Orioles acquire José Berroa from Pirates (plus other notes)
Orioles acquire José Berroa from Pirates (plus other notes)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The Orioles have traded Triple-A Norfolk catcher Taylor Davis to the Pirates in exchange for outfielder José Berroa, who will be assigned to a Florida Complex team in Sarasota, Fla. Berroa, 19, was signed by the Pirates as an international free agent from Santo Domingo, D.R., on July 2, 2018. He appeared in a combined 56 games for the Pirates Rookie-level Dominican Summer League affiliates in 2019 and posted a .254 average (48-for-189) with a .678 OPS, six doubles, three triples, 21 RBIs and...
Nationals select contract of Justin Miller
Nationals select contract of Justin Miller
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Justin Miller and designated right-handed pitcher Rogelio Armenteros for assignment on Tuesday. Additionally, the Nationals placed right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer on the 10-day Injured List (retroactive to June 12) with groin inflammation. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Miller, 34, joins the Nationals after going 1-0 with five saves, a 0.55 ERA (1 ER/16.1...
Orioles and Indians lineups
Orioles and Indians lineups
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Austin Hays and Maikel Franco return to the lineup tonight as the Orioles continue their series in Cleveland. Hays is in right field after staying on the bench last night. Franco is playing third base after delivering a pinch-hit single. Trey Mancini is the first baseman. DJ Stewart is in left field and Anthony Santander is the designated hitter. Austin Wynns is behind the plate for the third time in four games. Since being stuck with four unearned runs on May 7, Matt Harvey has surrendered 31...
Game 64 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Scherzer to IL)
Game 64 lineups: Nats vs. Pirates (Scherzer to IL)
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
First, the news of the day, not totally unexpected: The Nationals have placed Max Scherzer on the 10-day injured list with groin inflammation. The move is retroactive to Saturday, so that means he'll be eligible to return one week from today against the Phillies. Again, no shocker here, and Scherzer certainly seems to expect he'll be good to go by then. With a chance to add another pitcher, the Nats purchased right-hander Justin Miller's contract from Triple-A Rochester, bringing back the...
O's game blog: Matt Harvey tries to turn it around in Cleveland
O's game blog: Matt Harvey tries to turn it around in Cleveland
Steve Melewski
Orioles
It's back on the field tonight for the Orioles for the second game of a four-game series at Cleveland. The Orioles are winless on this road trip, have lost five in a row overall and 16 straight road games since winning at Seattle on May 6 when John Means pitched a no-hitter. The Orioles (22-43) lost 4-3 on Monday night and they are now 1-10 in their past 11 games decided by one or two runs. They are 4-11 in one-run games after that series-opening loss. The Birds are 4-10 versus the American...
Mullins' low All-Star count, Kremer's read, Bannon update
Mullins' low All-Star count, Kremer's read, Bannon update
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The structure of the voting for the 2021 All-Star Game allows the top nine outfielders in each league to advance to the next "phase," as Major League Baseball is calling it. Cedric Mullins is currently 10th with 145,537 votes. Of course it's ridiculous. His 2.9 WAR last night, per Fangraphs.com, ranked fifth in the American League at any position, his 78 hits were tied for third in the majors and he led off the game with a single, and his defense has been Gold Glove-worthy. But the All-Star...
Kremer makes impressive return in 4-3 loss (updated)
Kremer makes impressive return in 4-3 loss (updated)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Dean Kremer made his 14th major league start tonight and could brag of being the most experienced pitcher among the three rookies now planted in the Orioles rotation for however long it lasts. Kremer was recalled this afternoon from Triple-A Norfolk, his reset complete, and joined left-handers Bruce Zimmermann and Keegan Akin, who have started in 12 and nine games, respectively. If fans want a distraction from the losing streaks that keep hounding this club, a trio of pitching prospects taking...
Schwarber's power surge again propels Nats to win (updated)
Schwarber's power surge again propels Nats to win (updated)
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Kyle Schwarber tried to act like a traditional leadoff hitter in the third inning of tonight's series opener on South Capitol Street, attempting to use his legs to take an extra base that wasn't there for the taking and paying the price for it. So when the opportunity to make a difference in this game came four innings later, Schwarber decided he'd be better off doing it the best way he knows how: by hitting the ball a long way and making the trip around the bases risk-free. Schwarber's...
Scherzer makes case for pine tar, not stickier stuff
Scherzer makes case for pine tar, not stickier stuff
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
After offering an update on the status of a tweaked groin that will prevent him from starting Wednesday's series finale against the Pirates, Max Scherzer offered a lengthy take on a subject matter that has become current issue No. 1 across baseball: foreign substances. With Major League Baseball attempting to crack down on pitchers using so-called "sticky stuff" to improve their grip and spin rate, Scherzer spoke of both players' desire to allow certain substances to be used to help prevent...
Minor league notes on Hall, Smith, Grenier and more
Minor league notes on Hall, Smith, Grenier and more
Steve Melewski
Orioles
For a Double-A Bowie team that has been winning a lot and bashing the ball all year, another player has emerged recently with a hot bat. And that is infielder Cadyn Grenier, who has made 23 starts for the Baysox at shortstop, with five at second base and one at third base. Grenier, 24, posted a respectable .740 OPS in 2019 in 106 games between low Single-A Delmarva and high Single-A Frederick. He batted .244/.355/.384. But now the player taken No. 37 overall in the 2018 draft out of Oregon...