ST. LOUIS - There's going to be a lot of scoreboard watching tonight - and pretty much every night over the next 12 days - as four teams (the Nationals, Cardinals, Cubs and Brewers) go down to the wire to secure the three remaining postseason berths available in the National League. There's one thing the Nationals can do, however, to make life easier on everyone: Win tonight's game. Every day the Nats win a game from here on out is a day they get closer to locking up a wild card berth....

Chris Davis has returned to the lineup for the Orioles' series opener against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Davis hasn't played since Wednesday against the Dodgers. He's accumulated only nine plate appearances this month. Trey Mancini is the designated hitter and DJ Stewart is in right field. Mason Williams is in center field. Rio Ruiz is batting cleanup. Chandler Shepherd is making his first major league start and third appearance, becoming the 17th pitcher to start for the Orioles this...

The Washington Nationals and hospitality partner Levy are proud to announce a new partnership with Nourish Now, a Maryland-based food recovery non-profit. Nourish Now will receive and distribute appropriate excess food items from Nationals Park's concession stands, clubs, and suites. The comprehensive food recovery program will also include food from special events held at the ballpark throughout the year. The majority of the collected items will provide vital support to children, families,...

After going 2-2 at Detroit in a one-series road trip, the Orioles are back at Oriole Park tonight. They host Toronto in Game 1 of a three-game series and six-game homestand to wrap up the 2019 home season. The Orioles (49-101) have 12 games remaining. They are 3-3 over the last six games but 4-11 in September. They are 21-46 versus the American League East and 7-6 against Toronto. The Blue Jays are the only division team the Birds hold a winning record over. The Orioles are 23-52 at home and...

ST. LOUIS - For more than two months now, the Nationals have not only been in wild card position but (aside from a couple of days) have been in the driver's seat to host the Oct. 1 winner-take-all game. As recently as two weeks ago, they held a four-game lead over the Cubs for home field advantage and a seven-game lead for a spot in the wild card game. And by the end of play tonight, they could have given all of it back. The combination of a sluggish September (6-9) for the Nationals with a...

ST. LOUIS - Chip Hale insisted he would manage this game just like Davey Martinez, believing that he wanted to keep things as similar as possible tonight, even as the Nationals skipper watched from back home in Washington while recovering from a minor procedure after experiencing chest pain. Beyond that, Hale just believes he and Martinez are on the same wavelength when it comes to managing this team through a tight ballgame. The key decisions Hale made tonight - pulling Stephen Strasburg after...

Two Orioles minor league pitchers were named classification All-Stars by Baseball America. The publication names All-Star teams for each classification - Triple-A, Double-A and so on down the line. That involves three leagues in each classification in most cases and Baseball America selected six pitchers - five starters and one reliever for each team. Double-A Bowie lefty Zac Lowther was named a Double-A classification All-Star. For the Baysox he went 13-7 with a 2.55 ERA. Over 148 innings he...

ST. LOUIS - On a muggy Monday night at Busch Stadium, the last thing the Nationals needed was a short outing from Stephen Strasburg. Alas, that's exactly what they appear to be getting. Though he has allowed only two runs so far, Strasburg has thrown a whopping 76 pitches through three innings against a Cardinals lineup that is making the Nats right-hander work as hard as he has all season. Strasburg needed 38 pitches just to complete the bottom of the first, with four of St. Louis' first six...

DETROIT - Jonathan Villar was born to run. Which also means it's in his blood to get thrown out on certain occasions. That's the risk he takes. The Orioles can't tame him. It's more like they're trying to educate him on the proper times to be aggressive and to show some restraint. Make smart decisions, but don't become timid. A recent check of baserunning WARs - and yes, such a thing exists - found Villar tied with the Mariners' Mallex Smith for best in the majors at 0.9. He's stolen 35...

DETROIT - Four pitches into today's start, left-hander John Means already had surrendered a leadoff triple and a long home run. He hadn't worked up a sweat. Hadn't built up any mound dirt in his spikes. Means would get on a serious roll after Jordy Mercer's 424-footer into the left field seats. Back to the form that allowed him to string together four consecutive quality starts and surrender two earned runs or fewer in five. Would it be too late? Would a team knocking off the two hardest...