Josh Land

Charlie Fliegel: Nats bullpen is missing effective left-handed specialist

August 24, 2016, 5:45am

The Nationals bullpen has been overused the last week, thanks to short stints from starting pitchers. However, since the addition of Mark Melancon, most of the title-worthy roles appear to have stabilized in the 'pen. Except one spot seems to be missing, and it's a need they must address. Melancon is, of course, the closer. Shawn Kelley seems to have nabbed the role of setup man. Since the beginning of July, he's only given up four earned runs in 20 appearances, held opponents to a .269...

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Yard Work podcast: Episode 12

August 23, 2016, 2:35pm

Orioles

Hey, O's fans. Welcome to the latest edition of Yard Work. We're changing things up a bit this week. With the Orioles and Nationals resuming their annual Battle of the Beltways, we thought we'd combine our two squads - myself from Yard Work and MASNsports.com's Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr from District 34 - for a joint podcast session. The Orioles and Nationals have squared off each season, though the rivalry has been a little one-sided. The O's have taken the season series each year since...

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Steve Mears: Nats have struggled with situational hitting

August 23, 2016, 5:48am

Nationals

Steve Mears: Nats have struggled with situational hitting

Last night, situational hitting once again was a focus by the discerning eye as to why the Nationals offense sputtered. The lack of execution in productive outs, and hitting with runners in scoring position was beyond poor. In fact the RISP hitting finished at 1-for-9 and there were no productive outs made in the game by the Nationals, even though three times they had a leadoff man on second base and no outs to start an inning. We saw it right from the beginning of the game when Trea Turner...

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Ryan Romano: What's to blame for Trumbo's strange slump?

August 23, 2016, 4:52am

Orioles

Ryan Romano: What's to blame for Trumbo's strange slump?

As the Orioles go, so goes Mark Trumbo. In the first half of the season, the newest O's slugger put up some of the best offensive numbers in baseball. His .288/.341/.582 triple-slash translated to a 142 wRC+, ranking him 17th among qualified hitters. The club rode that scorching start, and the other hot hitters who backed it up, to a 51-36 first-half record. Since then, their performance has fallen off -- they've gone 16-20 in the second half of the season -- and Trumbo has played a big...

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Nationals recall RHP A.J. Cole

August 22, 2016, 9:54am

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher A.J. Cole from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday and placed right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow soreness, retroactive to Aug. 21. Cole will start against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Cole, 24, rejoins the Nationals for his second Major League assignment of the season. The right-hander was...

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Nats place Strasburg on DL, recall Cole to start tonight

August 22, 2016, 9:48am

Nationals

Nats place Strasburg on DL, recall Cole to start tonight

The month of August hasn't been kind to Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg. A 1-3 record and an ERA north of 10 has put a bit of a damper on an otherwise tremendous 2016 season for the right-hander. Now, unfortunately, the 28-year-old must battle another setback. The Nationals announced Monday they have placed Strasburg on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow soreness, retroactive to August 21. Strasburg, who was in line to start tonight's opener against the Orioles in the annual...

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Andrew Stetka: Orioles should look to deal strength for depth

August 21, 2016, 2:48pm

Orioles

There's a good debate going on throughout the baseball world right now about Orioles closer Zach Britton. Some believe he should get consideration for the Cy Young Award at season's end. Others don't think that honor should go to relief pitchers who don't accumulate as many innings as starters during the season. The argument is really about value. There's no real question that Britton, who has given up a staggering three earned runs all season, carries a lot of value. That value is seen by...

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Orioles recall RHP Parker Bridwell from Triple-A Norfolk

August 21, 2016, 8:13am

Orioles

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled RHP Parker Bridwell from Triple-A Norfolk. Bridwell, 25, went a combined 4-2 with a 4.13 ERA (32 ER/69.2 IP) in 24 games (seven starts) between the Gulf Coast League Orioles (three games), Short-Season A Aberdeen (two games), Double-A Bowie (18 games), and Triple-A Norfolk (one game) this season. In 138 career minor league games (117 starts), he went 30-43 with a 4.75 ERA (341 ER/646.1 IP). His first appearance with the Orioles will be his...

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Yard Work: Episode 11

August 19, 2016, 1:15pm

Orioles

Happy Friday, Orioles fans. Welcome to this week's edition of Yard Work. On this episode.... It seems like the Orioles have done a total flip flop since the start of the season. For the first few months, the O's dealt with inconsistent starting pitching. Each night was a gamble in terms of the starter and there were a few nights were a great offensive output wasn't enough to mask struggles on the mound. Over the past few months, however, the starting pitching has settled in, with starters...

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Patrick Reddington: Mark Melancon credits cutter for his career success

August 19, 2016, 5:35am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Mark Melancon credits cutter for his career success

With a scoreless ninth inning last night in Atlanta, new Washington Nationals closer Mark Melancon has retired 23 of the 27 batters he's faced since he was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates. When the 31-year-old right-hander has talked about the turning point for him in his career, he's pointed to the development of his cutter, as he did in an MLB Network Radio interview following the trade that brought him to the Nationals last month when he was asked what changed for him once he got to...

