If the final month of this lost season is about giving young players a chance to grow and establish their place within the Nationals' plans in 2022 and beyond, tonight's 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves provided no shortage of evidence for several potential building blocks on the roster. In both positive and negative ways. The positives: Carter Kieboom and Lane Thomas delivered clutch hits in the late innings. Luis García produced a highlight-reel sequence at the plate and in the field in...

Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells wasn't available to pitch tonight after Orioles manager Brandon Hyde reluctantly had to use him to get the final out in Wednesday's remarkable comeback win. The rookie pitched in back-to-back games and in three of the last four, and he wasn't going to close if a slim lead carried to the ninth. Hyde was just hoping to be pressed into a decision. No jokes about avoiding one-run games. He'd take any margin as long as his club was on the right side of it. Kansas City...

For all the good he has done since joining the Nationals last month - and he's done a lot of good - Lane Thomas has one curious blemish on his otherwise sparkling resume: baserunning blunders. The 26-year-old outfielder has twice been thrown out on the bases not because of anything the opposing defense did, but because of his own lack of awareness of the rules. It happened Tuesday night during the ninth inning of the Nats' 4-2 win over the Braves. Leading off from first base with nobody out,...

The Orioles found their infield coverage this afternoon while creating room in their rotation. Veteran starter Matt Harvey is on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation, the move coming after he made his 28th start last night. Infielder Richie Martin has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and gives the Orioles five players on their bench. Harvey is 6-14 with a 6.27 ERA and 1.543 WHIP in 127 2/3 innings. His 28 starts rank first on the club, three ahead of Jorge López, who was...

The Orioles have had six winning streaks of three games this year and will make it seven if they beat the Kansas City Royals tonight at Oriole Park. They've never gotten to four in a row, but can make it another three-gamer with a win tonight in the series finale. The Orioles let a late lead get away on Monday afternoon, but have scored 16 runs in back-to-back wins in this series. They went to the last of the eighth behind 5-0 last night and then scored nine runs on six hits, an error and a...

The Nationals gutted out a 4-2 victory Wednesday night in Atlanta, thanks to 8 2/3 innings from six relievers who were thrust into overtime duties after Sean Nolin was ejected eight pitches in for throwing at Freddie Freeman. Where does that leave them for tonight's series finale at Truist Park? Well, first and foremost, they need innings from Erick Fedde. That's a big ask for a guy who needed 80 pitches just to get through three innings against the Mets last weekend. Not to mention a big ask...

Trey Mancini returns to the Orioles lineup tonight for the first time since Sunday, batting cleanup and serving as the designated hitter. Austin Hays and Ramón Urías are on the bench. DJ Stewart is in left field and batting fifth. The double play combination remains Jorge Mateo at shortstop and Jahmai Jones at second base. Ryan Mountcastle's 26 home runs are the third-most by an Orioles rookie in a single season, trailing Cal Ripken Jr. (28 in 1982) and Eddie Murray (27 in 1977). Hays...

Sean Nolin's ejection eight pitches in Wednesday night added some drama to what might otherwise have been an insignificant ballgame in Atlanta. But it also set in motion a link of falling dominoes that would impact not only that game but tonight's series finale and perhaps some portion of this weekend's series in Pittsburgh. For those who missed it: Nolin was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barksdale after twice throwing fastballs at Freddie Freeman - the first one sailed behind his head, the...

Coming into this 2021 season, Orioles lefty pitching prospect Zac Lowther had not yet pitched at the Triple-A level. But over his career on the farm since 2017, Lowther was 23-13 with a 2.26 ERA and 1.018 WHIP over 326 innings. He led all O's minor leaguers in strikeouts in 2018 and 2019. He had pitched everywhere from then short-season Single-A Aberdeen through Double-A Bowie. During his strong 2019 season at Bowie, he joined pitching teammates like Alexander Wells, Mike Baumann, Dean Kremer...

For Sean Nolin and the Nationals, the message (standing up for a star teammate against an opponent that appeared to hit him on purpose the previous night) superseded all else. If it meant the rest of the pitching staff would face an extreme uphill battle from that point on, so be it. The message, even if nobody would publicly admit it after the fact, was more important. And when Nolin intentionally threw at Freddie Freeman on successive pitches in the bottom of the first tonight in Atlanta,...