Game 96 lineups: Dodgers at Nationals

Game 96 lineups: Dodgers at Nationals
Right-hander Stephen Strasburg just wants to go out and pitch. But if the San Diego State phenom can pull off the win Thursday afternoon against the L.A. Dodgers, he will have given his team a series win and continued the best start in his career at 14-0. With a victory today, he would also tie Roger Clemens (1986) for the fifth-best start in Major League Baseball history. After Wednesday's 8-1 win, the Nationals now have an 18-17 edge all-time over the Dodgers in D.C. Los Angeles counters...

Game 95 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

Game 95 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers
If you experienced last night's sudden and violent thunderstorm, you know how much rain and hail fell from the sky in a very short amount of time. And if you saw photos or video from Nationals Park around 11 p.m., you know how bad the field and warning track looked, with the grounds crew unable to get the tarp out fast enough to beat the storm. Well, only 15 hours later, you'd never know what hit the place. The field looks fantastic, with scant evidence of the damage. Major props to John...

Orioles and Yankees lineups

Orioles and Yankees lineups
NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter has come down with the same stomach virus that's sweeping through the clubhouse and he may not make it to Yankee Stadium for tonight's game. Bench coach John Russell would fill in for Showalter. He's handling the media session later this afternoon. Manny Machado will not start tonight, while Chris Davis and Matt Wieters remain out of the lineup. No word yet on whether Machado is also suffering from the stomach virus. In his absence, Ryan Flaherty...

Game 94 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers

Game 94 lineups: Nats vs. Dodgers
It may not garner as much attention as Lucas Giolito's major league debut a couple of weeks ago, but Reynaldo Lopez's first career start tonight for the Nationals is nearly as significant a development. The 22-year-old right-hander is one of the organization's top pitching prospects and has rocketed his up the farm system in the last year, going from Single-A Potomac to Double-A Harrisburg and then briefly to Triple-A Syracuse before earning this final promotion. Lopez also is the first...

Game 93 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Rendon scratched)

Game 93 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Rendon scratched)
It's going to be a scorcher this afternoon when the Nationals and Pirates take the field for their series finale, but at least it's going to be dry after last night's rain-delayed affair. The Nats are going for the sweep, not to mention a six-game winning streak sandwiched around the All-Star break. For the third straight day, they won't have Daniel Murphy in their lineup. Dusty Baker had indicated Murphy would likely be starting today at first base, and he both jogged and took batting...

Orioles lineup vs. Rays (updated)

Orioles lineup vs. Rays (updated)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Outfielder Hyun Soo Kim remains out of the Orioles lineup tonight, whether it's due to a strained right hamstring or the Rays starting left-hander Matt Moore. The Orioles will check Kim's condition again on Sunday before deciding whether to place him on the disabled list. Nolan Reimold is in left field and Joey Rickard is in right. Mark Trumbo is serving as the designated hitter. Jonathan Schoop is batting .341 (14-for-41) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs...

Game 92 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates

Game 92 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates
Stephen Strasburg set the tone last night with a dominant start to open the season's second half. Does Tanner Roark have one in himself tonight against the Pirates? Roark was given this assignment in part to keep him as close to on-schedule as possible. He hasn't started a game since July 6, but he did pitch 2 1/3 perfect innings in relief Sunday afternoon in New York, not a bad tune-up at all. The Nationals lineup faces a challenge tonight in Gerrit Cole, the Pittsburgh ace who returns from...

Late scratch of Murphy foils Baker's plan for altered lineup

Late scratch of Murphy foils Baker's plan for altered lineup
Dusty Baker thought he had figured out his preferred lineup when the Nationals are facing a left-handed starter, one that included Trea Turner leading off, Michael A. Taylor in center field and Daniel Murphy shifting to first base. But then Murphy had to be scratched from the lineup for tonight's second-half opener against the Pirates, and Baker's master plan had to be thrown out the window. Murphy was scratched due to "general leg soreness," according to the Nationals. Club officials...

Game 91 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Murphy scratched)

Game 91 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Murphy scratched)
And we're back. After a four-day break for All-Star festivities, the Nationals are back in action tonight, opening a nine-game homestand that begins this weekend with three against the Pirates. Stephen Strasburg sat out the Midsummer Classic in San Diego in part because he wanted to make sure he was fresh to start tonight's second-half opener. So this is a big start for the right-hander, who (by the way) is attempting to improve to 13-0 on the season. Erratic left-hander Francisco Liriano...

Orioles and Rays lineups

Orioles and Rays lineups
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hyun Soo Kim is not in tonight's Orioles lineup for the first of three games against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Kim, who left Sunday's final game of the first half with a right hamstring strain, is listed among the reserves on the lineup card. Adam Jones, Chris Davis, Caleb Joseph and Ryan Flaherty took early batting practice. Mychal and Tiffani Givens are the proud parents of daughter Makaylah Grace, born yesterday in Tampa. She's seven pounds and 13 ounces and...

