If you are trying to get a handle on how the Orioles will do this year and you watched them play the last week, you might be very confused. They swept three straight from a Tampa Bay team that won 96 games last year. Then they played the depleted Miami Marlins, who restarted their season after about a week's stay in the hotel and with little prep for this series, and they lost four straight. The Birds have now played in three straight series ending in sweeps. They lost two in a row to the...

They've had a bunch of days off in the last week, but the Nationals are going to make up for it with a bunch of doubleheaders later in the season. Major League Baseball announced a slew of schedule changes Thursday to account for all the games lost due to coronavirus outbreaks among the Marlins and Cardinals. And in order for the Nats to make up their postponed weekend against Miami, they're going to have to play three doubleheaders in two cities before season's end. The Nationals and...

Is the path clearer for Ryan Mountcastle to make his major league debut? Can an hour pass without someone asking why he's still at the Bowie camp site? There's absolutely no doubt that Mountcastle is going to play for the Orioles this summer, and it could happen at any minute with his service time unaffected by a promotion. There are no excuses beyond the organization's mandate that he must be able to handle left field rather than serve exclusively as the designated hitter and must exhibit...

The bats came out of the rack. They made some loud noises. The threat of another shutout was obliterated like the pitch Renato Núñez launched into the left field seats to open the top of the second inning. If the Orioles were going to lose again tonight, at least they'd go down swinging. A problem is fixed and the ship springs two other leaks. And the solution wasn't to keep plugging away. Wade LeBlanc lasted only 3 1/3 innings, the defense collapsed behind him and an offensive rush...

After scoring one run on 10 hits in the first three games of this series, the Orioles host Miami tonight in the final game of the set. They're batting just .130 (10-for-77) and have gone 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position in losing the series' first three games. They averaged 5.5 runs per game in the four games preceding this series, but it hasn't happened against the Marlins. They got three hits each in the first and second games of the series and four hits in the late game last...

The roster is set at 28 players after the Orioles optioned DJ Stewart to the alternate camp site at Bowie following last night's doubleheader. No moves have been made this afternoon, and the team is doing stretching exercises and taking batting practice after an earlier gathering on the field with manager Brandon Hyde that included a round of applause but no explanation. Stewart missed it. He left the club last night after going 0-for-14 with six walks and eight strikeouts this season. "Like...

José Iglesias is getting the start at shortstop tonight rather than kept as the designated hitter or a pinch-hitter. Rio Ruiz, however, isn't ready to return to third base while dealing with a sore right shoulder. Ruiz is 7-for-22 (.318) with three home runs and a 1.112 OPS. Iglesias is 11-for-24 (.458) with six doubles and a 1.188 OPS. The Orioles need both of them with their offense in a major funk. An offense that's totaled one run and 10 hits in three losses in the series. Ruiz could...

He is one of several Orioles relievers who may be showing early this season that some offseason improvements and tweaks are taking hold. O's bullpen right-hander Miguel Castro has thrown 6 1/3 scoreless innings to date over six games, allowing four hits with one walk to eight strikeouts. For Castro, command and control have always been big because the raw stuff is solid. His fastball velocity is up from last year's 97.4 mph to 98.0, and his changeup speed is up from 90.6 mph to 92.4 per...

In order to get down to the league-mandated 28-man roster by noon ET today, the Nationals optioned right-hander James Bourque to their Fredericksburg site and designated for assignment veteran Emilio Bonifácio. With the return of Wander Suero, Bourque's appearances would have diminished. Bourque appeared in two games, most recently 1/3 of an inning July 28 against the Blue Jays in which he walked Teoscar Hernández and induced a groundout by Cavan Biggio to end the ninth inning. On July...

After a coronavirus outbreak slammed the rosters of the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball added new provisions to its safety protocols, threatening suspensions for repeated or flagrant violations, according to USA TODAY Sports. The newspaper's website reported that MLB now requires players and staff to wear masks in the dugout, clubhouse and at all public places on the road as well as in the hotel. MLB's six-page memo, released Wednesday to the 30 teams, said the...