On September 17, 2005, the Nationals stood at 77-71 and had a 5-0 lead entering the bottom of the ninth against the San Diego Padres. Since entering the All-Star break with a record of 52-36 and 2 1/2-game lead in the National League East, the Nationals had fallen back to fourth place and stood eight games back in the division. The wild card was vaguely in reach, but it would take a near miracle run to claim it. If they could take this series against the Padres, they could get back in the race....

In case you didn't happen to see it, reliever Miguel Batista called his squad "the best team in baseball" after last night's game. Yes, the same Miguel Batista who allowed two huge runs over two-thirds of an inning in yesterday's 4-3 Nationals win. Yes, the same Miguel Batista who suits up for the New York Mets, who are currently a game above .500 and eight games back of the Nationals in the National League East. "Right now they're playing good baseball, but I don't believe they're a...

Adam Jones is certainly hitting better against left-handed pitchers this season. That came in handy last night when he hit a two-run homer in the first inning against Francisco Liriano. It was all the offense the Orioles would get in a 2-1 win over the Twins. Jones hit four homers all of last season in 153 at-bats against lefties. This year, he has six in 93 at-bats against southpaws. He averaged a homer every 38.3 at-bats last year against the lefties and that mark is one every 15.5 at-bats...

First baseman Adam LaRoche has nothing scientific in his approach to facing Mets knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey on Thursday. He won't be studying multiple DVDs on the lack of spin to the knuckleball or break down every aspect of his at-bat. LaRoche said you have to keep it simple because there isn't anything similar than facing a pitcher as unique as Dickey. "I remember facing (Tim) Wakefield just a handful of times and thinking, 'This is pretty good,' after not seeing it every...

The Orioles have an early game today before flying to Cleveland to continue their road trip. They had to "sleep fast," as manager Buck Showalter likes to say. You'll get the lineup quicker than usual on a Thursday, but until then ... Showalter told MASN's Gary Thorne before last night's game that he hoped Tommy Hunter's familiarity with catcher Taylor Teagarden from their days in Texas would prove beneficial. He mentioned their bond. Hunter had a 4.58 ERA in six career major league...

The move isn't official just yet, but the Nationals will place catcher Jhonatan Solano on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique and recall Sandy Leon from Double-A Harrisburg to serve as their backup catcher. Leon played one game (well, four innings, really) with the Nats this season before suffering a high-ankle sprain on a play at the plate, landing him on the DL. He's expected to be with the Nationals for Thursday's 12:35 p.m. start. Davey Johnson got a kick out of Tuesday's...

Nationals closer Tyler Clippard was cruising along in his new role until the last few games. He had converted 14 of 14 save opportunities, but had one somewhat shaky outing in Miami. Then, returning home, Clippard has allowed five runs in the last two games. On Wednesday, Clippard notched his 15th save by striking out the side in the ninth. But he also allowed a pair of solo homers to the Mets' David Wright and Jason Bay. Clippard said that can happen when you go out and attack with...

As much as the Nationals might not enjoy facing the Marlins, they apparently love squaring off against the Mets. The Nats improved to 6-2 against the Mets this season with tonight's 4-3 win. For the time being, the Nationals move to four games up in the National League East, with the Braves still battling the Giants down in Atlanta. Jordan Zimmermann got the win tonight, pushing his record above .500 for the first time this season. He's now 7-6 on the year and sports a 2.35 ERA, currently...

Reliever Brad Bergesen is in the process of boarding a flight to Chicago. He won't get into Baltimore until early tomorrow morning. Then he'll wait. Bergesen was designated for assignment this afternoon to make room on the 25-man roster for Tommy Hunter, who's starting against the Twins. If he clears waivers, he'll accept the outright assignment and board another flight to Syracuse, where Triple-A Norfolk will be playing. Bergesen could refuse the assignment, but he'd forfeit the rest...

The level of consistency that Jordan Zimmermann has delivered this season has been remarkable, if not a little freaky. Zimmermann has thrown five shutout innings again tonight, lowering his season ERA to a miniscule 2.37 and leaving him one frame short of his 19th straight outing of at least six innings. The Mets have notched just three hits off Zimmermann, two of which were bloops off the bat of David Wright. Zimmermann hasn't walked a batter, has struck out four and has needed just 77...