As could be expected, Drew Storen has had a few hiccups since coming back from elbow surgery, which wiped out his entire first half of the season. A little over two weeks ago, Storen gave up four runs and registered just a single out in an outing against the Giants, turning a 2-1 Nationals deficit into a 6-1 ballgame. Since then, however, Storen has really started rounding into form. He's had six straight scoreless outings, spanning 5 2/3 innings, and hasn't allowed a single baserunner over...

Nationals prospect Matt Skole was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Year today, after racking up 27 home runs and 92 RBIs for the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns this season. Skole told reporters in Zebulon, N.C., what an honor it was to receive the Most Valuable Player award. "I was really excited. It felt great," he said. "I was happy for myself and the way I played in that league. It is a very prestigious award." The 2011 fifth-round selection out of Georgia Tech played 101...

Zach Britton is on a bit of a roll right now. He is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.25 over his last three starts after giving up just one run in eight innings today in a win over the White Sox. Britton set a career high with 10 strikeouts and didn't walk a batter. His previous career best was seven against Los Angeles on Sept. 17, 2011. "I felt real good the whole game, even in the second inning," Britton said. "I made some pretty good pitches, just a little up in the zone. I was able to get down...

Twice this season, the Orioles have taken a four-game series from the Chicago White Sox, who continue to lead the American League Central. Reason to be proud? "It is for today," manager Buck Showalter said following a 5-3 victory at Camden Yards. "There's another challenge starting tomorrow." That challenge takes the Orioles to the Bronx, where a three-game sweep would put them in a first-place tie with the Yankees in the American League East. Zach Britton, optioned after the game,...

Jesus Flores is behind the plate for the Nationals tonight as they kick off a four-game set with the Cardinals, while St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina has returned to the lineup after missing one game with upper-body strains resulting from a violent home plate collision. A night after Kurt Suzuki hit his first homer as a National, he'll back Flores up. Neither catcher has faced Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia in their career. It'll be Garcia and Edwin Jackson on the mound tonight in the...

Minutes after earning his fourth victory by holding the White Sox to one run over eight innings, left-hander Zach Britton was shipped back to the minors. It's a tough business. The Orioles optioned Britton to Triple-A Norfolk. They will announce on Friday that they've signed left-hander Randy Wolf, who threw today in the Camden Yards outfield. Britton is 4-1 with a 4.80 ERA in eight starts with the Orioles this season. He's posted a 1.25 ERA in his last three starts, covering 21 2/3...

The Orioles announced after today's game that left-hander Zach Britton has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Britton is 4-1 with a 4.80 ERA (45.0IP, 24ER) in eight starts with the Orioles this season. He has won his last three starts, pitching to a 1.25 ERA (21.2IP, 3ER) with five walks and 21 strikeouts in that time, including a career-high 10 in today's game. A corresponding move is expected before tomorrow's series begins in New York.

A stunning power display at the plate and a strikeout display on the mound combined to provide the Orioles with a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox this afternoon at Camden Yards, as the Orioles won three of four in this series and completed a 5-1 homestand. The Orioles improved to 72-58 and head to New York for a big three-game series, trailing the first-place Yankees by three games. Chicago starter Jose Quintana retired the first eight batters today before the Orioles struck for five...

If they could just play a day game and have it decided by a single run, the Orioles would probably have a great chance for a win. The Birds are 24-12 in day games this year and a major league best 24-6 in one-run games. But now that they have a 5-1 lead on Chicago, they probably aren't interested in a one-run game. The Orioles put together a stunning power display with two outs and no one on in the last of the third today. They went solo homer by Taylor Teagarden, double by Nick Markakis,...

Not many people showed up for it today, but what did you expect? The Orioles may have their smallest crowd of the season, but it's not expected to be a record-low. The fans who maneuvered around all the road closures to get here today just saw Taylor Teagarden hit his second home run, a solo shot with two outs in the bottom of the third inning that tied the score, 1-1. Nick Markakis and J.J. Hardy followed with back-to-back doubles and Adam Jones hit his career-high 26th homer for a 4-1...