Well, we've reached the final leg of a long and often painful season. The Nationals flew home from Denver late Wednesday night after a long and painful, 10-5 loss to the Rockies. And now after a well-earned day off, they'll face the Red Sox over the weekend to wrap things up in 2021. There are some compelling storylines to come over the next 72 hours, from Ryan Zimmerman's potential final games to Juan Soto's attempt to finish hot and win either the batting title or the National League MVP...

Reliever Joey Krehbiel is looking at a postseason race from both sides now. With the Rays, winners of the American League East. With the Orioles, who claimed him off waivers and are cast as spoilers, beginning last night with the second-worst record in the majors. Only one team valued him down the stretch. Krehbiel, 28, was designated for assignment after tossing a scoreless inning and striking out two batters for the Rays on Sept. 18. He's made three appearances with the Orioles and...

Zac Lowther turned to watch the ball and slapped his glove against his leg. Knowing where it would land and the implications. Perhaps also knowing that one run might be too much for the Orioles to overcome against Nathan Eovaldi. J.D. Martinez's 28th homer of the season, a solo shot to center field with one out in the second inning, was the only run surrendered by the rookie left-hander through the fifth. Plenty of hard-hit line drives, but nothing to influence the score. That happened in the...

They played two-plus innings in a little more than an hour before the heavy rain arrived in Colorado, then waited through a two-hour delay before taking the field again. They then played 6 1/2 more innings across nearly three more hours, each team using up most of its expanded bullpen, all in a vain attempt simply to complete this 159th game of a season that long ago was lost by both participants. And when it finally ended, when the Nationals lost 10-5 some 5 hours and 57 minutes after Rockies...

After a night where their pitching shut down the Boston Red Sox, holding one of baseball's best offenses to two runs on 3-for-30 hitting, the Orioles look for another win tonight at home versus their American League East rival. The O's 4-2 win last night snapped a six-game losing streak against Boston. The Orioles began the year sweeping three games in Boston in April and then lost 12 of the next 13 between the teams before taking Tuesday's series opener. The Orioles (51-106) improved to...

Cedric Mullins is going to be his own tough act to follow. What can the Most Valuable Oriole and the first player in franchise history with a 30/30 season do for an encore in 2022? "Those are things that I take into consideration in the offseason," Mullins said this afternoon while sitting in the dugout before batting practice. "If my goal is to be a 35/35 guy or better, it's a matter of finding out how I can become that guy." Manager Brandon Hyde trusts that Mullins won't become...

Ryan McKenna stays in left field tonight as the Orioles continue their series with the Red Sox in the penultimate home game of 2021. Austin Hays is in right. Trey Mancini is the designated hitter. Pat Valaika is playing second base and Richie Martin is the shortstop. Catcher Pedro Severino has a seven-game hitting streak, one short of his career high in 2018. He's batting .385 (10-for-26) during the streak, with one double, one home run, five RBIs, three walks and two runs scored. Rookie...

Turns out Patrick Corbin's start Tuesday night in Colorado was his final outing of the season. Nationals manager Davey Martinez met with the left-hander this morning and emerged with the decision not to send him back to the mound for one final start in Sunday's season finale against the Red Sox, for both physical and emotional reasons. "You saw Patrick make his last start yesterday," Martinez said in his Zoom session with reporters prior to today's game against the Rockies. "He's got a...

It's the final road game of the season for the Nationals, who haven't exactly thrived away from home in 2021. They enter today's matinee at Coors Field with a 30-50 record on the road, though if they win it'll only be the fifth-worst away record in club history, the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 teams having been worse. It's also the final start of the season for Paolo Espino. Who could've imagined the way this played out for the journeyman right-hander? Summoned way back in mid-April for an...

The Orioles today announced that outfielder Cedric Mullins has been voted the unanimous winner of the 2021 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis. He will be recognized for his accomplishments in an on-field ceremony prior to tonight's game against the Boston Red Sox. Mullins enters play today hitting .297/.367/.531 (173-for-582) with 36 doubles, five triples, 30 home runs, 89 runs scored, 59 RBI, 59 walks, 30 stolen...