It had been nearly two months since Alex Avila last appeared in a ballgame, nearly two months since the 34-year-old catcher was thrust into emergency second base duties and wound up straining both of his calves in the process. Add a mandatory quarantine period after testing positive for COVID-19, and Avila had been stuck on the sidelines far longer than anyone could've imagined at the time. Today, though, Avila finally was back in uniform in an organized game. Beginning a minor league rehab...

Jorge Mateo returns to the Orioles lineup for tonight's game against the Rays at Camden Yards. Mateo hasn't played since leaving Tuesday's game with discomfort in his lower back. He reached base twice on infield singles. Ramón Urías, who is 13-for-29 in his last eight games, starts again at shortstop. Mateo is playing second base. Austin Hays and Jahmai Jones are on the bench. DJ Stewart is in left field and Anthony Santander in right. Kelvin Gutiérrez is the third baseman. Trey...

Friday night proved to be a fun, and arguably important, win for the Nationals, who got to see four inexperienced relievers thrive in a pressure situation and hang on to beat the Mets, 2-1. Tonight? Well, it might require a bit more offense to emerge victorious again. That's because Sean Nolin takes the mound for his third start for the Nats, his second against the Mets. The journeyman left-hander hasn't exactly dazzled since his promotion from Triple-A. He gave up four runs on eight hits in...

Erick Fedde (6-8, 4.91 ERA) has already set a career high in victories, innings pitched and strikeouts this season. Now he'll try to get a little closer to .500 and cement himself as a rotation piece for the Nationals next season. The right-hander has gone 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA in his last three starts, winning his past two decisions after going 10 straight decisions without a victory. Fedde is still seeking his first career triumph over the Mets, after going 0-2 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.357 WHIP...

The Orioles are still trying to figure out a way to beat the Tampa Bay Rays. Tonight they turn to their ace lefty John Means to try to defeat the Rays for just the second time this year. But tonight's start comes at a time when Means (5-6, 3.50 ERA) is struggling badly. On Aug. 6, Means allowed just one run over five innings versus Tampa Bay. But in the three starts since then - one that came versus the Rays - Means is 0-3 with an 8.16 ERA. He has allowed 13 earned runs and 20 hits, yielding...

Alcides Escobar enters the day with a .277 batting average, .335 on-base percentage and .699 OPS. That may not knock anyone's socks off, but it's still the most productive the veteran infielder has been at the plate in a long time. Escobar, who didn't play in the big leagues in 2019 or 2020 and only joined the Nationals in July after the club suffered a sudden rash of injuries to its infielders, hasn't owned a batting average this high since 2014, when he was a mainstay in a Royals lineup...

Earlier this summer, as the Mets were holding onto their lead in the National League East and the Nationals were starting to make their move up the standings, these late-season matchups between the two rivals loomed large. Perhaps they'd be played in front of packed houses in D.C. and New York, everyone hanging on every pitch with a division title potentially at stake. When the Nats walked into Citi Field this evening, though, the stakes bore no resemblance to what anybody on either side...

BOWIE - When he takes the mound tonight for Double-A Bowie against Erie, the highest-ranked pitching prospect in baseball, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez of the Baysox, will face a unique challenge. It is one he seldom faces. He'll try to pitch well coming off a poor start. Last Tuesday versus the Reading Fightin Phils, the 21-year-old Rodriguez allowed two hits and one run over five innings with one walk and six strikeouts. That start was like most of the 19 he has made this year for both...

Ditching a 19-game losing streak and winning two in a row created a positive energy with the Orioles that couldn't withstand the cold water dumped on it tonight. By a team that brings its own buckets. The Rays maintained their hold on the Orioles tonight, scoring three runs in the first and seventh innings with nothing in between, and registering a 6-3 victory before an announced crowd of 7,155 at Camden Yards. Matt Harvey retired the last 16 batters he faced, beginning with his strikeout that...

Jorge López joined the other Orioles pitchers yesterday throwing in the outfield, dark clouds rolling in but failing to produce rain that would have rushed the group back inside the clubhouse. He cut through the dugout after he finished, a big smile on his face, a stark contrast to his mood during and after his last start in St. Petersburg, Fla. López was removed from the game after two innings, and after he received a mound visit to check on his physical condition and a conversation with...