The Nationals have managed just two hits and a walk and have struck out five times through five scoreless innings. Here we go again. Washington has not scored in its last 15 innings, and yet again enters the late frames needing the bats to awaken as Davey Johnson's group trails the Diamondbacks 2-0 in the middle of the sixth. Tonight, the Nats are making D'backs starter Trevor Cahill look like a Cy Young award winner, as they've put up little fight against the Arizona right-hander. The...

Davey Johnson was asked if he's been impressed with how calm Bryce Harper has been in his first few days in the majors. "I wouldn't call him calm. He's energetic," Johnson said, before cracking a smile. "I'm thinking about getting a PRP from him and getting some of that blood in me." Not sure that's exactly how the platelet rich plasma treatment works, but the Nationals skipper's joke drew laughs from the assembled media. Johnson said he isn't looking too far down the road in...

NEW YORK - I'm talking about the good kind of tear here. Chris Davis hit another home run tonight, his fourth in the last seven games, to tie the score at 1-1. He connected off Yankees starter Phil Hughes with one out in the second. Davis is 8-for-18 with a double, four homers and nine RBIs in his last seven games. He's batting .319 with five homers and 13 RBIs on the season. The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first on Curtis Granderson's home run off left-hander Brian Matusz. The ball...

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made the decision to call up 19-year-old phenom Bryce Harper on Saturday. After two games, Rizzo said Harper showed exactly what he had shown in the minor leagues, a player that can hit, hit for power and go after every ball in the outfield. Rizzo said Harper's final at-bat was his best of the weekend when he earned a walk off Dodgers right-handed reliever Kenley Jansen. Harper didn't strike out or flail at every pitch. He measured Jansen well and hung...

While today will be Bryce Harper's official home debut, in some ways, yesterday was his true sporting debut in the nation's capital. Harper used his off-day to go shopping in the D.C. area, and then went on a little tour of the Mall, checking out the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Some fans noticed him walking by - "They saw the rat tail and the tattoos," Harper joked - and asked him to take a few hacks in their pick-up softball game which was taking place nearby. "I was...

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter indicated earlier today that Mark Reynolds will return to the lineup tomorrow against the Yankees, and also will play in the Red Sox series that begins Friday. Tonight is another rest period for Reynolds, in part because Showalter is trying to get Nick Johnson on track. Reynolds needs to do the same. He's batting .143 and hasn't hit a home run after totaling 37 last season. He hadn't gone a full month without homering since September...

Positive news on the progress of third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who threw Tuesday during batting practice and his throwing motion looked good. Zimmerman has been out with right shoulder inflammation of the AC joint. Manager Davey Johnson said Zimmerman can't hit until the weekend. The doctors don't think he can re-injure his shoulder by swinging. The injury occurred hitting the ground diving for a ball on defense. So, is there anything that Zimmerman could do to prevent the injury from...

NEW YORK - Manager Buck Showalter updated reporters on Nolan Reimold's tingling fingers and Tsuyoshi Wada's aching left elbow. Showalter confirmed that Reimold has a bulging disk in his back and won't play in the last two games of this series. The Orioles are hoping that Reimold joins them in Boston for the three-game series that begins on Friday. "They're trying a Medrol Dosepack to see if they can get the swelling down," Showalter said. "There's the potential that he could join us...

I tried posting the lineups from my iPhone a couple of hours ago, but apparently that failed miserably. So let's try this again. Bryce Harper is hitting seventh again today, and he's back in left field with Rick Ankiel playing center against Diamondbacks right-hander Trevor Cahill. Ankiel will hit third today, and Jayson Werth is back in the lineup hitting fifth after missing Sunday's game because of a migraine. Nationals SS Ian Desmond 3B Steve Lombardozzi CF Rick Ankiel 1B Adam...

The Orioles have had a better first month of the season in 2012 than in 2011, both on the stat sheet and in the standings. After April last year, they were 12-13, in third place and 3 1/2 games out. Now they are 14-9 and in second place, one game out of first. Here are other comparisons: * The 2011 team hit .236 and averaged 4.16 runs per game. The team now is batting .249 and scoring 4.17 runs per game. * The team ERA was 4.47 then and is 3.03 now. * The rotation ERA was 4.03 last April...