgeries and has fought all the way back to have an amazing season in the Nationals' system. Garcia allowed only five earned runs in 45 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse. He allowed just two earned runs with the Chiefs. He was selected by the New York Yankees in the third round in 2004, the 99th pick overall, and stayed with...

The Orioles are in the process of scheduling an MRI for Chris Tillman, who left yesterday's start at Yankee Stadium after three innings because of an "achy" and "dead" feeling in his right elbow. With today's holiday, it's more likely that Tillman will undergo the MRI on Tuesday morning at the earliest. Tillman retired the last four batters he faced yesterday and left with the Orioles trailing 2-0. He was 6-1 with a 3.67 ERA and five quality starts in his last eight outings. The...

Sean Burnett's recent struggles might be injury related. Davey Johnson said today that his left-handed reliever has been dealing with some irritation in his throwing elbow, the same issue that he went through earlier this season. The plan for now is to rest Burnett for a couple days and hope that the elbow improves. Johnson said Burnett will not undergo an MRI. "He's had a little bit of irritation in there," Johnson told reporters. "So we're staying off of him." Burnett, who had...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled right-hander Tommy Hunter from Double-A Bowie and selected the contract of left-hander Zach Phillips from Triple-A Norfolk. To make room for Phillips, the Orioles designated right-hander Jason Berken for assignment. Hunter has gone 4-8 with a 5.95 ERA (121.0IP, 80ER) in 23 games (20 starts) over four stints with the Orioles this season. In five minor league outings (four starts) between Norfolk and Double-A Bowie, Hunter was 3-1 with a 3.07...

It's hard to fathom that it's been 17 years since Sept. 6, 1995, when Camden Yards was at the center of the baseball universe on the night that Cal Ripken Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive game. That night, Cal broke a record set by the Yankees' Lou Gehrig that was once believed unreachable. Seeing The Iron Man one-up The Iron Horse was nothing short of magical, and there may have been more electricity buzzing through the ballpark for that game than on any other in Baltimore baseball...