PHILADELPHIA - Roy Halladay had gone 11-0 in his last 13 starts against the Nationals/Expos prior to tonight. Jordan Zimmermann entered tonight 0-3 in four career outings against the Phillies. Those scripts got flipped. Davey Johnson likes the line he got from Zimmermann tonight - six innings, seven hits, one run, two walks and two strikeouts - but he doesn't like how much of an effort it took the righty to get there. Zimmermann needed 98 pitches to get through five innings and he finished...

PHILADELPHIA - In Tyler Clippard's career as a reliever, he's worked some intense seventh innings and a bunch of crucial eighth innings, where he's had runners on base and needed to battle out of key jams. But according to Clippard, tonight's 1-2-3 ninth inning was more nerve-rattling than any situation he's been in recently. "A lot more adrenaline, a lot more nervousness," a smiling Clippard said after the game. "But it was a good feeling. I haven't had that for a while, so it was...

You must have felt a measure of added joy for Jordan Zimmermann in the third inning. He finally got a chance to look up at the scoreboard and see four runs on the board for his team. 4-1. Alright, now we are talking. Zimmermann came in averaging just 2.4 runs of support per game when he is in the contest. So four runs had to feel like a big block of cheese for the Wisconsin native. Forget the "Summer of George", this might be the summer of Jordan. Zimmermann went six solid innings,...

PHILADELPHIA - Ryan Zimmerman was scratched from tonight's game against the Phillies because of soreness in his right shoulder - the same shoulder which sent him to the disabled list late in April when it became inflamed. But both Zimmerman and his manager say the soreness is nothing to worry about. During batting practice before tonight's contest, Zimmerman had a conversation with manager Davey Johnson about the shoulder, a conversation which turned a little heated when Johnson told his...

Brian Matusz says he's getting his confidence back. It showed again tonight. "I'm going out there and having a game plan, being able to attack the zone," he said after allowing one run and two hits, walking one and striking out nine over 6 1/3 innings. "Like I've said, I forgot all about last year. I look at that just as a fluke. For me, it's about being able to keep getting better each time out. I haven't forgotten what it feels like to lose, so these wins are special, to go out...

Brian Matusz was the main topic of conversation in manager Buck Showalter's postgame session with the media, and for good reason. Matusz turned in his second quality start in a row, holding Boston to one run and two hits and striking out nine over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-1 victory before 25,171 at Camden Yards. "I've seen Brian really good here. Not just tonight," Showalter said. "I thought he and Matt (Wieters) did a great job of using all his pitches. He had command of two breaking balls,...

It wasn't that long ago that Orioles lefty Brian Matusz was dealing with a 12-game losing streak. Tonight, he pitched a gem against Boston and won for the fourth time over his last five starts. Matusz gave up just one run on two hits over 6 1/3 innings tonight, pitching the Orioles to a 4-1 win over the Red Sox. He gave up a homer to Kevin Youkilis in the fourth but little else as he improved to 4-4 on the year with an ERA of 4.86. Matusz walked just one and fanned nine to tie his career...

Brian Matusz walked off the mound to a huge ovation after striking out Adrian Gonzalez for the first out in the top of the seventh inning. Matusz is done after allowing one run - on Kevin Youkilis' homer in the fourth - and two hits in 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and tied his career high with nine strikeouts. Matusz's off-speed stuff was off the hook tonight. That's two straight quality starts for Matusz, who made the most of the little bit of run support that the Orioles gave...

PHILADELPHIA - Roy Halladay normally dominates the Nationals. I mean dominates them. Coming into today, Halladay was 11-0 with a 2.09 ERA in his last 13 starts against Montreal/Washington. Today has been a different story, however. The Nats have struck for five runs and eight hits off Halladay through five innings, and hold a 5-1 lead over the Phillies as we go to the sixth. Halladay allowed four runs in the third inning, two coming on a triple to right-center off the bat of Bryce Harper....

Steve Tolleson now has two major league home runs. Tolleson, starting at third base tonight, hit a two-run shot off Boston left-hander Felix Doubront in the second inning to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. His other homer came on Sept. 26, 2010. Kevin Youkilis, who rejoined the Red Sox today after a stint at Triple-A Pawtucket, homered to center field off Brian Matusz in the fourth to reduce the lead to 2-1. A typical night for Youkilis against the Orioles. He has 22 homers and 84 RBIs in 374...