Starting tonight, the Nationals will play 33 consecutive games against teams from either the American League East or National League East. Good thing none of those teams are any good. Oh, wait... The Nats will face Orioles righty Jake Arrieta today, a guy who has started 2-4 with a 5.21 ERA. Here are the lineups for both teams: For the Nationals SS Ian Desmond LF Roger Bernadina 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche RF Bryce Harper 2B Danny Espinosa CF Rick Ankiel C Jesus Flores P Edwin...

WASHINGTON - Xavier Avery is leading off and playing left field for the Orioles tonight. Wilson Betemit and Chris Davis will handle the infield corners. For the Orioles: Xavier Avery LF J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Wilson Betemit 3B Chris Davis 1B Robert Andino 2B Jake Arrieta RHP For the Nationals: Ian Desmond SS Roger Bernadina LF Ryan Zimmerman 3B Adam LaRoche 1B Bryce Harper RF Danny Espinosa 2B Rick Ankiel CF Jesus Flores C Edwin Jackson RHP

WASHINGTON - Give up? Until tonight, baseball teams from Baltimore and Washington hadn't faced each other with non-losing records in 42 years. On April 16, 1970, the 5-1 Orioles played the 3-3 Senators at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles suffered a rare loss in the rivalry, 4-2, with Frank Howard hitting a two-run homer off Jim Palmer. I'm guessing that Palmer remembers the count and what pitch he threw and where he located it. Ted Williams was managing the Senators that night. You know who...

When the Orioles and Nationals play, no hype for this series is needed for the first time. The teams have taken care of that and both are playing so well that they've turned this into a big series with the winning. The Orioles lead the American League East at 25-14. They have the best record in the AL, are 17-7 over the last 24 games and are 11 games over .500 for the first time since June 24, 2005. The Nationals feature two of the game's best young players in Bryce Harper and Stephen...

The April 22 Nationals-Marlins game at Nationals Park has been rescheduled as part of a traditional, single-admission doubleheader on Friday, August 3, with the first game beginning at 4:05 p.m. The second game will follow at 7:05 p.m. or later, depending on when the first game is completed. All tickets for the postponed April 22 game can be exchanged at the Nationals Park Box Office for seats of equal or lesser value for the August 3 doubleheader or any remaining regular or value home game...

It's kind of a shame that the Nationals weren't able to stay atop the National League East through the end of last night's action. It would have been fun to have two first-place teams battling it out this weekend in the Battle of the Beltways. We've sure had two last-place teams battling it out in this matchup enough times. The Nats (23-15) welcome the Orioles (25-14) to town this weekend for a three-game set between two teams off to hot - and surprising - starts. The O's currently have...

At 19 years, 211 days old, Bryce Harper wasn't even old enough to buy a beer to celebrate his first major league home run this week. The more than 400-foot blast off San Diego's Tim Stauffer, in Harper's 15th major league game and 54th at-bat, not only added to his lore but evoked memories of another vaunted prospect's first homer, almost 41 years earlier. Like Harper, Jeff Burroughs was the first overall pick in the amateur draft when the Washington Senators selected him in 1969. And like...

Of course you know that the Orioles are playing well above average so far during the 2012 season. But did you notice that it's been an above-average season for Eutaw Street home runs, as well? Batters have hit an average of three Eutaw Street home runs per season since Camden Yards opened in 1992; four such homers have already been hit this year. Eric Thames of the Blue Jays got things started on April 24. He was followed just four days later by the Orioles' Chris Davis on April 28. Thanks...

I said streaky player, not sneaky player. Although when he got on the mound, Chris Davis proved to be sneaky fast. If you go back over his last 29 games, you can see two real hot streaks and two real cold streaks at the plate for the Orioles first baseman. Davis may be about to make that three hot streaks in getting five hits the last two days in Kansas City. Here is the last month for Davis: * In three games from April 14-16, he went 8-for-12 with three doubles and a homer. * In seven...

For five innings, James McDonald overpowered the Nationals, his mid-90s fastball and dazzling curve holding them without a hit. In the sixth, the Nats finally were able to figure the Pirates starter out, touching McDonald for three extra-base hits and three runs. But it just wasn't quite enough. "We had a chance. We came back," manager Davey Johnson said. "The other guy pitched a heck of a five or six innings, but that was a tough one. We had runners on, we just couldn't get the big...