When he made his way to a major league mound on Wednesday night at New York, right-hander Dusten Knight gave up two runs in the last of the eighth inning. But the bigger story is the long odds he beat to get that far. He made his major league debut at age 30. He was drafted in round 28 in 2013 by the San Francisco Giants out of Texas-Pan American, and there were only 851 players drafted ahead of him. Along the way, in addition to throwing in 223 minor league games, he pitched in Mexico. In 2019...

Ryan Mountcastle was thrown out trying to steal second base tonight, absorbed a hard tag to the side of his head and left the game in the top of the third. Trey Mancini fouled a ball off his crotch in the fifth, dropped face-down in the dirt and didn't move for several seconds. The Orioles were trying to win a game while in full survival mode, with Nelson Cruz doling out more punishment. Mancini lined his second double of the night on the next pitch and scored on Jorge Mateo's triple to...

Take a Nationals lineup already depleted by the trades of Trea Turner, Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison and Kyle Schwarber, then remove Juan Soto from the equation, and what do you get? Well, you get this: The Nats were held to five hits (two of them in the ninth inning with the game already out of reach) by the Braves during an 8-4 loss tonight at Truist Park. Already having a tough go of things one week after selling off just about every prominent veteran on their roster at the trade deadline, the...

Type the name in an internet search and a professional hockey winger appears, a former first-round draft pick who plays for the Minnesota Wild. If you want the Ryan Hartman who's a pitcher in the Orioles organization, the word "baseball" is required to distinguish the two. Otherwise, he's buried beneath the National Hockey League results. "I actually messaged him this off-season," said the Orioles' Hartman, claimed off waivers last week from the Astros and optioned to Triple-A...

Davey Martinez arrived in the visitors' Zoom press conference room in Atlanta shortly before 5 p.m. today and immediately was asked about Juan Soto's status for the Nationals' series opener against the Braves. Martinez, while insisting he's not significantly concerned about his star slugger's right knee, made it clear he was hesitant to put him in tonight's lineup. "I'm at 50-50 right now, I really am," Martinez said. "Unless he comes in and says he's feels great, we might do...

Jorge Mateo will be in Saturday night's lineup to make his Orioles debut, whether as the 51st or 52nd player used in 2021. Reliever Marcos Diplán could finish ahead of him later tonight. The Orioles claimed Mateo off waivers from the Padres yesterday and Hyde met him this afternoon in the dugout before batting practice. Mateo will start at shortstop or second base in the middle game of the series against the Rays. "I'm going to give him a big opportunity," Hyde said. "It's a really...

The Nationals are in a tough spot right now, and if you didn't already know why, here's some evidence: In eight of their last 12 games, they've held the lead going into the ninth inning. And they've only emerged victorious in three of them. So on one hand, even the rebuilding, inexperienced Nats are still putting themselves in a position to win more than they lose. But they're not actually winning more than they're losing. Quite the contrary. They've lost 22 of their last 31. That's the...

After completing a 3-4 road trip to Detroit and New York, the Orioles are back home tonight at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. They begin a three-game series against Tampa Bay, which is part of a six-game homestand. The Orioles (38-69) went 2-2 at Detroit and 1-2 at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles are 17-31 at home and went 4-1 on their last homestand against Washington and Miami. The Orioles are 14-21 in series-opening games and are 6-10 in series-opening games at home. The Orioles beat the Yankees...

One day before they officially go into the Orioles Hall of Fame, the new class was honored this afternoon at a luncheon at the Warehouse at Camden Yards and spent a few minutes answering questions for reporters. The class of 2021 includes former shortstop J.J. Hardy, former outfielder Mike Devereaux, former broadcaster Joe Angel and O's superfan Mo Gaba, who passed away last year. Hardy spent the last seven seasons of his 13-year career with the Orioles from 2011-17 and won three straight Gold...

Richie Martin is starting at shortstop again tonight and Ramón Urías is playing second base, as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Rays at Camden Yards. Maikel Franco is the third baseman. No sign of new infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo. Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman again with Trey Mancini serving as designated hitter. Anthony Santander is in right field and batting sixth. Cedric Mullins has a 13-game hitting streak, batting .385 (20-for-52) with three doubles, a...