The Nationals' young tandem of left fielder Steve Lombardozzi and center fielder Bryce Harper haven't had that much time to play together in the outfield, but their defensive play and timely early offense was enough to lift the Nationals past Tampa Bay 3-2, snapping a four-game skid. Might be hard to believe the duo has played all of 69 games in the outfield at the major league level, with 63 starts. Harper has made 45 starts this season with 109 putouts, one assist, one double play and four...

The Orioles are off today, so don't waste your afternoon waiting for me to post a lineup. It's not coming until tomorrow, when the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Nationals at Camden Yards. Warning to all Orioles pitchers: Davey Johnson will be checking your gloves. He'll probably ask why Brian Matusz's glove has Brady Anderson's name on it. And no, I'm not answering that one again. I'm just worried that the Orioles' bats will cool off before tomorrow. #sarcasm. Wilson...

The Orioles were able to avoid a third straight shutout tonight, but not a third straight loss at New York, as they lost 4-3 to the Mets, who completed a three-game sweep at Citi Field. Wilson Betemit hit a two-run homer with none out in the eighth to end the Orioles' 28-inning scoreless streak. Had they been shut out, it would have been just the second time in team history they had not scored in three straight games. From July 29-31, 1957 the O's were blanked in three straight games once...

As Joel Peralta starts to get loose in the Rays bullpen ... Yes. That's actually happening. Peralta still hasn't been suspended yet, and is eligible to pitch tonight. I'm sure his glove is squeaky clean. The Nationals have a 3-2 lead as we go to the eighth inning, even though they haven't recorded a hit since the first. Washington struck for three runs on three hits in that first inning, battering Rays rookie Chris Archer, who looked shaken and uncomfortable. That didn't last long,...

The Orioles' scoreless-innings streak has reached 25, which isn't good when the offense is responsible for it. They have one hit in four innings against Mets starter Dillon Gee, the first for left-hander Brian Matusz in his major league career. Matusz lined a single into center field. He may serve as the DH this weekend. Matusz has held the Mets to two hits in three scoreless innings, but he's thrown 50 pitches because of the two errors behind him. Adam Jones nearly collided with Ryan...

In this entry, I'll have quotes from the Nationals general manager, who responded to quotes from the Rays manager, who responded to quotes from the Nationals manager, who responded to quotes from the Rays manager. GloveGate just keeps on going. Shortly after Rays skipper Joe Maddon came down on the Nationals (again), saying that if he was a player, he'd think twice before signing with the Nats after last night's pine tar incident, Rizzo responded to that take. "I don't agree with it,"...

Less than a month ago, Ross Detwiler was bumped from the Nationals' starting rotation after three straight rocky starts. Now, Detwiler finds himself back in the rotation after four straight rocky starts from Chien-Ming Wang. After taking a bit of a verbal swing at Rays manager Joe Maddon this afternoon, Nats manager Davey Johnson announced that Wang will be moved to the bullpen, while Detwiler will again become the Nationals' No. 5 starter. He'll take the mound Sunday when the Nats face...

The war of words in Pine Tar Gate escalated following Tuesday's incident where Rays reliever and former Nationals pitcher Joel Peralta was ejected for an "excessive amount of a foreign substance in or around his glove", according to the umpiring crew. The umpires were tipped off when Nationals manager Davey Johnson asked that Peralta's glove be checked for pine tar. Apparently, Davey found out through someone in the Nationals dugout that Peralta may have pine tar in his glove, which is...

It's probably too soon to call this a trend, but already I can sense some O's fans getting a real confident feeling when Jason Hammel or Wei-Yin Chen take the mound and a feeling much less confident when anyone else starts. Going back about three turns through the rotation, the Orioles are 6-0 in games started by Hammel and Chen and 3-5 when anyone else takes the ball. Again, probably too soon to get too worked up about it, but it is a trend worth tracking over the next few weeks. Here are...

Davey Johnson's 15-minute pregame session with reporters this afternoon sure didn't lack substance. Johnson announced that Chien-Ming Wang will be moved to the bullpen and Ross Detwiler will be inserted into the rotation. He also took aim at Rays manager Joe Maddon, who last night called out Johnson for having Joel Peralta's glove inspected on suspicion of Peralta using a foreign substance. Maddon called Johnson's decision "cowardly", "bush" and even dropped an expletive in there, as...