I'm off to Atlanta this morning - land of peaches, CNN, Coca-Cola and Braves baseball. I thought I would check in quickly from Dulles airport to mention a few odds and ends for the Nationals' next homestand. I'll be at the Turner Field on Wednesday and Thursday, so check back for more updates. And make sure to follow Matthew Kaminski, the Braves' organist, on Twitter. Kaminski asks fans for suggestions on songs played for visiting team at bats.
Other news:
* The Nationals recently...
HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Suns right fielder Bryce Harper extended his hitting streak to 14 games Tuesday with two hits in his final two at-bats of Single-A Hagerstown's 7-3 win over Delmarva.
Suns manager Brian Daubach has noticed a trend on how opponents are trying to go after the No. 1 prospect.
"It seems like he is facing a lot of lefties," Daubach said. "A lot of other teams (are) bringing the lefties when he is coming up. Probably to see what their guy can do, but also a challenge for...
I had this crazy dream last night that the Orioles rallied to win a game in 13 innings after almost being arrested for littering the bases.
The Orioles were 8-for-21 with runners in scoring position, and they stranded 16 runners. They ran into outs. They fought back to take leads and gave them up.
They should have won, they should have lost, they should have won, they should have lost...
Keep plucking the petals off that daisy.
The Orioles were 0-17 before last night when trailing after...
Felix Pie entered tonight's game as a pinch-runner and ended up as one of its heroes.
Pie singled to score Nick Marakis with the tying run in the bottom of the 13th inning, and he raced home on Matt Wieters' single to cap a dramatic and exhausting comeback.
"It feels great, tying a game for the team like that," he said. "It's a great feeling."
Pie wasn't going to leave the clubhouse without being asked about his confrontation with Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak.
"I tried to...
It you made it through every pitch, every key play, every blown lead and all four hours and eight minutes, you can raise your hand and if I had a pair of free tickets here, they would be heading your way.
A couple of quick thoughts after a dramatic win:
Adam Jones had two huge hits. His two-run double in the sixth put the O's ahead 3-2 and his RBI single in the eighth put the O's up 5-4. He doubled in the tenth of a 5-5 tie. Jones is now 10-for-23 on the season batting with runners in...
My head hurts.
Manager Buck Showalter looked to be in better spirits after his club rallied for two runs off Mariners closer Brandon League in the bottom of the 13th inning to take a 7-6 victory.
If you're going to spend all night at the ballpark and burn up your bullpen, at least win the game.
"It's kind of apropos," Showalter said. "It seemed like our guys made some good pitches and they found a way to get them in there.We had a lot of opportunities. We just couldn't cash them in....
The Orioles had another chance to win this game, but they're more determined to empty their bullpen and leave Chris Tillman without much support tomorrow night.
Good thing they went back to a 12-man pitching staff, right?
Nice timing.
Felix Pie doubled to lead off the 12th inning, and the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs on an intentional walk to Adam Jones - which brought former Oriole Chris Ray into the game - and J.J. Hardy's two-out infield hit.
Hardy has a home run, three...
The bottom of the 10th inning began with Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak tagging out Felix Pie, and both dugouts and bullpens emptying.
Pie started to retreat as Smoak fielded the ball, then lowered a shoulder into him. They exchanged words, with Pie clearly the aggressor, but order was quickly restored.
Pie spread his arms apart and started jawing at Smoak as they went nose-to-nose. The guy's got a short fuse.
Robert Andino wasted no time getting into the middle of it. We'll give him...
I guess Luke Scott's shoulder isn't bothering him too much.
Scott has two hits tonight, including a single off Mariners reliever Jamey Wright in the eighth inning that tied the game, 4-4. Pinch-runner Cesar Izturis raced home on Adam Jones' single, the center fielder's third RBI of the night.
Orioles 5, Mariners 4.
Derrek Lee walked and Vladimir Guerrero collected his third single of the night. Scott fell behind, 0-2, before grounding a single into left field.
Third base coach John...
Adam Jones' two-out, two-run double in the sixth moved the Orioles ahead of the Mariners, 3-2.
Jones ended a streak of 40 straight innings for the Orioles without a lead. They hadn't held one since the first inning of a May 5 game against the Royals.
Rookie Michael Pineda retired the first two batters before Vladimir Guerrero and Luke Scott singled. Jones followed with a double to left, giving him 18 RBIs this season.
Jake Arrieta was in line to get the win, but his replacement, Michael...