Before another implosion by the Orioles bullpen turned a potential series-ending win into a loss today, O's starter Jorge López was very solid and Cedric Mullins became the seventh 20-20 player in team history. But after scoring five runs in the eighth on Friday and again on Saturday, the Rays got six in the eighth this afternoon. Paul Fry walked three in the inning and Dillon Tate allowed a tiebreaking grand slam to Brett Phillips as Tampa Bay swept the Orioles with a 9-6 win. The Rays...

The Nationals' objective over the final two months of this season, first and foremost, is to identify which young players are going to be part of the organization's long-term plan. That's what made a game like Saturday night's 3-2 victory over the Braves, in which Josiah Gray dazzled on the mound and Riley Adams delivered a momentous blast at the plate, so uplifting for anyone associated with the club. But the 2022 Nationals aren't going to be made up entirely of kids. There are going to...

Five years removed from his last appearance there in a game, and one month since he began getting early-afternoon reps there, Josh Bell is finally making his official return to the outfield. Bell, who has exclusively played first base since 2017, will start in right field this afternoon when the Nationals wrap up their weekend series against the Braves at Truist Park. It's a move that has been in the works for a while, with manager Davey Martinez hoping to find a way to get both Bell and Ryan...

The Orioles placed Ryan Mountcastle on the seven-day concussion injured list today and recalled left-hander Alexander Wells from Triple-A Norfolk. Wells was eligible to return in fewer than the minimum 10 days based on an injury. He was scheduled to start today for the Tides. Manager Brandon Hyde said the club will re-evaluate going with an extra pitcher after Monday's off-day. The bench includes catcher Pedro Severino, who left last night's game with a sore right knee but should be available...

Last night was a good night for the Nationals. Not only because they won, 3-2, but because the guys who made the win possible are front-and-center members of their rebuilding effort. Josiah Gray struck out 10 over five impressive innings. Mason Thompson struck out a pair during a scoreless inning of relief. Riley Adams blasted the game-flipping homer with two outs in the top of the ninth. And Kyle Finnegan shut the door on the Braves with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth. So, what's next? Well,...

The Orioles will wrap up their series with the Tampa Bay Rays today looking for a win to avoid a three-game sweep. The Rays won 10-6 Friday and 12-3 last night. At 67-44, they have the best record in the American League and lead the AL East by three games over Boston, 5 1/2 over New York, with Toronto seven games back in fourth place. Right-hander Jorge López (3-12, 5.91 ERA) will get the start in the series finale for the Orioles. He is coming off of one of his best starts of the 2021...

The Nationals' decision to sell off veterans at the trade deadline and transition into a rebuilding phase freed up Davey Martinez to try some different things with his lineup without the pressure to win every night. And high on that list was the return of Victor Robles to the leadoff spot. It's a look the fourth-year manager liked when this season began, but after a week of less-than-ideal results, Martinez bumped Robles all the way down to the bottom of the lineup, where he remained for four...

On Monday night, right-hander Jorge López allowed just one hit and one run over six innings. The Orioles won the opener of a three-game series in the Bronx 7-1. But since that game, not a lot has gone right for the Orioles, who were 10-6 since the break after that win. Now they are 10-10 since the All-Star break and have been outscored 45-13 the past four games. For the first time since the club moved to Baltimore in 1954, the Orioles, according to STATS, have allowed 10 runs or more in four...

Maikel Franco spent almost a month trying to come back from a sprained ankle. His pursuit of a foul ball in Houston leading to a spill on the warning track and an injury that coincided with Ryan McKenna's catch for the last out of the game. Franco has resumed his role as the everyday third baseman, but do the arrivals of Richie Martin and Jorge Mateo impact him? The Orioles cleared out two third basemen recently by optioning Kelvin Gutiérrez and having Domingo Leyba designated for...

Before the Orioles began tonight's game against the Rays, about 30 minutes later than intended, they stood along the dugout railing to watch the club's newest inductees into its Hall of Fame. To enjoy the ceremony and see how the other half lived, rather than just gazing across the field. The video tribute for former shortstop J.J. Hardy closed with him reaching for home plate to score the go-ahead run on Delmon Young's bases-clearing double in the 2014 Division Series. The loudest moment in...