ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles pitcher Jake Arrieta vowed to continue working hard and not allow himself to get too down after a third straight poor outing resulted in his seventh loss. Asked what went wrong after retiring the first nine batters, Arrieta paused before saying, "Honestly, I'm not really sure. I was commanding the ball well. I wasn't able to get ahead of a few guys there in the fifth inning. They weren't hitting me. I was letting them on base for free. That's pretty...

Up with the Nationals trailing by a run in the fifth inning today, Bryce Harper smoked a ball high off the wall in right-center field. He could've come to a stop on second base, giving Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche a crack at bringing in the game-tying run. Instead, Harper made a turn for third and was gunned out on a strong relay throw from shortstop Andrelton Simmons. What say you, Davey Johnson? Was going for third the right play in that situation? "No," Johnson said, "and I talked...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter wouldn't promise that Jake Arrieta makes his next start, but he seemed to be leaning in that direction while meeting with reporters following today's 8-4 loss to the Rays. "We just got through this game here and we've got off-days," Showalter said. "We'll see what's best for Jake and the Baltimore Orioles, but that's the plan right now." Arrieta retired the first nine batters he faced, but walks proved to be his undoing. He issued...

Jake Arrieta continued to frustrate and baffle Orioles fans and likely Baltimore coaches as well again today. In his last start against Toronto, he retired the first six batters but then allowed runs in three straight innings. Today, he retired the first nine batters against Tampa Bay, but then allowed runs over the next two innings as the Orioles lost 8-4 to the Rays at Tropicana Field. Arrieta was not solely to blame for this loss as the Orioles made three more errors this afternoon and the...

The National League Pitcher of the Month for May couldn't get the job done in his first start of June. Gio Gonzalez wasn't able to get out of the fifth inning today, getting pulled after allowing a two-run single to Jason Heyward with two outs in the fifth. Heyward's knock put the Braves up 3-2 and forced manager Davey Johnson from the dugout. Craig Stammen came on and got the Nats out of a jam after walking catcher David Ross to load the bases. Gonzalez's day is done after 4 2/3...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Jake Arrieta retired the first nine batters he faced today, striking out three along the way. Then came the fourth inning, and a different set of results for Arrieta. Carlos Pena led off with a walk and B.J. Upton singled. We wouldn't have a historic day at Tropicana Field unless the Rays cracked 25,000 in attendance. Matt Joyce followed with a fly ball to center field to score Pena. Adam Jones sailed a throw over third baseman Steve Tolleson's head, allowing Upton...

The first home run of Steve Lombardozzi's major league career was a bomb. Lombardozzi, a wiry 23-year-old, crushed a Tommy Hanson fastball off the back of the wall in the Nationals' bullpen in right field, giving the Nats a 1-0 lead. It was a cool moment for Lombardozzi, who came into the Nats' dugout to a host of smiles and pats on the back from teammates and coaches. Then Bryce Harper had to go and top it. Harper absolutely demolished the first pitch he saw from Hanson, sending it at...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Catcher Matt Wieters is heating up. Wieters has collected four hits in his last nine at-bats, including his ninth home run today leading off the top of the second inning. Wieters hadn't homered since May 13 against Tampa Bay's James Shields. He hadn't homered from the right side all season. It's going to be a process for Wieters to fatten up his average. He's 11-for-73 in his last 22 games, taking his average from .300 to .237. But it's slowly on the rise. Maybe...

The Orioles have officially added Steve Johnson to the 40-man roster today and that obviously comes as good news to the Baltimore native who is having a solid year at Triple-A. Johnson had been on the disabled list since May 19 with a groin strain, but he came off the DL this weekend and is pitching right now for Norfolk in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Johnson is 1-3 with an ERA of 2.62 over eight games and has a batting average against of just .191. He has given up just 30 hits over 44 2/3...

The Nationals keep piling up the hardware. Gio Gonzalez has been named the National League Pitcher of the Month for May, after going 5-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 32 innings last month. Bryce Harper joins Gonzalez on the MLB press release, as the 19-year-old was named NL Rookie of the Month. Harper hit .271 with four home runs and 10 RBIs in May, and led National League rookies with 21 runs scored and four triples. These honors come after Stephen Strasburg was named National...