Mullins on his 2021 season and moving forward
Mullins on his 2021 season and moving forward
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Cedric Mullins is going to be his own tough act to follow. What can the Most Valuable Oriole and the first player in franchise history with a 30/30 season do for an encore in 2022? "Those are things that I take into consideration in the offseason," Mullins said this afternoon while sitting in the dugout before batting practice. "If my goal is to be a 35/35 guy or better, it's a matter of finding out how I can become that guy." Manager Brandon Hyde trusts that Mullins won't become...
Orioles and Red Sox lineups
Orioles and Red Sox lineups
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Ryan McKenna stays in left field tonight as the Orioles continue their series with the Red Sox in the penultimate home game of 2021. Austin Hays is in right. Trey Mancini is the designated hitter. Pat Valaika is playing second base and Richie Martin is the shortstop. Catcher Pedro Severino has a seven-game hitting streak, one short of his career high in 2018. He's batting .385 (10-for-26) during the streak, with one double, one home run, five RBIs, three walks and two runs scored. Rookie...
Corbin won't pitch again in 2021, Sunday starter TBD
Corbin won't pitch again in 2021, Sunday starter TBD
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Turns out Patrick Corbin's start Tuesday night in Colorado was his final outing of the season. Nationals manager Davey Martinez met with the left-hander this morning and emerged with the decision not to send him back to the mound for one final start in Sunday's season finale against the Red Sox, for both physical and emotional reasons. "You saw Patrick make his last start yesterday," Martinez said in his Zoom session with reporters prior to today's game against the Rockies. "He's got a...
Game 159 lineups: Nats at Rockies
Game 159 lineups: Nats at Rockies
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
It's the final road game of the season for the Nationals, who haven't exactly thrived away from home in 2021. They enter today's matinee at Coors Field with a 30-50 record on the road, though if they win it'll only be the fifth-worst away record in club history, the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 teams having been worse. It's also the final start of the season for Paolo Espino. Who could've imagined the way this played out for the journeyman right-hander? Summoned way back in mid-April for an...
Outfielder Cedric Mullins named 2021 Most Valuable Oriole
Outfielder Cedric Mullins named 2021 Most Valuable Oriole
Doug Miller
Orioles
The Orioles today announced that outfielder Cedric Mullins has been voted the unanimous winner of the 2021 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis. He will be recognized for his accomplishments in an on-field ceremony prior to tonight's game against the Boston Red Sox. Mullins enters play today hitting .297/.367/.531 (173-for-582) with 36 doubles, five triples, 30 home runs, 89 runs scored, 59 RBI, 59 walks, 30 stolen...
Who's to blame for Nats' extra-long games this season?
Who's to blame for Nats' extra-long games this season?
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Juan Soto went 0-for-4 without reaching base Tuesday night, and that still didn't qualify as the most surprising fact about the Nationals' 3-1 loss to the Rockies. No, that honor went not to any one individual but to the clock at Coors Field. The game started at 6:40 p.m. local time, and it ended at 9:40 p.m. local time. Yes, a three-hour ballgame. At the best hitter's park in baseball, with two of the worst pitching staffs in baseball competing against each other. For the Nats, this was an...
O's top-rated farm honored its top players at the Yard
O's top-rated farm honored its top players at the Yard
Steve Melewski
Orioles
After a season in which the Orioles farm system was ranked No. 1 in the majors by MLBPipeline.com and No. 2 by Baseball America - reaching heights they had never before seen - some of the players responsible for such a lofty ranking took home some hardware at Oriole Park on Tuesday night. In a pregame ceremony, the O's honored catcher Adley Rutschman and outfielder Kyle Stowers as co-winners of the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year Award, and right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who...
Another encouraging start for Corbin, but Nats lose (updated)
Another encouraging start for Corbin, but Nats lose (updated)
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
We don't know at this point if Patrick Corbin will pitch again this season. Davey Martinez is still contemplating whether to send him back to the mound for Sunday's finale against the Red Sox, or whether to let tonight's outing in Colorado serve as his closing act on a dismal 2021. If, however, this was it for Corbin this season, he can head home for the winter with at least some reason to feel better about things. His final numbers were unsalvageable, but the left-hander did put together...
Speedster Mullins runaway winner of MVO award (updated)
Speedster Mullins runaway winner of MVO award (updated)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Each year that the Most Valuable Oriole is announced, I harken back to one of the best quotes ever delivered on this beat. Outfielder B.J. Surhoff played 162 games in 1999, amassed 207 hits to go along with a .308 average, .347 on-base percentage, 38 doubles, 28 home runs and 107 RBIs on a sub-.500 team and earned the award. The media approached the dour Surhoff at his locker to seek his reaction, as it normally did in pre-Zoom times. He turned to us and said, "I know why you guys picked me....
Zimmermann stingy in return and O's rally past Red Sox (updated)
Zimmermann stingy in return and O's rally past Red Sox (updated)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Bruce Zimmermann was worth the long wait for the Orioles. The multiple injuries and more than three months between starts. The unexpected delay in his return and further rehab. This is what September is about in Baltimore. The presentation of another prospect to evaluate, and the hopes of squeezing out a few more wins and perhaps influence a pennant race. The Orioles took a poke at the Red Sox's balloon, winning 4-2 before an announced crowd of 8,098 at Camden Yards in the last home series in...