Orioles break out with nine-run inning and roll to 14-1 win (updated)
Orioles break out with nine-run inning and roll to 14-1 win (updated)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
If the Orioles can't jump back into playoff contention over the last two weeks of the season, they certainly can find other ways to make good use of these games. Get Austin Hays back in the major league flow after another freakish injury, whether he's starting in an outfield corner or in center. Learn whether Cedric Mullins can be more than a fourth outfielder and whether DJ Stewart can avoid a power outage. Reintroduce Ryan Mountcastle to first base, the third of his four positions as a...
A few notes on a huge night of O's offense
A few notes on a huge night of O's offense
Steve Melewski
Orioles
After a weekend where the Orioles scored three runs in four losses at Yankee Stadium, we didn't have to wait long to see if the club would break out tonight. The Orioles led 10-0 by the third inning and the top four in their order were putting up crazy numbers. They piled it on to beat the first-place Atlanta Braves 14-1 in a blowout win to start a three-game series and eight-game homestand against first-place teams. In the four games at New York, the Orioles batted .138 (16-for-116) and went...
O's game blog: The final homestand begins
O's game blog: The final homestand begins
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Things move fast in a shortened 60-game season and the final homestand will begin tonight. The Orioles (20-26) will host the Atlanta Braves (28-19) to start a three-game series and an eight-game homestand versus first-place teams. Tampa Bay is in town beginning Thursday. The Braves lead the National League East by 3 1/2 games over Miami and by four over Philadelphia. Atlanta just won three out of four at Washington, a series that began a day after Wednesday's 29-9 win over Miami. The Braves...
Nats' final road trip of 2020 begins with another roster change
Nats' final road trip of 2020 begins with another roster change
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
This one's hard to believe, but it's true: The Nationals today begin their final road trip of the season. With their first and only trek to Florida to face the Rays and Marlins, the Nats are wrapping up the most difficult part of their shortened schedule from a health-and-safety standpoint. They've managed to travel to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Atlanta so far and avoid any positive coronavirus tests. Now they finally venture south to the Sunshine State. The Nationals were...
Davis back on injured list, Wilkerson released and other notes
Davis back on injured list, Wilkerson released and other notes
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis has returned to the 10-day injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis after appearing in only one game, which clears a roster spot for outfielder Austin Hays. Hays has been activated from the injured list and is in left field for tonight's game against the Braves at Camden Yards. Davis was in the lineup for Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader against the Yankees in the Bronx. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and is slashing .115/.164/.173 in 55 plate...
Tanner Scott looks to bounce back, get strong year rolling again
Tanner Scott looks to bounce back, get strong year rolling again
Steve Melewski
Orioles
If a relief pitcher gets to the mound enough, even one that is having a good season, eventually something will go wrong. For 26-year-old Orioles bullpen lefty Tanner Scott, yesterday was that day. He entered with two on and two outs in a 1-1 tie in the last of the eighth to face Brett Gardner. But Gleyber Torres had not started for New York and was sent up as a pinch-hitter. Torres took a 97 mph Scott fastball for ball one. Then Scott threw another 97 mph heater. It was down in the zone, but...
Orioles activating Austin Hays from injured list
Orioles activating Austin Hays from injured list
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Austin Hays is going to be activated from the injured list and is in tonight's lineup for the series opener against the Braves at Camden Yards. The Orioles must make a corresponding roster move to accommodate Hays, who's been on the IL with a non-displaced fracture in his left ribcage. Hays is slashing .203/.273/.246 in 19 games. Manager Brandon Hyde hasn't posted his lineup, but Chance Sisco is in it. Thomas Eshelman is expected to start Tuesday night, as long as he isn't needed tonight...
Cronin refining curveball as he works toward big league goal
Cronin refining curveball as he works toward big league goal
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Lots of chatter from the Nationals recently about how well Matt Cronin is doing at the alternate training site. The left-hander has been dominant and has had the opportunity to showcase his stuff against experienced Nats hitters. "It was a little bit of an adjustment at first just facing more seasoned hitters," Cronin said. "Guys who knew the zone a little better and are used to seeing higher-quality stuff. I was struggling just attacking hitters when I first got here, but after the...
Roster attrition leaves Nats in tough spot with two weeks to go
Roster attrition leaves Nats in tough spot with two weeks to go
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Though they don't want to admit it publicly, the Nationals have reached the point in their season in which the playoffs are no longer a realistic goal. Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Braves left them at 17-28, a whopping 10 games behind Atlanta in the National League East and five games behind the Giants for the NL's eighth and final postseason berth. To finish .500, the Nats would need to somehow go 13-2 down the stretch. A sub-.500 record might still be good enough to squeak in as the final wild...
Orioles battered in Bronx, trying to bounce back against Braves
Orioles battered in Bronx, trying to bounce back against Braves
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The Orioles haven't been eliminated from the playoff race. It just feels that way. Beginning a four-game series in the Bronx only 1 1/2 behind the Yankees, the Orioles were swept and bypassed by the Tigers. They have the same 20-26 record as the Mariners. And now they get the Braves for three games to begin their final homestand of the season. The offense shoulders most of the blame for scoring only three runs in 33 innings. John Means kept them close yesterday, just as Dean Kremer did the...