Victor Robles returned to the Nationals lineup for tonight's finale of a three-game series in Miami against the Marlins, playing center field and batting leadoff. It's the first start since Aug. 20 for Robles, who ceded center field to newcomer Lane Thomas in the interim. Robles had battled an illness recently and Thomas' 8-for-19 stretch over the past five games made it difficult for him to crack the lineup. "He's moving around pretty good," manager Davey Martinez said in his pregame...

Given new life late in their baseball season, the Orioles are trying to avoid a new losing streak. They may never lose again. Rearranging the outcomes can't be done without turning the tables. Shohei Ohtani lofted a ball onto the flag count on the second pitch from starter Keegan Akin, but the left-hander did his finest work as a professional with one run allowed in seven innings. The Orioles tied the game in the third, Pedro Severino hit a grand slam as part of a six-run fifth and they...

When the day began and he took the mound with a record of 0-8 and 7.92 ERA, lefty Keegan Akin would probably have been an unlikely candidate to become the first Baltimore pitcher this year not named John Means to go seven innings or more. But he pitched his way out of an early jam in the top of the second and got rolling after that. Akin was stellar on the mound in the heat of Camden Yards this afternoon, and the O's put up a big inning in the last of the fifth to beat the Los Angeles Angels...

The fifth spot in the Orioles rotation is unoccupied while manager Brandon Hyde sifts through the candidates. Chris Ellis could start again after completing three innings last night. Jorge López is serving in a relief role, but the assignment isn't necessarily permanent for the remainder of the season. "I think we're still discussing what we're going to do," Hyde said. "We have that open spot in our rotation right now by moving López in the 'pen. I don't know if that's going to...

Now that a 19-game losing streak has ended, the Orioles can win a series for the first time in about a month if they beat the Los Angeles Angels today. It's the final game of a three-game series and the sixth game of a nine-game homestand. The Orioles hit three homers off right-hander Shohei Ohtani last night - Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and DJ Stewart all connected - as they won 10-6. It was the Orioles' first win since Aug. 2 and first home win since July 28. After they had scored...

Austin Hays and Jorge Mateo are on the bench again today as the Orioles close out their series against the Angels and try to put together back-to-back wins for the first time since July 30-31 in Detroit. DJ Stewart stays in left field. Ramón Urías is the shortstop. Mateo is day-to-day with soreness in his lower back. Jahmai Jones gets another start at second base. Anthony Santander has recorded back-to-back games with three hits or more for the first time in his career. He's in right...

After suffering through a stretch of six straight outings in which he yielded at least four runs in each start, left-hander Patrick Corbin (7-12, 5.82 ERA) turned in a gem on Aug. 20 at Milwaukee, holding the playoff-bound Brewers to a run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings to pick up his first victory since July 7. Now Corbin just has to do it again. An aggressive young Marlins team will be the latest test for the southpaw's improved fastball velocity, which allows him to set up his slider. In...

Tanner Rainey should be a part of the Nationals bullpen during these final two months of a season that began with October hopes but is ending in full-scale evaluation mode. As Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez gauge what they now have in a relief corps filled with inexperienced arms, Rainey's absence is all too noticeable. Though Kyle Finnegan has done a nice job serving as the team's de facto closer since Daniel Hudson and Brad Hand were traded, Rainey was the guy all along who most profiled as...

It was not an evening billed as "Fantastic Fans Night" as it was in May 1988. Then, just days after the Orioles had snapped their 0-21 start to the season, more than 50,000 fans showed up to welcome them home at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. But when the Orioles rallied for five runs in the last of the eighth last night and took a 10-6 lead over the Los Angeles Angels, a crowd of 15,867 - some of them there, no doubt, because Shohei Ohtani was pitching - roared their approval. It sounded...

The streaks keep trying to suffocate the Orioles. Putting the squeeze on them like a boa constrictor. Number of games lost in a row was the biggie, of course. If not for last night's rally, they would have drawn within one of tying the franchise and American League records of 21 in a row. They'd also be on the verge of suffering their sixth series sweep in a row. Say that three times fast. They don't have to worry about a 17th sweep this season. Brandon Hyde appreciates the support he's...