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...

With one swing, Matt Wieters ended about eight games worth of Orioles offensive frustration. The Birds went to the last of the eighth today trailing Washington 1-0 and they had left seven men on base in their previous four at-bats. But Wieters sent a 0-1 pitch from lefty Sean Burnett over the wall in left-center to give the Orioles a 2-1 win over the Nats today in front of 41,794 at Camden Yards. On a day the Orioles didn't have a hit with runners in scoring position - they went 0-for-6 and...

Jake Arrieta held the Nationals to one run over six innings today, and he stands to be the loser unless the Orioles' offense finally wakes up. Arrieta stranded two runners in the sixth by retiring Ian Desmond on a pop up on his 103rd pitch of the afternoon. Troy Patton has replaced him. Arrieta allowed five hits, walked one, struck out five and hit a batter. He's permitted only one run in two of his last three starts, and he took a shutout into the sixth inning Monday at Citi Field before...