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Matthew Taylor: Hyun Soo Kim deserving of Hitting Machine nickname

August 19, 2016, 4:58am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Hyun Soo Kim deserving of Hitting Machine nickname

Hyun Soo Kim stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning on Thursday night with a chance to do something that no Orioles batter has done since ... Sunday. OK, so Matt Wieters' five-hit game at San Francisco, only the third ever by an Orioles catcher, made the possibility of a five-hit game for Kim seem less important. Regardless, it would have been a unique and fitting accomplishment for the rookie nicknamed Hitting Machine. Only one O's rookie has totaled a five-hit game in his...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Baseball's No-Hit Wonders"

August 18, 2016, 12:42pm

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Baseball's No-Hit Wonders"

"Baseball's No-Hit Wonders" by Dick Lammers has been a book of summer. I have picked it up and put it down dozens of times, every time marveling at the research and history to be found therein. Lammers is an Associated Press journalist and has taken on no-hitters as a personal partner for life. Former Major League Baseball commissioner Faye Vincent Jr. hit it on the money in his introduction to the book in saying: "This volume is the complete - and I mean fully complete - story of the...

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Nationals recall RHP A.J. Cole

August 18, 2016, 12:02pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher AJ Cole from Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday and optioned outfielder Brian Goodwin to Syracuse. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Cole, 24, joins the Nationals for his first Major League call-up of the 2016 season. The right-hander is 8-8 with a 4.26 ERA in 22 starts for Triple-A Syracuse this year. Making his Major League debut in 2015, Cole appeared in three games (one start)...

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Zach Wilt: Schoop drawing comparisons to game's top second basemen

August 18, 2016, 6:03am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Schoop drawing comparisons to game's top second basemen

Power hitting second basemen are the quite the commodity in Major League Baseball. Most teams hope to get solid defense and above average offense from that position; adding some pop is a huge bonus. Jonathan Schoop is one of the few who provides both, a great glove in the middle of the diamond and 20-plus home run power. In his third full season in the big leagues at age 24, Schoop has homered 18 times for the Orioles and is on pace to finish the season with 25. The Birds second baseman is...

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Opposite dugout: Braves looking toward promise of 2017

August 18, 2016, 5:18am

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Braves looking toward promise of 2017

Manager: Brian Snitker (1st season) Record: 44-76 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: 1B Freddie Freeman (.288 average, 24 HR, 128 hits); RF Nick Markakis (.269 average, 29 doubles, 64 RBIs); CF Ender Inciarte (95 hits, .270 average); RHP Robert Whalen (1-1, 7.31 ERA). Season series vs. Nationals: 1-8 Pitching probables: August 18: RHP Reynaldo Lopez vs. RHP Rob Whalen, 7:10 p.m., MASNAugust 19: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Julio Teheran, 7:35 p.m., MASNAugust 20: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Tyrell...

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David Huzzard: Pitching depth should be arranged for likely postseason trip

August 17, 2016, 4:53pm

Nationals

David Huzzard: Pitching depth should be arranged for likely postseason trip

It is still a little early to start talking about the playoffs, but let's face it - despite a minor bump in the road in Colorado, the Nationals have the National League East division all but wrapped up. One of the main questions for the playoffs is who will be on the pitching staff. It can be said with almost near certainty that Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark will be the top three. Joe Ross is still working his way back from injury and Gio Gonzalez has been wildly...

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Dillon Atkinson: Righties struggling against opposing southpaws

August 17, 2016, 6:33am

Orioles

Dillon Atkinson: Righties struggling against opposing southpaws

Before putting up three runs against Boston's bullpen in Tuesday night's 5-3 loss to the Red Sox, the Orioles were being no-hit through four innings by left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez. The young southpaw, who struck out seven batters over his four no-hit frames, was removed from the game in the fifth inning with a left hamstring injury. Tuesday night was another case of the O's not doing too well against lefties. Yes, the Orioles own a 17-16 record this year when the opposing starting pitcher...

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Charlie Fliegel: Harper's exit velocity is trending up, and so are his numbers

August 17, 2016, 4:06am

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: Harper's exit velocity is trending up, and so are his numbers

A game in the thin air of Colorado is all a hitter needs to get his swing back, right? Bryce Harper got to play the Rockies, and had two hard-hit doubles, so maybe it's true. Obviously, one good night hitting, especially one in Denver, is probably not the best way to judge how well someone is hitting. There are, however, some actual signs that he is emerging from a slump - signs that are less likely to be attributed to just luck. But they have little to do with the thin air of Coors...

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Steve Mears: Some stats aren't fair to Trea Turner

August 16, 2016, 5:27am

Nationals

Steve Mears: Some stats aren't fair to Trea Turner

The standard statistics we have will never be fair to a player like Trea Turner. Trust me, he is not complaining, but you look at a player who puts extreme pressure on the defense to rush their throws on infield grounders and those throwing errors never get credited to the batter when they are forced. Those E-5s and E-6s count the same as outs against Turner's batting average. The other statistic that does not give the appropriate credit to a speedster is stolen bases. They say when Turner is...

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Ryan Romano: What are the biggest hits for Orioles stars?

August 16, 2016, 5:13am

Orioles

The Orioles weren't supposed to win on Sunday. Through the first eight innings, the story of the game was Wade Miley's meltdown and Johnny Cueto's effectiveness. Then Jonathan Schoop happened. With two on and two outs in the ninth, he swatted a three-run homer to turn a 7-5 deficit into an 8-7 lead. According to FanGraphs.com, the dinger improved the Orioles' win probability from 6.5 percent to 84.2 percent, making it the biggest hit of Schoop's young career by far. To commemorate the...