For the Orioles, who have played 38 of their 104 games to date against American League East opponents, their schedule is about to get division-heavy once again. They open a three-game series tonight at Yankee Stadium to start a run of six straight games within the division. They will also play 13 of their next 16 and 22 of the next 31 through Sept. 5 within the division. The AL East is the only division in the majors with four teams playing at least .500 ball, and fourth-place Toronto is six...

It was lost in the shuffle a bit during a chaotic weekend that saw the Nationals undergo so much change, but infielder Alcides Escobar hasn't played since Friday, still dealing with a swollen left wrist after getting hit by a pitch. Escobar wasn't in the lineup for Saturday or Sunday's games against the Cubs, and he's again out of the lineup tonight against the Phillies, though he made some progress today when he played catch prior to the Nats' batting practice. "He's still going to be...

Infielder Richie Martin is back in the majors. In a surprise move, the Orioles reinstated Martin from the 60-day injured list this afternoon and he's in New York for tonight's series opener against the Yankees. The Orioles optioned infielder Domingo Leyba to Triple-A Norfolk to make room on the active roster. They also put left-hander Ryan Hartman, claimed off waivers from the Astros, on the injured list. Hartman is going through the necessary COVID-19 protocols after joining the organization...

Cedric Mullins is back in the lineup, after a rare rest yesterday, as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Yankees in the Bronx. Austin Hays is in left field and Anthony Santander is in right. Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman and cleanup hitter. Pat Valaika is starting at second base. The Yankees won two of three games against the Orioles in New York in April. The teams split four games later in the month in Baltimore and the Yankees won two of three at Camden Yards in...

The debut of a promising young pitcher is always exciting. Perhaps the circumstances that preceded Josiah Gray's debut tonight at Nationals Park weren't cause for celebration, but now that it's happened it's worth embracing. This isn't Gray's major league debut; he pitched twice for the Dodgers in the last few weeks. But there's an entirely different kind of hype and pressure for this start than either of those. He's not just a prospect who was called up. He's now one of the prospects...

Orioles first-round draft pick Colton Cowser and second-rounder Connor Norby made their professional debuts this afternoon in the Florida Complex League. Cowser started in center field and batted third for the orange team against the Rays' Matthew Peguero. He lined a single into center field in his first at-bat, homered to right and was called out on strikes. Norby started at second base and batted second. He grounded out 3-1 and struck out twice. The Orioles made Cowser the fifth-overall...

It started with Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond, who departed after the 2015 season. Then came Bryce Harper following the 2018 season. And, of course, Anthony Rendon a few months after they won the 2019 World Series. The Nationals, an organization that long prided itself on developing its own star players, has seen nearly all of them depart once they reached free agency. There have been two notable exceptions over the years: Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg. Each was a high first-round...

The Orioles are in New York for the next three nights, with their roster again reset, a role changed and one confirmed. Keegan Akin isn't a starter and has been assigned to the bullpen as a second left-hander after Tanner Scott was placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left knee. He can provide more length than Scott, but also might be needed just to get three outs in a matchup-type role late in games. Akin tried to play the part of Scott yesterday, at least in terms of usage, by...

It won't always be this simple, but it is so far in the second half of the 2021 season. The Orioles are unbeaten when their starter pitches six innings or more. They have done that in six of the 15 games since the All-Star Game and the Orioles are 6-0 in those games. It should be pointed out that they actually had a losing record of 7-9 in the 16 games in which their starter went six or more innings during the first half of the season. But getting better and deeper starts is one big reason why...

If you're wondering - for practical, in-game purposes - what will be different the next two months from everything that came before it, here was a good example in the top of the sixth this afternoon at Nationals Park. Erick Fedde, who had been cruising along against a depleted Cubs lineup, opened that frame allowing a single to Andrew Romine, then a two-run homer to Rafael Ortega at the end of a long, seven-pitch at-bat. The Nationals' lead was down to one, Fedde's pitch count was up to 91...