When the All-Star break arrived and they found themselves without either of their two experienced catchers due to injury, the Nationals elected not to go with a pair of rookies and instead signed 37-year-old René Rivera, who had recently been released by Cleveland. And then they thrust Rivera right into the lineup for Friday's second-half opener against the Padres, then again Saturday night. Rivera was back behind the plate Sunday for the resumption of the previous night's suspended game,...

The painful blow delivered to the Orioles yesterday with a walk-off loss to the Rays concluded a trip that made them settle for .500 and kept them busy with roster activity. The Orioles dropped their 11th series in a row at Tropicana Field dating back to July 24-26, 2017. They're 2-14 in their last 16 games against the Rays. Their 29 losses in day games lead the majors. And then there's the roster activity. They had to put pitcher Keegan Akin and outfielder Anthony Santander on the COVID-19...

The Nationals find themselves in a position to sweep the Marlins tonight, and that's exactly the position they hoped to be in at the start of this critical week. They've taken advantage of a softer schedule, and now they'll try to take complete advantage of it and win their third straight over Miami, fourth straight overall. Erick Fedde gets the start, and he'll look to do what Jon Lester and Paolo Espino did before him: Shut out the Marlins without issuing any walks. That latter part is...

The baseball side of Alexander Wells' life came at him hard again, with little interest in his comfort or convenience. The short notice that he'd make his first major league start this afternoon. The leadoff home run by Randy Arozarena. The two walks that followed in the inning and the run-scoring triple before an out was recorded in the second. Wells doesn't get flustered. He doesn't crumble beneath the pressure. He was wearing the uniform and living the dream. Maybe the quality of some...

After splitting the first two games of their series against Tampa Bay, the Orioles and Rays meet today in an afternoon game which will wrap up this series and a six-game road trip for Baltimore. The Orioles (31-63) beat Tampa Bay 6-1 on Monday night behind Spenser Watkins and lost 9-3 last night. Lefty John Means returned from the injured list and took the loss, allowing five runs and seven hits over five innings. The Orioles are 18-33 on the road this season and 3-2 on this trip to Kansas City...

The Orioles had to place pitcher Keegan Akin and outfielder Anthony Santander on the COVID-19 injured list this morning, following protocols laid out by Major League Baseball. Manager Brandon Hyde could only share a few details on his Zoom call with the media, saying he learned late last night about the situation. There is no minimum stay on the COVID list, which enables Akin and Santander to perhaps be reinstated in fewer than 10 days. At this point, there hasn't been evidence whether the...

The Orioles placed left-hander Keegan Akin and outfielder Anthony Santander on the injured list this morning and recalled left-hander Alexander Wells and outfielder Ryan McKenna from Triple-A Norfolk. Wells is making his first major league start. Akin was supposed to start this afternoon to close out the series against the Rays at Tropicana Field. He's 0-5 with an 8.19 ERA and 1.800 WHIP in 13 games (eight starts). He's allowing 12.5 hits per nine innings. Santander has been playing on a sore...

If their general manager is to be believed, the Nationals have nine more days to prove they deserve to be trade deadline buyers and not sellers. Mike Rizzo, taking questions from beat reporters Tuesday for the first time since April, outlined a two-pronged approach he plans to take as the July 30 trade deadline approaches. He could decide to buy or he could decide to sell. And it all depends on how his team plays during this critical stretch and what the standings look like at the end of...

John Means made his return to the Orioles and their rotation tonight and didn't immediately slip into his ace attire. A proper fit wasn't a reasonable expectation given the long layoff. The velocity was fine. The hard contact was not. And there was more of it than usual. Starting his first major league game since June 5, Means allowed two runs in the first inning, Randy Arozarena's solo homer in the third and Francisco Mejía's two-run shot in the fourth, and the Rays erupted again late...

If they're going to make their move over the next week and a half and convince their general manager he should buy at the trade deadline, the Nationals are going to have to win games on the shoulders of their stars. That's what Mike Rizzo said this afternoon in discussing how his roster, depleted by injuries, could still find a path to contention in a wide-open National League East. "The more your core guys get hurt, the more pressure is put on your star players," Rizzo said in a pregame...