He might have missed out on notching his third home run in as many games by only a few feet, but Bryce Harper accomplished another first in the first inning tonight when he ripped a triple high off the wall in right-center. Harper seems to scratch something else off his major league to-do list pretty much every single night. Tonight it was the triple, which also registered as his ninth extra-base hit in 17 games. The rookie then came around to score one batter later on Ryan Zimmerman's RBI...

These days, the Nationals' clubhouse isn't the most pleasant of places. That has nothing to do with the team's win-loss record, recent performance or the overall clubhouse atmosphere, which has been pretty cheery this season. It's just that everywhere you turn, there are injured guys slowly trudging around. Today, Wilson Ramos awkwardly maneuvered through a hallway on crutches, just days after tearing his ACL. Fellow catcher Sandy Leon limped up to his locker with his right ankle still...

Right-hander Drew Storen remains with the team in D.C. as he continues his rehab from elbow surgery to remove a bone chip. Storen soft-tossed 100 throws Wednesday, the same number he threw Monday. He did two sets of 50 throws, 25 at 45 feet and 25 from 60 feet. Storen will have another day off tomorrow. "It feels all right," Storen said. "It is right where I expected it to be. It is just different, playing catch, soft tossing. It's right on track, a day-by-day thing." Storen is not...

Chien-Ming Wang was back with the Nationals today, throwing a bullpen session under the watchful eye of pitching coach Steve McCatty and talking with some teammates in the Nats' clubhouse. The veteran right-hander showed on Monday that he is nearing a return to the major leagues, working into the ninth inning in a rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse. Wang will now make at least one more start with Syracuse before getting called up to the big league club. The widespread speculation is that...

The Orioles are 11-5 on the road this season after going 30-51 away from Camden Yards in 2011. They haven't totaled 11 wins on the road in so few games since 2005, when they were 11-4 outside of Baltimore. Last season, the Orioles didn't pick up their 11th victory away from Camden Yards until playing their 28th road game on June 16. Their 12th road win came in their 31st game away from Camden Yards on June 19. The Orioles won the season series against the Royals, 5-4, in 2011, but they were...

After the end of the 15-game run of playing against Boston, New York, Tampa Bay and Texas, tonight the Orioles begin a two-game series with the Royals in Kansas City. To some it may seem like a brief break from a rough schedule and that tonight the Orioles are stepping down in class a bit in taking on K.C. But the Royals are playing good baseball right now and feature some of the game's top young talent in players like Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer. Hosmer has struggled, batting just .182,...

Nationals Tyler Moore gets the start in left field Wednesday in the series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Finally. Moore started in his first game in a Nationals uniform against the Dodgers back on April 29. In only his ninth game - so far he has only gone 2-for-11 (.182) without an extra base hit - Moore gets a chance to start at Nationals Park against the Pirates. He says it has not been tough waiting for his opportunity. "No, not really," Moore said. "We got great coaches and...

As the Nationals welcome the Pirates to town tonight, Bryce Harper is in center field for the third time of his young career while also batting second. Outfielder Xavier Nady also starts for the first time since May 11 and Tyler Moore is in the starting lineup for the first time since May 9, batting seventh and patrolling left field. For the Nationals: SS Ian Desmond CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche RF Xavier Nady 2B Danny Espinosa LF Tyler Moore C Jesus Flores LHP Gio...

Xavier Avery is batting leadoff tonight in the Orioles' series opener in Kansas City. Wilson Betemit is starting at third base and Chris Davis is starting at first. For the Orioles: Xavier Avery LF J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Nick Johnson DH Wilson Betemit 3B Chris Davis 1B Robert Andino 2B Tommy Hunter RHP For the Royals: Dyson CF Hosmer 1B Butler DH Gordon LF Francoeur RF Moustakas 3B Escobar SS Getz 2B Quintero C Paulino RHP

I can't believe that I'm passing along news concerning the death of another former Oriole. One-time left-handed reliever Kevin Hickey died Wednesday at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, according to