At times during the Nationals' 2-1 loss to the O's last night, it almost seemed like there was a hint of desperation coming from Washington's offense. After getting nothing done offensively through the first four innings, Davey Johnson called for a hit-and-run with one out in the fifth. Nothing wrong with that, except the hit-and-run came with the pitcher - Edwin Jackson - at the plate and perhaps the Nats' slowest baserunner - catcher Jesus Flores - on first. With Bryce Harper on first...

The 2011 season was sure a good one for Orioles minor league catcher

Because the hour-long drive home from Washington D.C. seemed too short for me late last night, I decided to miss my exit for the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and stay on Suitland Parkway for a good 15-20 minutes before turning around and heading back toward Nationals Park. If there's a more directionally challenged person on this planet than me, I'd like to meet you. Of course, I'd never be able to find you. I had to turn on my GPS when I woke up just to locate the bathroom. And yes, I...

Once the Orioles got the Nats to extra innings, they had them right where they wanted them. The Nick Markakis homer in the top of the 11th and the Pedro Strop escape act in the bottom half helped the Orioles to a 2-1 win Friday night at Nats Park. Coupled with a loss by Tampa Bay, the Orioles moved to 26-14 and out to a two-game lead atop the AL East. They have now won four in a row, six of eight and 12 of their past 17 games. The Orioles are 18-7 over their last 25 games. They are winning so...

Ryan Mattheus gave up a deep fly ball off the bat of J.J. Hardy to begin the top of the 11th, and when center fielder Rick Ankiel tracked it down at the wall in front of the 402-foot sign, it looked like Mattheus might have escaped his one mistake in the inning. But then Nick Markakis took a slider that stayed down and in, and crushed it deep over the right-field wall, giving the Orioles their second run of the game and leading them to a 2-1 win. Normally you hear about pitchers leaving a...

As he sat down at the podium for his postgame press conference, Davey Johnson said what all Nationals fans are probably feeling tonight. "Well, that was a tough one," Johnson said. The Nats battled with the O's over 11 innings, but the frustrating part of the night was the 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Washington had opportunities but just couldn't get guys in, and they couldn't capitalize on a fantastic eight-inning performance from Edwin Jackson in which he allowed just...

WASHINGTON - Nick Markakis broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the 11th inning with his seventh home run, a shot to right field off Nationals reliever Ryan Mattheus that was gone the second it left his bat. "Slider down in, I'm pretty sure that's what it was," Markakis said. "I wasn't looking for too too much there. I wasn't expecting that. I was just trying to have a good at-bat and put a good swing on it. It went out of the park and we end up winning the game." Just another extra-inning...

WASHINGTON - Orioles starter Jake Arrieta said that a key tonight after two rough outings in a row was being able to relax. "Took some of the pressure off myself," he said. "Just from the get-go wanted to establish my fastball on both sides of the plate, mix in a breaking ball, especially to a pretty heavy left-handed hitting lineup. I think there was five in a row there at one point in the lineup, so there's a lot of guys there. You've got to make quality pitches down in the zone,...

3-2 count. Fastball low, walk. Tough to allow a baserunner in any situation, but having it be the Orioles' leadoff hitter, Xavier Avery, on the first at-bat of the game proved more costly in a tight contest. Avery was able to come around to score the first run of the game, thanks to a double by Nick Markakis and a single from Adam Jones. But really, it was only 1-0 Orioles. In the end, however, the Orioles beat the Nationals 2-1 in 11 innings on a Markakis homer. But when he was in, it...

WASHINGTON - Another extra-inning game, another extra-inning win. And on the road, of course. The Orioles defeated the Nationals 2-1 in 11 innings. They're 6-2 in extras, with all six wins coming in succession away from Camden Yards. They're also in first place in the American League East, two games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. How does manager Buck Showalter explain all those road wins? "Pitching in general," he replied. "You'd like to do some things and not have that happen. I think...