Wood's big blast, Irvin's quality start lift Nats to sweep (updated)
Mark Zuckerman
Masn
The formula that won Saturday night’s game wasn’t going to be plausible today. The Nationals simply couldn’t afford another ultra-abbreviated outing from their starter, putting even more strain on an already strained bullpen. So Jake Irvin did his part, rediscovering the form that made him one of the league’s breakout pitchers in the first half of
O's game blog: Looking for a sweep to start the second half
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Even though the Orioles' first half ended with that crazy win over the Yankees last Sunday in Baltimore, they did go 1-5 on that homestand and were 9-13 in their past 22 games heading into the break. But today, after wins by 9-1 and 8-4 at Globe Life Field, they have a chance to begin the second half with a three-game sweep of the Rangers. For the
Nats will use fifth starter Tuesday, sooner than expected
Mark Zuckerman
Masn
The second half schedule afforded the Nationals the option of waiting a while before using their fifth starter. They’ve decided, though, to go ahead and use him now. The Nats will send that yet-to-be-announced starter to the mound Tuesday against the Padres in what is actually the team’s fourth game coming out of the All-Star break. That pushes lef
O'Hearn provides update on sore knee, Kjerstad relieved to be playing again after concussion (lineup change)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
ARLINGTON, Texas – Ryan O’Hearn has his left knee wrapped after being hit last night by a 95.1 mph fastball from Rangers reliever Daniel Robert. He’s out of the lineup but would have been on the bench with the Orioles facing left-hander Andrew Heaney. O’Hearn stayed down as head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and manager Brandon Hyde rushed onto the f
Rutschman leading off in series finale in Texas
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles go for the sweep of the Rangers this afternoon with Adley Rutschman leading off, Austin Hays in left field and Ryan Mountcastle at first base. Gunnar Henderson is on the bench. Hays is 5-for-12 with two doubles and two home runs against Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney. Mountcastle is 4-for-8 with two doubles and two
Game 100 lineups: Nats vs. Reds
Mark Zuckerman
Masn
The Nationals have already won back-to-back series. Now they have a shot at a rare series sweep if they can beat the Reds again in this afternoon’s finale. Though they’ve somehow managed to win a pair of games in the last week in which their starter didn’t even reach the third inning, that’s probably not a formula for sustained success. So it would
Cano gets his season back on track
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Orioles right-handed reliever Yennier Cano is a pretty important pitcher in the Baltimore bullpen. He has three saves this season but has made most of his appearances as a setup man in the eighth inning. While some numbers for him are not as good as last season when he was an American League All-Star, he recently made a few tweaks that helped
Nittoli hoping to stay with Orioles in latest baseball stop
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
ARLINGTON, Texas – Reliever Vinny Nittoli has become a collector of baseball memorabilia. He didn’t set out to make it a hobby. His professional career led him to it. “In my man cave I have probably every hat from every team,” he said yesterday afternoon from the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field. “It’s been like 30 with minor leagues and majo
Orioles ride another fast start to 8-4 win over Rangers (updated)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles were a little more patient tonight before pouncing on a Rangers veteran starting pitcher. They actually waited until the second inning. For the post-break Orioles, that’s considered slow out of the gate. Nine batters came to the plate against three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and four runs scored to match last n
Nats overcome another short start, rally late to beat Reds (updated)
Mark Zuckerman
Masn
That the Nationals had to ask for at least seven innings from their bullpen for the second time in four games was aggravating. That they somehow were still in position to win another one of these games was absolutely remarkable. And yet here the Nats were once again, forced to turn to the bullpen early after an extra-abbreviated outing from their s