Well, Nationals fans. It's almost over. We're just three games away from the end of the 2011 season at Nationals Park. While the season doesn't officially end for the Nationals until next week, this weekend's three-game series with the Braves is the final homestand for our boys in the nation's capital. If you're heading to the park to take in one final game, there are plenty of perks to get you out there to root on the Nationals, who are aiming for that coveted .500 mark. Tonight in the...

Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs joined the 200-strikeout club last night. It's a very exclusive club. Total membership is two players. The meetings are really short. The "minutes" are actually seconds. Stubbs and Mark Reynolds are the only players in major league history to strike out 200 times in a single season. Reynolds has done it three straight years. Reynolds would have to strike out 15 times over the last six games to keep his streak alive. He'd rather avoid it if at all...

For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 1B Chris Davis 3B Nolan Reimold LF Alfredo Simon RHP For the Tigers: Jackson CF Kelly 3B Young LF Cabrera 1B Martinez DH Avila C Peralta SS Dirks RF Santiago 2B Porcello RHP

The Nationals' instructional league roster is chocked full of several prized teenage prospects from the team's Dominican academy, including 19-year old right-handed pitcher Ivan Pineyro. Nationals director of player development Doug Harris is pleased with what he has seen from these young players so far in camp, and credits the coaches and scouting department for working so hard to get them ready to play at this level. Harris singled out Nationals international scouting director Johnny...

Here we are at the last homestand of the season. For me, it's bittersweet. On the one hand, today's game begins a sort-of-sad countdown: three games left, two games left and before you know it, the last home game will be over. It's an end of sorts because every baseball season is a little different. The players change, the coaches change and the fan experience changes. Sure, these things are changing all the time, but transitions are bigger during the offseason. The end of the season will...

Ross Perot, Teddy Roosevelt, Ralph Nader - all spoilers. Now the Orioles have the opportunity to ruin another team's hard-fought season and crush the spirits of one of their hated rivals. I have stated in private company that I like this prospect. I have been known to say, "The tears of Red Sox fans sustain me" Or something along the same lines. I have been seen in public, reveling in the crowd shots of dejected Bostonians, clutching their pre-worn faux-vintage Red Sox hats in their...

What would you ask Jeremy Guthrie or Adam Jones if you had a chance to shoot the breeze with them? Maybe you want to know why Guthrie is so ga-ga over Justin Bieber. Or how Jones manages to blow a bubble as he slams into the outfield wall while making a catch. Perhaps you're interested in the pitcher's take on the O's offense or the center fielder's opinion on the Birds' pitching staff. Well, wonder no more. This afternoon, you can ask the pair of Orioles, well, just about...

The Orioles are doing it again. They are playing well late in the season. They went 34-23 in the last 57 games last year for a winning percentage of .596. After Thursday's win at Detroit, they are 19-13 in their last 32 games this year for a winning percentage of .594. They just started a bit later this season. In 2010, they began the 57-game run to end the year with Buck Showalter's first game on Aug. 3. Their current 32-game winning run began Aug. 22 with a four-game sweep at...

The Orioles have won 66 games this season and they've got six more to play. They also won 66 games last season. I'm trying to appreciate the "progress" that they've made in 2011. I'm also trying to forget that last year's team was 2-16 and went through three managers. The Orioles will avoid 100 losses. They could win more games than last season. They won't have the worst record in baseball. They no longer have the worst record in the American League after winning eight of their last...

The Orioles lost a 5-0 lead, but not the game on Thursday night at Detroit. After the Tigers rallied to tie the Orioles at 5-5 on Delmon Young's three-run homer in the fifth, the Orioles reclaimed the lead an inning later on a Nolan Reimold RBI infield single and went on to a 6-5 win. With the victory, the Orioles have now won eight of their last 10 and 11 of their last 16 games. They are 19-13 since August 22 and 66-90 on the year. Zach Britton tells Jim Hunter how his team bailed him out...