Upon signing with the Reds days before pitchers and catchers were due to report for spring training, Sean Doolittle took a look at Cincinnati's 2021 schedule. He scanned the entire 162-game slate, but he specifically noted when one particular road series would be taking place. May 25-27: at Washington. Doolittle has tried not to think about it too much since, because there were far more important matters to address. On the heels of an injury-plagued and ineffective 2020 season with the...

When you see the scores for the Orioles' low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, you notice some big offense. When the season started, they scored seven, eight and 11 runs among the first few games. Then they spent a week hammering struggling Fredericksburg during a six-game sweep. The bats didn't slow much last week against Carolina. The Shorebirds (13-5) won 12-8 on Saturday and 13-3 on Sunday. We've seen a group of young hitters and their young hitting coach thriving and Delmarva is the top...

The Rockies claimed Rio Ruiz off waivers from the Orioles this afternoon, assuring that the infielder won't be staying in the organization via an outright assignment. Ruiz was designated for assignment after going 15-for-90 with 29 strikeouts. The Orioles selected Stevie Wilkerson's contract from Triple-A Norfolk and he's sharing second base with Pat Valaika, getting the starts versus right-handers. Wilkerson is in the lineup tonight for the series opener in Minnesota. The Orioles claimed...

It's been an active few days for 26-year-old left-hander Brandon Waddell, a pitcher that didn't know a single teammate when he joined the Orioles yesterday in Washington after his call-up from Triple-A. He began this year with the Minnesota Twins - the Orioles' opponent tonight - then got claimed by the Orioles, went to Triple-A Norfolk and now finds himself in the Orioles bullpen. He's a fresh arm for a club struggling to get consistent outs right now. Originally taken in the fifth round...

Ryan Zimmerman knows what you're thinking. He knows you want him to play more than he is. He knows you believe he should be in the Nationals lineup more than a couple of times a week. And he gets it. But he also knows it would be a mistake in the long run. "You hear everyone saying, and rightfully so: 'This guy's raking. How are you not finding him more playing time?' " the 36-year-old first baseman said Friday afternoon during an in-person interview near the backstop at Nationals Park....

The return of Anthony Santander from the injured list gives manager Brandon Hyde more outfield choices. It also gives him a cleanup hitter, the early numbers dismissed with a wave of the bat. Santander was slashing .196/.230/.321 with a double, two home runs, two walks and 17 strikeouts in 62 plate appearances before spraining his left ankle in Miami. But he's a presence in the lineup, someone that the opposition must account for, a threat to produce runs from both sides of the plate. Too bad...

The Dylan Bundy trade has been looking pretty good recently for the Orioles. It was a trade from Dec. 4, 2019 with the Los Angeles Angels and the Orioles got four right-handers in return. They added Kyle Bradish, Kyle Brnovich, Zach Peek and Isaac Mattson. Mattson has already made it to Baltimore and Bradish got one step closer Saturday with his promotion from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk. That was a quick promotion but the 24-year-old Bradish had thrown 13 2/3 scoreless innings on seven...

During the course of one ballgame, a manager's toughest decision often boils down to the following question: Do everything in your power to win today's game or hold back in order to protect overused players for the long haul? There's never one right answer to the dilemma, and a skipper can twist himself into knots trying to justify either approach. So when this very quandary arose this afternoon on South Capitol Street and Davey Martinez had to decide whether it was worth playing all of his...

Austin Hays was plopped in the leadoff spot today and lined a single into right field to start the game. Freddy Galvis singled to right. Trey Mancini singled to right for his 23rd RBI this month. The opposite-field approach was interrupted only briefly. Manager Brandon Hyde and hitting coach Don Long had to be mentally high-fiving each other. Anthony Santander pulled a 3-0 sinker into left field for a run-scoring single and Maikel Franco doubled to right for an RBI. Four of the first six...

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Kyle McGowin from Triple-A Rochester and placed right-handed pitcher Will Harris on the 10-day Injured List (right hand inflammation) on Sunday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. McGowin, 29, has pitched to a 4.15 ERA (4 ER/8.2 IP) with five strikeouts in eight appearances out of Washington's bullpen this season. Opposing batters are hitting .188 (6-for-32) with one double and...