Hello from Nationals Park, which hasn't hosted a ballgame in 11 days. Yeah, it's been a while. The Nationals return home from a nine-game road trip in which they went 4-5, used up a lot of pitchers and took a very late-night flight back from St. Petersburg, Fla., to get here for tonight's series opener against the Giants. They may be a bit bleary eyed at this point, and the forecast of on-and-off showers won't help. Here's what will help: For the first time since the 2019 World Series,...

Not once in his previous 101 major league relief appearances had Tanner Rainey been handed the ball with his team leading by three or fewer runs and needing only three more outs to secure a win. Certainly there were times in 2020 when the Nationals right-hander seemed deserving of such an assignment. But it hadn't happened. That it did finally happen Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla., with the Nats leading the Rays 9-7 in the bottom of the 11th, was rather shocking. Because Rainey...

Orioles pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez has moved up the top 100 rankings to become the top-rated pitching prospect in baseball the old-fashioned way: He earned it. Rodriguez started the year dealing for high Single-A Aberdeen and went 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA in five starts. Then he got promoted to Double-A Bowie, where he is now 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in two starts, allowing one run and six hits over 10 innings. So for seven starts on the year, the 21-year-old right-hander is 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA...

All the Nationals needed to do to win tonight's game at Tropicana Field was overcome a disastrous first inning from their starter, take an early lead thanks to three home runs, watch their bullpen blow that lead in regulation to force extra innings, score two runs in the top of the 10th with a rare display of situational hitting, watch their closer blow that lead in the bottom of the 10th while his pitch count soared to levels not seen in five years, retake the lead in the top of the 11th with...

One of manager Brandon Hyde's favorite descriptions for Ryan Mountcastle's at-bats is how the rookie "snorkels" the ball. Which leads to one very important question: What exactly is snorkeling a ball? Hyde couldn't provide a demonstration yesterday because an afternoon storm canceled batting practice and stuck the media on another Zoom call. Otherwise, he gladly would have grabbed a bat and swung into action. "I guess I use it as when someone throws a breaking ball or slider or...

Matt Harvey placed a hand on his hip and stared at the ball landing in the left field seats. Reliever Adam Plutko reached down for his glove in the bullpen, the call coming for him to warm up. Actions done almost simultaneously. Actions that signaled another abbreviated start for Harvey. A second chance at his former team produced a near identical result with seven runs and eight hits allowed, though tonight's outing fell 1 1/3 innings short of Harvey's return last month to Citi Field. An...

More than a week removed from his latest start cut short by injury, Stephen Strasburg remains shut down from throwing and may be headed to see another specialist, who will attempt to figure out what precisely is causing the nerve irritation in his neck that has shelved the right-hander once again. Strasburg, who last pitched June 1 in Atlanta, was placed on the 10-day injured list with what the Nationals initially termed a neck strain. He flew home to Washington for an MRI, which revealed nerve...

The Orioles rotation is undergoing more changes with John Means on the injured list and another off-day approaching on Thursday. Rookie left-hander Keegan Akin is starting Friday night against the Rays at Tropicana Field. The Orioles are listing the next two starters as TBA. Jorge López could get the ball Saturday afternoon on an extra day of rest, followed by rookie left-hander Bruce Zimmermann on his normal turn. However, the Orioles could decide to plug in a fifth starter earlier than...

The Orioles' recent run of offensive success will get a real test tonight as they play the New York Mets in the second game of a two-game series. They will face right-hander Taijuan Walker (4-2, 2.17), a pitcher that ranks fifth in the National League in ERA and has already beaten the Orioles once this season. On May 12 at Citi Field, Walker went seven innings, allowing four hits and one run on 97 pitches. For the year, he has allowed 34 hits in 54 innings, giving up just two home runs with 23...

The Orioles close out their homestand, and attempt to go 6-1 in June, with Matt Harvey again facing his original team. Harvey received a warm ovation at Citi Field on May 12 and allowed seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. The rematch is tonight at Camden Yards. Cedric Mullins has an RBI in a career-high three straight games. He brings an eight-game hitting streak into tonight, going 17-for-32 (.531) with nine extra-base hits. Freddy Galvis is 7-for-14 in his last three games. He's...