Game 90 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 90 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - And so we have reached the first-half finale of what has been a most interesting season so far for the Nationals. They are guaranteed to go into the All-Star break at least four games up in the National League East, possibly six if they can beat the Mets again this afternoon. It'll be Gio Gonzalez on the mound for this one, and though he has been erratic for most of the last two months, he has dominated at Citi Field over his career (7-1, 1.53 ERA in 12 starts). Fellow left-hander...

Game 88 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 88 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - It's been a busy day already around here, with the Nationals adding two players to the active roster (Trea Turner, Michael A. Taylor) and removing two players from the active roster (Ryan Zimmerman, Lucas Giolito). Meanwhile on the Mets side, Matt Harvey is definitely having season ending thoracic outlet surgery, and Bartolo Colon is an All-Star. Oh, yeah, there's also a game to be played tonight. And it features Stephen Strasburg versus Noah Syndergaard in a matchup of National...

Game 87 lineups: Nats at Mets

Game 87 lineups: Nats at Mets
NEW YORK - Hello from Citi Field, where the Nationals close out the first half of the season with a big, four-game weekend series against the Mets. They enter tonight's opener holding a four-game lead, so that means things could go in a lot of different directions. A sweep by the Mets would leave the two teams tied; a sweep by the Nats would increase the lead to a commanding eight games. More likely is a series split or somebody taking three-of-four, making the most plausible spread at the...

Game 86 lineups: Brewers at Nats

Game 86 lineups: Brewers at Nats
The Nationals have struggled against the Brewers this season, falling in four of five games. They are also 0-2 against Milwaukee at Nats Park. The offense has been limping to the All-Star break. Take out the 12 runs scored against the Reds on Sunday and the Nats have combined for only nine runs in the other four games in July. They have struck out 36 times in those five games. Manager Dusty Baker acknowledged the offense needs to pick up the slack for the starting pitching. Right-hander Tanner...

Game 85 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers

Game 85 lineups: Nats vs. Brewers
It's a big night in baseball, and not necessarily for what's taking place on the field. It's All-Star selection night, which means that shortly after 7 p.m. EDT, several members of the Nationals are going to find out they're heading to San Diego next week for the Midsummer Classic. At last check, Bryce Harper was still in position to be voted as a starting outfielder by fans, with Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos each trying to make late charges. Either way, both Murphy and Ramos are seen as...

Orioles lineup vs. Dodgers (Machado an All-Star starter)

Orioles lineup vs. Dodgers (Machado an All-Star starter)
Hyun Soo Kim is in left field and Mark Trumbo is in right, as the Orioles try to end their five-game losing streak in Los Angeles. Kim is batting second. Jonathan Schoop is seventh. The Orioles are 12-4 in Chris Tillman's 16 interleague starts. Tillman is 4-1 with a 4.88 ERA against the National League, and he's 4-0 with a 2.91 ERA in his last seven starts since July 7, 2014. Tillman has posted a quality start in each of those seven outings and the Orioles are 7-0 in those games. For the...

Orioles lineup vs. Dodgers

Orioles lineup vs. Dodgers
Jonathan Schoop is batting second tonight as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Mark Trumbo is in right field and Joey Rickard is in left. For the Orioles Adam Jones CF Jonathan Schoop 2B Manny Machado 3B Mark Trumbo RF Chris Davis 1B Matt Wieters C J.J. Hardy SS Joey Rickard LF Yovani Gallardo RHP In case you missed it earlier, the Orioles recalled outfielder Dariel Alvarez from Triple-A Norfolk and left-hander Jayson Aquino from Double-A Bowie, placed...

Game 84 lineups: Brewers at Nats

Game 84 lineups: Brewers at Nats
The Nationals now have 50 wins after taking care of the Reds in three of four games. Even with the Mets sweeping the National League-best Cubs in four games, the Nationals still maintain a five game lead in the NL East. Right-hander Max Scherzer gets the rare morning call with his first Independence Day start with the Nationals. Scherzer is 9-5 with a 3.30 ERA. He has a 1-1 record with a 2.89 ERA in five appearance (four starts) against the Brewers. He has 39 strikeouts in 28 innings against...

Orioles want to avoid being swept in Seattle (updated)

Orioles want to avoid being swept in Seattle (updated)
Caleb Joseph is behind the plate today as the Orioles try to avoid being swept in a four-game series in Seattle for the first time since June 2000. Joseph is making his first start since May 30. Starter Ubaldo Jimenez owns a career 3.47 ERA in 40 starts with Joseph catching and a 7.36 ERA in 19 starts with Matt Wieters behind the plate. However, Wieters caught his last two starts that resulted in victories over the Padres. Chris Davis' home run last night was his 182nd with the Orioles, tying...

Game 82 lineups: Reds at Nats

Game 82 lineups: Reds at Nats
Welcome to the second half of the season. The Nationals lost seven in a row last week. They now have won six in a row. I know, that's kind of hard to believe. So, tonight's game affords the club an opportunity to win their seventh in a row, which would tie their season-high streak. They enjoyed a seven-game run from April 10-16. The Nats have outscored opponents 39-14 during this recent stretch. Right-hander Joe Ross (7-4, 3.30 ERA) gets the call tonight for the Nats, his first ever...