The Nationals believed they were going to enter the season with as deep a bullpen as they've had in some time. With new closer Brad Hand joining experienced late-inning right-handers Daniel Hudson and Will Harris, plus up-and-comers Tanner Rainey, Wander Suero and Kyle Finnegan, the Nats were reasonably confident they had an ample supply of arms to win games late. Fifty-six games into a 162-game season, they were somewhat right about that. The bullpen has been perhaps the least of the...

Something had to be done. Or more to the point, some things needed to be said. The Orioles kept losing, constructing a streak that threatened to produce a team-wide breakdown. Aggression also was lost, as a few veterans noticed, perhaps out of fear that a mistake would only compound the problem. What had to be understood, and quickly, is that there's no way out when always playing it safe. A clubhouse that slants toward youth and inexperience needed a leader to step up. As expected, the first...

For a kid from Wisconsin drafted in the third round of 2018, Terrin Vavra's first full season in pro ball in 2019 could not have gone much better. He was the low Single-A South Atlantic League MVP for Asheville when he filled up the stat sheet. Then came the 2020 season and no minor league ball. Then late that year, he got traded to the Orioles from Colorado with Tyler Nevin for relief pitcher Mychal Givens. In 2019, he had a big year. But after the deal, he would go through some big...

There were events out of their control, from their starter for this bullpen game, Austin Voth, taking a fastball to his face in the top of the third to a string of poorly struck balls by the Phillies that somehow didn't become outs to a 20-minute delay in the top of the eighth after the backstop netting at Citizens Bank Park collapsed. (Yes, that last event actually happened.) But there were so many things the Nationals could've done better today to make this game far more competitive than it...

How would the Orioles respond this afternoon to the latest trunk load of adversity? A possibility of another long losing streak after their staff ace landed on the injured list? The uncertainty that lies ahead with a rotation that's already been in a fragile state? Manager Brandon Hyde got his answer. By taking out every ounce of frustration on the Indians. From the top of the lineup to the bottom. Cedric Mullins stayed on his remarkable tear and the Orioles hit and ran the bases at an elite...

Orioles right-hander Jorge López was not used to getting offense to support his pitching like this. He began today with the lowest run support average among all major league starting pitchers. But then the Orioles scored him one in the first and six runs in the second, and he was leading 7-0 just like that. When they added five in the fourth, they were leading, 12-1 and had already produced a season high for runs. They would finish with an 18-5 win to take the series over the Cleveland...

The Orioles have played 58 games in the 2021 season, but so far have played just two rubber match games. Those are games to decide a three-game series when the clubs have split the first two games. The Orioles have played just two and won them both. On May 5, the Orioles won 6-0 at Seattle when John Means pitched a no-hitter. On June 2, they beat Minnesota 6-3 to win that series. The Orioles and Cleveland play their rubber match this afternoon before an off-day on Monday. The Orioles won on...

Orioles pitcher John Means underwent an MRI on his left shoulder a couple of hours ago and the team is waiting for the results before speculating on the length of his absence from the active roster and how it impacts the rotation. Means was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strain. Rookie Zac Lowther was recalled again from Triple-A Norfolk. "With a couple off-days coming up, he leaves the game in the first inning with some tenderness in his shoulder, we're going to side with caution...

Though circumstances dictated they go with a bullpen game this afternoon in Philadelphia - Austin Voth will start, for those who haven't heard yet - the Nationals shouldn't need to take this unconventional route again unless someone else gets hurt. That's because Erick Fedde appears ready to return from the COVID-19 injured list after making a five-inning rehab start Saturday for Single-A Wilmington. Fedde, whose last appearance for the Nationals was a seven-scoreless-inning gem in Arizona...

We've been wondering for days now who would be starting the Nationals' series finale in Philadelphia, taking Stephen Strasburg's spot in the rotation. Well, we finally have our answer. Today's starter will be ... Austin Voth. Manager Davey Martinez came to that decision based on the fact Voth has been a starter his whole career up until this season, and he's had four days off since his last appearance (50 pitches in relief of Strasburg). It's certainly the most logical choice among the...