Drew Storen was a happy guy yesterday. Not only did he finally have all his teammates back in the Nationals clubhouse after their West Coast road trip, but the Nats closer is getting close to beginning a throwing program, which he expects to kick off in the next week or two. "I'm excited," Storen said. "I need that back in my life." Storen has been grounded since undergoing surgery to remove a bone chip in his right elbow three weeks ago. He doesn't travel with the team on road trips,...

Nationals prospect Rick Hague has returned to high Single-A Potomac after starting the season in extended spring training. Since Hague has been called up to his minor league team, the questions are now focused on the status of left-handers Matt Purke and Robbie Ray. Both hurlers have been in Florida continuing to work at the Nationals' facility. It is not known for sure what the current status is for each pitcher, or what they were focusing on in Florida, but it is clear they needed to build...

NEW YORK - Before I head to Yankee Stadium for tonight's series finale, I wanted to explain more clearly what's happening with Nolan Reimold. Well, the "clearly" part might be a reach, but anyway ... Reimold's bulging disk is located in his cervical spine, and it's more neck than back. At least, that's how it's been explained to me. I'm not a doctor, so I'm depending on others to talk me through it. The timetable hasn't changed. Orioles manager Buck Showalter is still hoping that...

Last night, the Orioles' Brian Matusz picked up his first win since last June 6. Tonight, the Orioles will try to hand Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova his first loss since last June 3. Over his last 20 starts since that loss to the Angels on the road, Nova is 15-0 with an ERA of 3.61. The Yankees are 17-3 in those 20 games which includes a win for Nova on April 11 at Baltimore when he gave up two runs over seven innings in beating the Orioles at Camden Yards. Nova currently holds the major...

The District's baseball skepticism is warranted. A double dose of 100-loss seasons after 30-plus years of no baseball in town will do that to a person. Those miserable 2008 and 2009 seasons are also what brought the Nationals to this point in time. Baseball in Washington is at crossroads of sorts now that Bryce Harper has made his home debut. With the media hoopla surrounding the young stud of a hitter, it wasn't far-fetched to think that the atmosphere at the ballpark might rival that of...

The Nationals are 0-3 with Bryce Harper in the lineup. That's it; get the kid out of here. He's a jinx. Unfortunately, the solutions to Washington's losing streak aren't that simple. The reasons for the five-game slide are easy to spot, however. The Nationals have now scored seven runs combined during their last five games. They've averaged five hits per game over that span, have 46 strikeouts to just 10 walks and are 2-for-23 with runners in scoring position. Possibly the most...

So in a matchup of 25-year-old pitchers looking to rebound from poor 2011 seasons, the Orioles' Brian Matusz took a big step forward and the Yankees' Phil Hughes struggled again and gave up more homers. No one is saying Matusz is fully back, but it looked like he was making progress earlier this year but not getting the results to show for that. Over his last two starts, he is now also getting results. The Orioles have won his last two outings after losing 13 straight Matusz starts and the...

NEW YORK - The news came fast and furious yesterday, beginning with outfielder Nolan Reimold's tingling fingers and continuing with hitting coach Jim Presley's kidney stone. I hadn't left my hotel room in Times Square and my day already had taken a busy turn. As I walked into the press box at Yankee Stadium, still beaming at my ability to take the D train in the proper direction on this day, the Orioles issued a news release explaining that the Brooks Robinson statue unveiling had been...

The Nationals are without Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman. We know this. But their lack of offense during their five-game losing streak is still surprising and disappointing, especially to the man writing out the starting lineup every day. "I feel like we got the hitters that can hit," Johnson said. "(We're) just not as aggressive as I'd like to see. Our one and two hitters (Ian Desmond and Steve Lombardozzi) were aggressive tonight. They went out and swung the bat and got a couple of...

NEW YORK - I'm unable to access your comments at the moment because there's some sort of glitch with Disqus. Yes, I'm disgusted over it. Anyway, we're working to find a solution. In the meantime, here's a little something from Nick Johnson, who ended an 0-for-29 drought with a run-scoring double in the eighth inning: "It feels good. It's been a long time, so it feels good and I'm happy we got the win," he said. "It's been tough, but you've got to keep working. Try to get good...