It isn't the most dramatic way to win a game, but the Orioles will take it. Julio Lugo grounded to shortstop Ian Desmond with one out and runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth. A sure double play and extra innings - except second baseman Cristian Guzman made a wide throw to first, and Adam Dunn couldn't get his glove down and stop the ball from shooting past him. Pinch-runner Jake Fox raced home with the winning run, and the Orioles completed their rally from a 6-0...

Lefthander Ross Detwiler told me he is scheduled to make his next start for Harrisburg Tuesday night at the Portland Sea Dogs. Ross is hoping to go 70 to 75 pitches in his 4th start in the minors. Detwiler has started two games for the Sens, going 7.2 innings, allowing 10 hits, one earned run, one walk and two strikeouts. He has a 1.17 ERA with Harrisburg. He also had one rehab start in Potomac, going three innings, allowing no runs on 40 pitches. Detwiler's combined stats in three...

Scott Moore just launched a pinch-hit, two-run homer off Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard in the bottom of the eighth to reduce Washington's lead to 6-5. Moore was batting for Garrett Atkins, which raised the following question: Does this count as the Orioles' first home run by a first baseman? So far, the answer is "no," because Moore hasn't played the position tonight. It just goes down as a pinch-hit homer - the second for the Orioles this season. Luke Scott came off the bench and...

After going 1-8 in the last two games of the series with Florida, Nick Markakis has three hits tonight. He is 3 for 4 with three singles. He entered this game batting .339 over his last 16 games and he now has nine multi-hit games over his past 16 games. This is his fourth, three-hit game of the season and first since May 1st vs. Boston. And Jim Riggleman has not made a pitching change in the last five minutes. Let's keep it that way. The Nats, who lead 6-3 in the seventh, had scored...

Tonight's attendance: 43,484. Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan is having the game of his life tonight. He's 4-for-4 with a double, RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base, he's robbed Corey Patterson of a home run and he's run down Miguel Tejada's bases-loaded shot to left-center field. He's made a much better impression than the one he left back in D.C. All three of the Orioles' runs in the fifth were unearned after two errors by Nats shortstop Ian Desmond. Are we really...

Here is a remarkable stat. When Adam Dunn batted in the fourth inning a few moments ago, with runners on first and third and two outs, Dunn was just one for 30 batting this year with runners in scoring position and two outs. That is an average of .033. Now he is 2 for 31. Dunn ripped a 3-2 pitch that was just inside the right-field line and it went for a two-run double. Dunn has 4 RBI to tie his season high as the Nats lead the O's 6-0 in the last of the fourth. After giving up four runs...

We're getting the bad version of Jake Arrieta tonight. For those of you keeping score at home, that's two impressive outings followed by two poor ones. Arrieta has allowed six runs (five earned) and eight hits in four innings, as the Nationals provide a nice cushion for J.D. Martin. Arrieta also has issued two walks, and his pitch count is up to 84. I expected interim manager Juan Samuel to pop out of the dugout after Adam Dunn's two-run double with two outs in the fourth, but Arrieta...

Jake Arrieta certainly does not look sharp early in this game and the Nationals have taken advantage of their scoring chances to take a 3-0 lead after two and a half innings at the Yard. The O's spotted Florida an early 3-0 lead last night so maybe this is a new strategy. The top of the Nats order, which has been struggling we hear, has gotten on base in the first and third to set up their runs. Nyjer Morgan has already scored twice and Arrieta needed 28 pitches to get through the first...

We can start with Jake Arrieta's marathon first inning, and how his pitch count stands at 57 through the third. We can proceed to the 3-0 deficit, and how Arrieta has allowed five hits and walked a batter. There's also the throwing error by Matt Wieters in the first. And the double play from Miguel Tejada, who swung at the initial offering from Nationals starter J.D. Martin after Corey Patterson led off the bottom of the first with a seven-pitch walk. Garrett Atkins, in his first at-bat...

It's been an interesting few weeks for O's outfielder Nick Markakis. He spoke out about his teammates approach at the plate on offense. And he also found time to meet with O's owner Peter Angelos to exchange thoughts about the future of the Orioles. Does all this mean Markakis is ready to take a prominent leadership role on this team? "You can call it what you want. I think I'm just taking the right steps to try and get this stuff going in the right direction. I'm not saying who we...