The Orioles are shutting down pitchers Matt Harvey and Jorge López for the remainder of the season, leaving their futures in the organization in varying states of uncertainty. Harvey went on the 10-day injured list yesterday with inflammation in his right knee. López beat him to it after leaving Monday's game against the Royals with a sprained right ankle. Manager Brandon Hyde announced both decisions earlier today. Harvey underwent further testing on the knee, which he injured Aug. 4...

As the American League wild card race comes down the stretch, the Orioles will have plenty of involvement, playing 16 of their remaining 23 games versus three AL East playoff contenders. Tonight, they begin a four-game series in Baltimore against the Toronto Blue Jays. It's a three-day series that includes Saturday's straight doubleheader that begins at 4:35 p.m. Boston (80-62) holds the first AL wild card as the weekend begins, but New York (78-62) and Toronto (77-62) are right on the Red...

Jorge Mateo and Ramón Urías are out of the lineup tonight due to their physical issues, which puts Richie Martin back in the Orioles lineup for the series opener against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Martin is playing shortstop in his first game since the Orioles recalled him. Urías continues to receive treatment on his right upper leg and Mateo is enduring some unspecified discomfort. Manager Brandon Hyde saw Mateo struggle to get out of the box last night and wondered if the...

If you're interested in silver linings, here's one for you: The Nationals are done playing the National League's division title contenders for the season. Yep, they're wrapped things up against the Braves, Phillies, Mets, Brewers, Giants and Dodgers, and though there are still series remaining with the wild card contending Reds and Red Sox, the worst of the schedule is now behind them. And that could be significant, because of this fact: The Nats finished a dismal 22-55 against those six NL...

We are inching toward the finish line of this most unusual season. The Nationals have 22 games left to play, none of them against the National League East's three remaining contenders. It's going to be the Pirates, Marlins (home and home), Rockies (home and home), Reds and Red Sox to close out the 2021 campaign, so there appear to be both winnable games and some interesting matchups with playoff contenders still on tap over the final three weeks. Before the Nats get a weekend series going in...

A few thoughts and notes on the Orioles, who were shut out 6-0 by Kansas City last night. The Orioles were held to three singles as they fell to 45-94 and now await a series with the Toronto Blue Jays that begins tonight at Oriole Park. No runs, no win: A night after their nine-run last of the eighth inning and comeback win, the Baltimore offense was quiet. They got three straight singles with two outs in the last of the second. They got no other hits before that brief rally and none after. And...

The Orioles ran out of rookie relievers making their major league debuts. Their streak of bullpen wins by newbies ended last night at two. A modest total for most streaks, but no other team in the modern era went back-to-back before the Orioles, who provided the opportunity for Mike Baumann the previous night and Manny Barreda on Wednesday. Could there be more contrasting relievers than these two? Baumann, 25, the third-round pick in 2017 who's ranked as a Top 10 prospect in the system by...

If the final month of this lost season is about giving young players a chance to grow and establish their place within the Nationals' plans in 2022 and beyond, tonight's 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves provided no shortage of evidence for several potential building blocks on the roster. In both positive and negative ways. The positives: Carter Kieboom and Lane Thomas delivered clutch hits in the late innings. Luis García produced a highlight-reel sequence at the plate and in the field in...

Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells wasn't available to pitch tonight after Orioles manager Brandon Hyde reluctantly had to use him to get the final out in Wednesday's remarkable comeback win. The rookie pitched in back-to-back games and in three of the last four, and he wasn't going to close if a slim lead carried to the ninth. Hyde was just hoping to be pressed into a decision. No jokes about avoiding one-run games. He'd take any margin as long as his club was on the right side of it. Kansas City...

For all the good he has done since joining the Nationals last month - and he's done a lot of good - Lane Thomas has one curious blemish on his otherwise sparkling resume: baserunning blunders. The 26-year-old outfielder has twice been thrown out on the bases not because of anything the opposing defense did, but because of his own lack of awareness of the rules. It happened Tuesday night during the ninth inning of the Nats' 4-2 win over the Braves. Leading off from first base with nobody out,...