The Orioles are 7-29 in their last 36 games against the Blue Jays, but they've won five of the last nine. One of the keys: Making sure Nolan Reimold bats in the ninth inning. The Orioles are hitting .196 with runners in scoring position, but they're 5-3 and looking for their second sweep of the season. Brian Matusz is making his fourth career start against the Blue Jays. In the first three, he's gone 0-2 with an 18.56 ERA in only 5 1/3 innings, with 14 hits allowed, four walks, five...

Five days ago, Ross Detwiler went five shutout innings. The next day, Stephen Strasburg threw six shutout frames. Gio Gonzalez followed with seven scoreless innings. Jordan Zimmermann then tossed seven innings of one-run ball in a 2-1 13-inning win. Then yesterday, Edwin Jackson threw a complete game, allowing just one run. If it seems like the Nationals' starters are actively trying to one-up each other on a daily basis, it's because they are. The guys in the Nationals rotation are on fire...

The Orioles began yesterday in a four-way tie for first place in the American League East and now they are, at least for a day, alone at the top at 5-3. So they've got that going for them. They also seem to have a little spunk and chemistry going for them in the early going. It is impressive that they pulled out these games in Toronto considering they kept giving up leads on Friday night and their own error led to Toronto taking a lead in the sixth yesterday. But they pulled both out late,...

Edwin Jackson had thrown a complete game before. He'd actually thrown four of them, including a no-hitter. But never had he been nearly this pitch-efficient when going a full nine innings. Jackson finished today's outing having thrown just 92 pitches in his nine frames of one-run ball, a far cry from his 149-pitch no-hitter back in 2010. Known for elevated pitch counts and having to work with runners on base, Jackson was a different guy today. He was able to pitch from the windup nearly...

When pitching coach Steve McCatty went out to talk to talk to Edwin Jackson after the Nationals righty had issued a four-pitch leadoff walk in the eighth inning, the conversation was pretty cut and dried. As McCatty puts it, it was like a scene out of the movie "Full Metal Jacket." "I went and asked him, 'How are you doing?' " McCatty said. "He says, 'I'm fine.' I say, 'Well, do you want this?' He goes, 'Yes.' I said, 'Well, if you want it, you tell me you want it.' And he...

Nationals starter Edwin Jackson's complete game was a gem unto itself: nine frames, two hits, one run, one walk and nine strikeouts. In only 92 pitches, Jackson handed the Nationals their first complete game of the season and a five-game win streak. He also gave a taxed bullpen a full day off. Following 23 innings of pitching, nine of those frames from the bullpen in the past two days, Saturday was a game for the relievers to be spectators, Jackson. "Because of the extra innings, this was...

Francisco Cordero could have signed with the Orioles over the winter. He narrowed his choices to two teams. He chose the Blue Jays. The Orioles are trying to give him regret. Nolan Reimold hit a two-run homer off Cordero in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie. The ball landed in the second deck. Chris Davis reached on an infield hit, the ball slamming off Cordero. Pinch-runner Ryan Flaherty kept drawing throws from Cordero. Maybe Cordero lost focus. The Orioles want him to lose the...

Nolan Reimold came into this Toronto series batting just .238, but he now has five hits in the last two days, including a very big one today in the top of the ninth. Reimold's two-run homer broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Orioles a 6-4 win at Toronto. He is 5-for-10 in the series with two doubles, two homers and three RBIs. The Orioles went 4-23 in Toronto from 2009-2011, but now have a series win there for the first time since June 2008 and can sweep this series Sunday. Wilson Betemit's...

Given the workload that the Nationals' bullpen had to handle last night, the team needed Edwin Jackson to step up and work deep into today's game. Jackson's done just that. The hard-throwing righty has worked seven incredibly impressive innings, allowing just a single run on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Jackson has now retired 16 straight hitters and shockingly has needed just 66 pitches to get through the seven frames. Of the 66 pitches, a whopping 52 have been...

The Tyler Moore-to-the-outfield experience is about to begin. MASNsports.com has learned that Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs prospect Tyler Moore will switch from first base to the outfield for some games in the "near future." According to a club source, Moore will play left field. The exact game or games the power hitting prospect will assume his new position is still to be determined and the move to the outfield is not considered a permanent adjustment. Moore is off to a scorching start with...