The Orioles know exactly what's at stake. The importance of the remaining games for each opponent that's in a pennant race. Vying for a division title or the distinction of a wild card. A team buried in last place can wield plenty of influence. And the Orioles are going to take their biggest swings at it. Don't strive to be a spoiler but hope to succeed at it. Cedric Mullins and Ryan McKenna homered in the first inning tonight and rookie Chris Ellis grinded through the fifth before the Blue...

They got another quality start from Josh Rogers. They got a big blast from Josh Bell in his return to Pittsburgh. The Nationals just needed their bullpen to finish off the Pirates. A bullpen that featured two unfamiliar people pitching the bottom of the ninth, which ultimately undid the Nats. Patrick Murphy, given a chance to close with Kyle Finnegan unavailable due to his recent workload, got into a jam and had to give way to Alberto Baldonado, who inherited a second-and-third jam and let the...

Major League Baseball has suspended Nationals pitcher Sean Nolin five games and manager Davey Martinez one game after determining Nolin intentionally hit Braves slugger Freddie Freeman with a pitch Wednesday night in Atlanta. Nolin, who was also fined an undisclosed amount, initially appealed his suspension and was to remain on the active roster until his case was heard, but the Nationals later announced the lefty dropped his appeal and began serving the suspension tonight. Martinez is serving...

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...