FLUSHING, N.Y. - Chris Young's fastball tops out at about 85 mph. He doesn't have a dazzling curveball or possess any dynamite secondary pitch. Still, he manages to keep the Nationals at bay. Including tonight's seven-inning performance in which he allowed just two runs, Young has pitched to a 3.00 ERA over 18 innings against the Nats this season. "Chris pitched against us the last few times and he's been tough," Ryan Zimmerman said. "He's done a great job keeping that ball right...

FLUSHING, N.Y. - For much of tonight's game, the Nationals couldn't touch whoever was standing on the mound for the Mets, Chris Young or otherwise. After the first inning, which featured a two-run homer from Bryce Harper, the Nats went seven straight innings without a hit and went eight innings without getting on the scoresheet. Then, they finally broke through in a big way in the 10th, pounding out six runs and grooving to an 8-2 win. "It was nice that the bats woke up," said a muted...

Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang displayed a signature performance Monday, earning the victory for Double-A Harrisburg, 5-1 over New Hampshire. Wang (1-1) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing just two hits, striking out six and walking none. He fired 85 pitches, 52 for strikes, and lowered his ERA to 1.74. It was his second Double-A rehab start and eighth overall in the minors. He faced 21 hitters and forced them into 12 groundouts and one flyout. "Wang had excellent sink on his best pitch," according...

Single-A teammates Michael Taylor and Nathan Karns have been recognized with Player of the Week honors in the Carolina League. Taylor was selected as the Hitter of the Week thanks to a 14-for-29 surge (.483) in seven games, with three home runs, eight RBIs and eight runs. One of the homers was a grand slam, giving Taylor a .931 slugging percentage for the week. He also had hits in eight consecutive plate appearances during the weekend against Myrtle Beach. Taylor is batting .245 for the...

It's been a while, but the Orioles have found their way back to Camden Yards after an eight-game road trip. And as usual, I'll set my GPS because I've totally forgotten how to get there. It's somewhere downtown, right? Wei-Yin Chen opposes Tampa Bay's Jeremy Hellickson tonight, as the Orioles' rotation tries to churn out its seventh consecutive quality start. Chen is 4-2 with a 3.32 ERA and five quality starts in nine outings at home. In his only career start against the Rays, back on...

FLUSHING, N.Y. - As the rain continues to fall, the Nationals and Mets continue to play. We're heading to extra innings, tied 2-2. A combination of Michael Gonzalez, Ryan Mattheus and Tom Gorzelanny held the Mets scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings, and we go to the 10th at Citi Field. Gorzelanny allowed a two-out double to Daniel Murphy in the ninth, but was able to retire Jason Bay on a grounder to third to end the inning. Ryan Zimmerman made a sparkling play on Bay's ground ball,...

Well, that was one frustrating loss. The Orioles got a sixth straight quality start but not a sixth straight win, losing 3-1 to Cleveland as they missed a chance to record their first four-game sweep there since September of 1971. Justin Masterson gave up one run and seven hits over 7 1/3 innings to get his seventh win. The Orioles had eight hits overall but went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Tommy Hunter gave the club his second straight solid start, but took the loss, despite...

The Orioles had a chance to either tie tonight's game in the eighth inning or put two runners in scoring position with one out. They chose something from column C. In case you missed it, Nick Markakis singled with one out, and Indians manager Manny Acta made a surprising pitching change, removing starter Justin Masterson and bringing in reliever Vinnie Pestano. Endy Chavez followed with a double in the left field corner, and Markakis ran through third base coach DeMarlo Hale's stop sign and...

FLUSHING, N.Y. - In his first trip to the Big Apple as a big leaguer, Bryce Harper didn't take long to make a statement. Harper smacked a two-run home run off Chris Young in the top of the first inning, giving the Nationals what's now a 2-1 lead. Welcome to New York, rook. It was Harper's first home run since all the way back on June 28. He had gone 81 at-bats without a homer prior to launching an 85-mph fastball from Young into orbit. Can we really call an 85-mph four-seamer a fastball?...

Ryan Flaherty picked up a hit in his fourth consecutive game tonight with a leadoff single in the top of the third inning. Flaherty has only one hit in each of those games, but the modest streak includes two home runs. He's also driven in four runs. At least for now, manager Buck Showalter is continuing to start Flaherty at second base against right-handers. He gave Omar Quintanilla the start at shortstop while keeping Flaherty in the lineup. It's a little strange seeing J.J. Hardy leaning...