On the night of June 14, the Orioles played the Pirates at Camden Yards. They scored 12 runs in that game and went 8-for-17 when batting with runners in scoring position. It is kind of hard to believe, but in the 10 games since, they have a total of just five more hits with runners in scoring position. Here is the rundown with RISP since that game: 6-15 vs. Atl: 0-for-6 6-16 vs. Atl: 3-for-5 6-17 vs. Atl: 0-for-3 6-18 vs. NYM: 0-for-0 6-19 vs. NYM: 0-for-9 6-20 vs. NYM: 0-for-5 6-22 vs....

Right-hander Henry Rodriguez continues his path back to the Nationals as he recovers from a finger injury. Today, Rodriguez is expected to make a rehab appearance for the Harrisburg Senators in a relief role. Outfielder Destin Hood went 2-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk in last night's game. It was his first game with Harrisburg in over a month. But for today's early game, Hood has the day off. The plan with Hood appears to not have him on an everyday schedule as he gets his...

As fans, we all want the Orioles to win. That's a fair statement, right? In fact, it's probably the only thing we all agree on. Finding common ground can be hard, but there's always the team. We want it to do well and, there, we're actually united. In a lot of ways that's enough. A winning team. It's just sports, after all, right? To some extent, yes, but there's another layer to it, this thing over which we bond. Meaning that when the Orioles win, we in fact are together in a less...

When I leave to go out of town on trips, like today for example, my favorite topic of conversation along the way tends to veer toward sports, baseball in particular. Whether I'm listening in on a stats-based debate or checking game scores on one of the many televisions within the terminal, there's always a lesson to be learned from these types of conversations. There's a little more to those conversations than what appears on the surface, though. It's one thing to strike up a sports...

This just in. There is another future star in the Nats' clubhouse. He hits home runs that bounce off Pikes Peak and he plays left field like he was born for that position. The thumper. The bulldog. He is Tyler Moore. What a shot. Moore's fifth-inning three-run homer landed 15 to 20 rows up at Coors Field in the left-center stands. A thunderous swing that highlighted the Nationals' best offensive output of the season in a 21-hit, 12-5 shellacking of the defenseless Colorado...

What do you think was going through Jordan Zimmermann's mind as he watched the Nationals pull away from the Rockies and pile up a season-high 12 runs and franchise-record-tying 21 hits last night? "Guys ... stop ... save some of that for me, please?" That's just a guess. Zimmermann would take 12 runs of support over a span of four starts, much less one. Here's hoping the Nationals keep the offensive roll going and get the guy some runs tonight. Yesterday's offensive production was...

After last night's loss, the Orioles now have an even run differential. Their record is nine games over .500 at 41-32 but they have scored 310 runs this year and given up the same number. Their are eight American League teams with a better run differential than the Orioles but just two with a better record (the Rangers and Yankees). Winning close games has clearly been big for the club this year and the Orioles are 25-12 in games decided by two runs or less and 9-2 in extra-inning games. A...

You won't find many Orioles swinging hot bats right now, and shortstop J.J. Hardy definitely needs to knock the frost off the ol' lumber. Hardy is in a 3-for-40 slump that's lowered his average to .239. He went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts last night. The Orioles have played 73 games and Hardy has started 71 of them. The obvious move is to rest him for a night, perhaps giving the start to Robert Andino. Hardy is 0-for-9 lifetime against Jered Weaver, who starts tonight for the Angels. A...

I guess the Nationals were getting a little tired of everyone talking about how much their offense stinks. They've exploded for 12 runs and 16 hits tonight, and have only played six innings. The most runs the Nats had scored in a game this season prior to tonight was nine. They'd already matched that total by the end of the fifth inning. Every hitter in the lineup with the exception of Bryce Harper has a hit. Adam LaRoche has two home runs. Tyler Moore has a three-run shot which I'm not...

Brian Matusz hasn't gone more than 5 2/3 innings in his last four starts, and tonight he failed to retire a batter in the sixth before exiting. "It's a great hitting team, one through nine," he said. "I made some good pitches to get out of some innings, but when it came down to it, I left some fastballs over the plate." Matusz was allowed to come back out for the sixth, but Peter Bourjos' two-run homer ended his night. "I was fighting all the way through to stay in that game, and...