Rain continues to fall steadily at Nationals Park, the tarp is on the field and some players are running or throwing in the outfield. The Nationals are in firmly in pregame mode, even as manager Davey Martinez simultaneously plans for a single game tonight, a split doubleheader tomorrow and the possibility of back-to-back twinbills should tonight's scheduled contest be rained out. "We're preparing to play (tonight), obviously, but we haven't heard anything," Martinez said during his...

Austin Hays has been reinstated from the injured list today, and he's in left field for tonight's series opener against the Rays at Tropicana Field. Hays is batting fifth behind first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Trey Mancini is batting second as the designated hitter, followed by right fielder Anthony Santander. Reliever Shawn Armstrong cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Cedric Mullins has a nine-game hitting streak. Mountcastle has an eight-game hitting and RBI...

The Orioles bats have been hot this month, and Maryland Lottery "Contestants of the Game" are reaping the benefits. One winner is randomly selected for each of the 162 Orioles games. Each winner receives $500 for being selected, and an additional $500 for every Orioles home run hit during that game. Since the beginning of June, the O's have hit 12 home runs over seven games. Here are some other fun facts from the 2021 season: The O's scored 29 runs in the last three games. Rookie Ryan...

The Orioles begin a two-city, seven-game road trip in St. Petersburg, Fla. at Tropicana Field tonight with the start of a series against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles will play three games this weekend at the Trop and then four games starting Monday at Cleveland. Tampa Bay (39-24) leads the American League East by one game over the Boston Red Sox. The Rays are 20-5 since May 13 with a plus-77 run differential. They are 34-16 since April 16 after going 5-8 to start the year. The...

Well, the Nationals will try again tonight to send Max Scherzer to the mound to open a four-game series against the Giants. The Nationals have a ragged bullpen, even with an unscheduled off-day from Thursday night's rainout, and need length from Scherzer, and that has a good chance of happening. For his career, the right-hander is 4-5 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.131 WHIP in 10 career starts against San Francisco. In nine of his 12 starts this season, Scherzer has thrown at least six innings, and...

Given the events of the previous 48 hours, the Nationals couldn't have been too disappointed when Thursday night's series opener against the Giants was rained out. The team was exhausted after a nine-game road trip, which ended with an 11-inning win at Tampa Bay and an overnight flight home that didn't get them to bed until 6:30 a.m. Thursday. With the bullpen already taxed, the idea of playing Thursday wasn't all that appealing. Now, everyone got an extra day of rest and a full night's...

The Orioles resume their season tonight after yesterday's break and reset following a 14-1 loss to the Mets, now faced with a stretch of playing 20 days or nights in a row. Seriously, who's responsible for a schedule that keeps lumping off-days together and then withholding them as if the commissioner's office is hoarding? The latest off-day had to be savored, and it allowed the bullpen to recover after Matt Harvey worked just three innings Wednesday night. Manager Brandon Hyde said...

When you find his name, seventh as of yesterday, among the OPS leaders in the American League, Cedric Mullins is keeping very good company. One spot ahead of him was Boston's J.D. Martinez and one spot behind was Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox. A few spots ahead were players like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. A few behind were the likes of José Ramírez, Carlos Correa and Nelson Cruz. The Orioles center fielder is indeed keeping very good company. He is among the...

Outfielder Austin Hays isn't in Triple-A Norfolk's lineup for tonight's game in Jacksonville. The Orioles just announced that they optioned outfielder Ryan McKenna to the Tides. The dots seem fairly easy to connect unless a curve is thrown while the outfield picture is adjusted. Hays has been on an injury rehab assignment after his left hamstring healed. He strained it during a May 23 game in D.C. This is the second appearance for Hays on the injured list. He suffered a strained right...

The Nationals' 11-inning win Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla., ended at 11:30 p.m. The team bus departed Tropicana Field about an hour later and headed for the airport, where a charter flight awaited. That plane landed at Dulles International Airport maybe an hour before the sun rose, and by the time Davey Martinez was back in his home and put his head on his pillow, morning rush hour was in full swing. "I didn't go to sleep 'til 6:30, woke up at 11:30, rip-raring to go," the...