High Single-A Potomac right-hander Nathan Karns turned in another sterling performance Sunday for the P-Nats. Karns, with a career high 11 strikeouts in his longest outing of his career, worked eight innings in a 7-1 victory over the Wilmington Blue Rocks from Woodbridge, Va. The 24-year-old Karns (2-2) allowed only two hits and just one run in his fourth start with Potomac, dropping his ERA from 4.15 to 3.00 and making a case to win Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the second...

Lost in the late-inning dramatics of yesterday's 2-1 loss to the Orioles might be the performance of Ross Detwiler, who worked five shutout innings before giving way to the bullpen. It was Detwiler's first start in nearly a month, and he battled through an inconsistent strike zone and some fatigue late in his outing to give the Nationals a strong effort. "I've got to tip my hat to Det. Det pitched a gutty ballgame," manager Davey Johnson said. "He went to his maximum pitches, he gave us...

The three contests played by the Orioles and Nationals this weekend were more like soccer matches, as fans watched for small shifts in momentum amid long scoreless stretches. Each team had their scoring chances, but it was the sudden, late scoring strike by Matt Wieters on Sunday that tilted the series toward Baltimore. What made it work for the Orioles, however, was how well their three best starters matched up well against the bottom three in the Nationals rotation in a series that was all...

I love how Orioles fans have raised the bar. There's utter panic in the streets because the Orioles' 63 errors are the most in the majors and their bats come with a frost warning. But I just checked the standings this morning and they're still in second place in the American League East. They trail the Yankees by 2 1/2 games. They're 10 games above .500. They're talking about being buyers at the non-waiver trade deadline. If you had told me back in March that I'd be typing the above...

Off-days are nice for a lot of reasons. For the Orioles today, it means resting Matt Wieters after he caught a day game after a night game and had a big day at the plate. It means a chance for the Birds to rest at home before beginning a tough series against some great pitching, including the arms of C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver. It allows the 'pen, which has been called on often, a day to recuperate in some measure before having to face rookie sensation Mike Trout and some guy named Albert...

Some thoughts, notes and stats after a weekend of mid-Atlantic region hardball at Camden Yards: Good news for the Orioles: To me the biggest development of the weekend for the Orioles was seeing Jake Arrieta pitch a third straight good game. I know he gave up a grand slam in New York but the guy has otherwise been pretty rock solid over his last three outings. In those three, he has pitched 20 innings, allowing 18 hits and six earned runs with three walks to 18 strikeouts. Arrieta has a 2.70...

If you were wondering what allowed Ryan Zimmerman to finally look like Ryan Zimmerman today, there's an answer to that. For the first time in quite a while, Zimmerman wasn't playing with discomfort in his right shoulder. Before today's game, Zimmerman received a painkilling shot in the shoulder. It was a trial run of sorts. The Nationals were hoping to find something which would allow Zimmerman to continue playing but find some semblance of the offensive production that he typically...

The Nationals' relievers have been spectacular this season. Tyler Clippard, Sean Burnett and Craig Stammen - to name a few - have performed as well as they have at any point in their careers. But given the number of tight ballgames the Nationals have played and one-run leads their bullpen has had to protect, finishes like today's will happen. Burnett, who came into the ballgame with a stellar 1.04 ERA on the season, was tasked with holding a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning. Six pitches into...

Manager Buck Showalter almost kept Matt Wieters on the bench today before giving him another start behind the plate. Wieters could have rested for two straight days with an open date on the schedule tomorrow. And the Orioles could have lost today instead of rallying for a 2-1 victory on Wieters' two-run shot off left-hander Sean Burnett. Wieters was batting .400 against left-handers and .199 against right-handers. He singled off Nationals southpaw Ross Detwiler in the fourth inning and...

Matt Wieters was the man that produced the one swing that everyone will remember from today's 2-1 Orioles win, but after the game he said it was a lot of quality pitches that allowed the Orioles to give up just five runs this weekend and take the series from the Nationals. "That is the reason we were able to win two games," Wieters said. " If our pitching wasn't as good as it was this weekend, both our starters and bullpen, we wouldn't have had a chance in those games. "That falls on...