Wednesday night's game between the Reds and Nationals was suspended after a lengthy rain delay, with the decision officially announced at 11:35 p.m. The suspended game, still slated for nine innings, will be resumed at 2:05 p.m. on Thursday with the regularly scheduled series finale following at 7:05 p.m. as a seven-inning game. Play was halted at 8:31 p.m. with the Nationals ahead 3-0 and the tarp was placed on the field as a forecast downpour began. After more than three hours - and the...

Orioles fans are understandably upset with their team right now. Even those that knew and fully accepted that there would be tough times during another season of rebuilding were hopeful they would see better from the club that what it is showing lately. When John Means pitched a no-hitter, it was for a nearly .500 club and left the Orioles with a 15-16 record on May 5, and they had won five of the previous seven games. But now the Orioles have been swept three in a row by three straight teams....

Trey Mancini hopped on a Zoom call after a recent loss and spoke about the frustrating nature of a team that can't get "synced up." His words coming after the Orioles scored six runs and allowed 13. Plenty of offense and no pitching to support it. It also works in reverse. Starter Jorge López completed six innings yesterday for the first time since Sept. 19, 2020. A quality start produced by someone besides John Means. Relievers Shawn Armstrong and Tanner Scott combined to retire all six...

Right-hander Tanner Rainey, on the COVID-19 injured list since May 19, could be on the verge of rejoining the Nationals after throwing an extended bullpen session Tuesday, manager Davey Martinez said this afternoon. "He threw 32 pitches yesterday," Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with the media. "I want to talk to him today and see how he feels after a long bullpen. If he feels good, he hasn't missed that much time. There's been times where guys in the bullpen, especially the...

The out-of-synch Orioles, as Trey Mancini called them recently, were that again for most of today. All of it, really. When they score a bunch of runs lately, they seem to have given up a few as well. Recently, they've lost games scoring six, seven, nine, five and four runs. When they pitched well, they struggled to score and give their pitchers support. It had all added up to eight straight losses, 12 in the last 13 games and 15 in the past 17 as their record had fallen to 17-31 entering this...

The Orioles made their latest concession with a young player prior to today's game in Minnesota, optioning starter Dean Kremer to focus again on his development. They returned outfielder Austin Hays to the injured list. They kept Ryan Mountcastle out of the lineup with a bruised hand and carried a two-man bench. The goal was to end a losing streak that grew to eight games, but the importance of the big picture trumped everything. And the pains sharpen during the process. No one promised...

The Orioles need a win today to both avoid being swept in this three-game series in Minnesota and also to end an eight-game losing streak. The O's eight-game streak is their longest since they also dropped eight in a row Aug. 12-19, 2019. The club has not lost nine straight games since they lost 10 in a row from June 12-21, 2019. The Orioles have been outscored 69-37 (minus-32 run differential) in this stretch, while posting a 9.00 ERA and batting .254. The O's are 2-15 since May 7. They have...

Left-hander Keegan Akin is replacing Dean Kremer in the Orioles rotation, which gives him Sunday afternoon's start against the White Sox in Chicago. Akin allowed two runs last night in three relief innings. He has a 6.10 ERA and 1.258 WHIP in four appearances over 10 1/3 innings, with only one walk and 10 strikeouts. Akin hasn't started for the Orioles since Sept. 27, 2020 in Toronto, when he surrendered four runs in three innings. Manager Brandon Hyde explained today's decision to option...

Outfielder Austin Hays has gone on the injured list for a second time with a hamstring injury and the Orioles recalled Ryan McKenna from Triple-A Norfolk as they close out their series in Minnesota. Hays injured his right hamstring during the third game of the season in Boston. He experienced tightness in the left one following Sunday's game in D.C. Hays is batting .252/.319/.455 with six doubles, two triples, five home runs and 15 RBIs in 32 games. The Orioles optioned pitcher Dean Kremer to...

The only real offensive highlight of Tuesday night's 2-1 loss at Nationals Park was Josh Bell's bottom-of-the-ninth homer. A homer that was a long time coming for the switch-hitting slugger, because it came from the right side of the plate. Though he has been breaking out of his season-long funk as a left-handed batter over the last two weeks, Bell hadn't shown much as a right-handed batter yet. The switch-hitter entered Tuesday's game just 2-for-25 on the season when batting righty against...