The Orioles overcame some early frustrations - they hit into three double plays in the first four innings - to beat the Nationals 7-4 Sunday and salvage the final game in this series. The Orioles won for just the second time in eight games and are 2-4 on their current road trip. They ended the Nats' eight-game winning streak. The clubs wind up splitting six games this year, with each taking two of three at home. The Orioles are 11-7 versus the Nats since 2009 and the all-time series has the...

WASHINGTON - Chris Jakubauskas singled twice today before Jim Johnson replaced him. That .667 average will put a little more pressure on the other pitchers. The last Orioles pitcher to collect two hits in a game? That would be Erik Bedard on May 20, 2007 against the Nationals. This is the 130th time that an Orioles pitcher had two hits or more in a game. We're not sure whether Jakubauskas will take his next turn. He could be skipped because of Thursday's open date on the schedule. There's...

Derrek Lee is 2-for-3 today with an RBI double through the fifth inning in Washington and the Orioles lead 5-3. That makes him 9-for-12 in this series with three doubles and an RBI and he has raised his average from .214 at the start of play Friday to its current .246. Lee had five hits Friday, two Saturday and has two today. Lee had multi hits two games in a row just twice all season before this series and now has three in a row. Before this series, in seven games since coming off the DL on...

WASHINGTON - Adam Jones singled with two outs in the top of the fifth inning to score J.J. Hardy, and Derrek Lee followed with a double to increase the Orioles' lead to 5-2. That's it for Nationals left-hander Tom Gorzelanny. The Orioles have salvaged the inning after a highly questionable send by third base coach John Russell resulted in pitcher Chris Jakubauskas being thrown out at the plate by a wide margin. Jakubauskas collected his first major league hit, a single leading off the...

WASHINGTON - The Orioles can't seem to get that one big hit that opens the flood gates. They loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning on Derrek Lee's leadoff single - his eighth hit of the series - third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's throwing error and Mark Reynolds' infield hit. Craig Tatum, batting seventh, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Lee scored, but he was the only one. Robert Andino grounded out to end the inning. Opportunity wasted. In case you're wondering, Tatum is...

WASHINGTON - I want to thank everyone for wishing me a Happy Father's Day. Right back at you. I hope you have something special planned today. Somehow, the quotes I posted from Brian Matusz in my last entry appeared below Jeremy Guthrie's update. Just so there's no confusion, Matusz was doing the talking. Luke Scott said his back was feeling better this morning, but he received more treatment and didn't think he'd be available to pinch-hit later. Manager Buck Showalter wasn't ready to...

WASHINGTON - The Orioles will try to avoid a sweep today while anointing Chris Jakubauskas the stopper in this rotation - at least for a day. Brian Matusz says his left hamstring is a little sore today, as expected, but he feels much better, his mobility is good and he expects to make his next start. He'll play catch today. "It feels good," he said. "It's a little sore today, but my mobility's really good. My flexiblity's there. It's just a little sore from the cramping. We're going...

In a season filled with ups and downs, the Orioles have hit another bump in the road. This one looks like a crater. In just the last three days both Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Matusz have left starts with injuries. The club has been terrible with runners in scoring position the last week or so and every new game seems to bring another major blunder on the bases or in the field. And, then usually another injury. It is looking like the wheels are beginning to come off the cart. No one is saying...

So I decide to check Triple-A Norfolk's box score from tonight's game against Buffalo because I'm curious about Chris Tillman's outing and I really need to get a life. Here's Tillman's final line: 3 2/3 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 0 walks 3 strikeouts. 65 pitches, 38 strikes. So why did he leave the game with two outs in the fourth inning? Did someone else in the organization get hurt this week? Nope. I texted a team official, apologizing for doing so at this late hour on...

There are many factors to explain why a team goes on a roll. The big reasons usually center around timely hits, solid defense and quality pitching. Two other factors are veteran leadership and a bench that contributes. The Nationals are in the midst of an eight-game winning streak, the longest streak in almost two seasons, dating to an eight-game streak in August 2009. In Saturday's 4-2 victory over the Orioles, Washington displayed one of those key ingredients in successful teams: a...