Max Scherzer has been very good but had one little slip-up. R.A. Dickey, meanwhile, has been near-perfect. And so the veteran right-hander on the mound tonight at Nationals Park making a run at history isn't Scherzer, but rather Dickey, who has tossed four no-hit innings so far to lead the Braves to a slim lead over the Nationals. Dickey and Scherzer each retired the first nine batters he faced before anyone finally broke through in the fourth. Scherzer opened that frame allowing a leadoff...

ATLANTA - Manager Dusty Baker was in no mood to talk about Gio Gonzalez and his walk totals. Despite a 2.47 ERA, Gonzalez has walked 14 batters in his last three starts. That number spiked a bit with the seven walks allowed on May 3 against Arizona. "I'm just trying to figure why you all always ask me some negative question," Baker said. "I'm serious. It happens. Every start is not the same. Every at-bat is not the same. You just got to let it kind of play out. I don't know why walks are...

ATLANTA - The Nationals haven't seen too many knuckleballs the last few years, but they're seeing one tonight, and they'd better be ready to see a lot more of it as this season plays out. R.A. Dickey is on the mound for the Braves tonight at SunTrust Park for the first of what should be several starts against the Nationals in 2017. The 42-year-old right-hander used to be a regular conundrum for veteran Nats hitters when he pitched for the Mets, but he spent the last four years in Toronto, so...

For his next trick, Orioles outfielder Joey Rickard will try to hit a knuckleball off a pitcher 17 years his senior. He'll bat leadoff tonight and face 41-year-old R.A. Dickey as the Orioles play the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Rickard has played in 359 games in the minors but said this afternoon he has never faced a knuckleball. "I lot of guys have been giving me advice," he said. "But at the same time, it is very foreign to me. They told me just stay back and don't try and think too much....

After today's press conference at Camden Yards, Louis Angelos of the Orioles ownership group was asked about the club making such a long commitment to Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette, with their contracts extended all the way through 2018. "Continuity is important for an organization," Angelos said. "Buck came in and he rejuvenated just about every aspect - what happens on the field, in the dugout and clubhouse. Dan came in and his impact was immediate as well. During the interview...

Given we currently have a free agent market in which Anibal Sanchez, a pitcher coming off a nine-win, 3.86-ERA season, can land a five-year, $80 million deal, it's shocking that the Mets aren't willing to offer R.A. Dickey the two-year, $26 million extension he's seeking. Instead, the Mets are on the verge of dealing the Cy Young Award-winning knuckleballer to the Blue Jays, according to reports, for top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud and other pieces. I guess this is the move you make...

On Tuesday night, shortly after Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton expressed his frustration with the monster trade which shipped five of his teammates to the Blue Jays, Nationals center fielder Bryce Harper sent a tweet Stanton's way. The message, which has since been deleted, read: "you can always come play for the Nats! We will take you anytime! Get some red, white, and blue in your life!" Last night, Stanton replied to Harper via Twitter with the following: "Dang bro, If only my...

The Nationals got back on track in New York, winning another series, and beating a pitcher who had been unbeatable most of the season. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, lost for just fifth time in his last 29 starts, allowing a game-changing two-run homer to pinch-hitter Tyler Moore, and the Nationals went on to win 5-3. Dickey, who allowed only three runs in seven innings, said he has not seen anyone else hit like the Nationals have this season. "That is the best lineup I have faced," Dickey...

We've got quite a pitching matchup on our hands tonight up in Flushing, N.Y. Two of the top seven in the National League in ERA - R.A. Dickey and Jordan Zimmermann - will toe the rubber at Citi Field. Dickey (18-4, 2.64) is probably the leading candidate for the NL Cy Young award at this point, while Zimmermann (10-8, 2.99) is looking to carry some momentum from his last start out, when he allowed just two runs over seven innings with nine strikeouts in a win over the Cubs. That was the...

With left-hander Gio Gonzalez on the mound, it appeared it would be difficult for the light-hitting Chicago Cubs offense to generate much in the way of runs. Or even hits. Gonzalez was on target Wednesday, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and finishing with seven shutout innings, on three hits, no walks and striking out nine. The Nationals allowed only four hits in the 9-1 dispatch of the Cubs. Gonzalez matched the Mets' R.A. Dickey for the major-league lead with win No. 18. The...

First baseman Adam LaRoche has nothing scientific in his approach to facing Mets knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey on Thursday. He won't be studying multiple DVDs on the lack of spin to the knuckleball or break down every aspect of his at-bat. LaRoche said you have to keep it simple because there isn't anything similar than facing a pitcher as unique as Dickey. "I remember facing (Tim) Wakefield just a handful of times and thinking, 'This is pretty good,' after not seeing it every...

I can't believe I'm actually asking this question right now, but is there a better starting pitcher in baseball as of today than R.A. Dickey? The guy who spent time with four organizations over a five-year span from 2006-2010, the guy who two years ago started the season in Triple-A, the guy who throws a knuckleball for God's sake, is the pitcher who no one in the majors wants to face right now. Dickey dominated the Nationals nearly two weeks ago, holding them scoreless over 7 1/3 innings...

There is a reason Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey has nine wins already this season: His knuckleball is very good, and Dickey can throw more than one variation of it. His best is a hard knuckleball that caused the Nationals serious trouble in a 3-1 setback Thursday at Nationals Park. In Dickey's first meeting with Bryce Harper, he threw the young phenom seven straight knuckleballs that varied in speed from 75 mph to 81 mph. He then struck out Harper on the eighth pitch, a 63 mph,...