Cedric Mullins is expected to represent the Orioles at the All-Star Game, finding out Sunday night whether he made it as a starter. Trey Mancini already confirmed his participation in the Home Run Derby. They can hang out in Denver. Ryan Mountcastle won't be tagging along, but he's distracted with strengthening his candidacy for American League Rookie of the Month. With more prestigious hardware in his sights. Astros starter Luis Garcia hung a slider tonight with two outs in the top of the...

The thermometer was loaded with mercury, the heat index was in triple digits, the ball was flying at Nationals Park, and as everyone else was dragging from exhaustion, there was Trea Turner racing around the bases in the bottom of the sixth, chasing history. Having already singled in the first, doubled in the third and homered in the fourth, here was Turner - on his 28th birthday - lining a ball over Manuel Margot's head in right field and immediately deciding it was time to turn on the...

An Orioles offense that has scored 22 runs the past two nights in Houston should get a test tonight from an Astros rookie right-hander who will try to pitch his team to a sweep-avoiding win tonight. The Orioles beat Houston 9-7 on Monday night and 13-3 last night. Last week in Baltimore they got swept three in a row by Houston and scored just three runs on 14 hits in that series, hitting one homer while going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. In the first two games this series,...

If we ever forget how special it can be for a player to reach the big leagues, we can go back and check out today's interview with one of the newest Orioles: pitcher Spenser Watkins. Signed by the club as minor league free agent Feb. 3, the 28-year-old right-hander earlier today got the call he has always waited for. He was added to the Orioles active roster from the taxi squad in Houston. After eight seasons - most spent in the Detroit organization - and more than 600 minor league innings, he...

Orioles pitcher Travis Lakins Sr. isn't done undergoing tests on his right elbow. Manager Brandon Hyde said today on his Zoom call that Lakins will have the elbow checked again later this week after the team arrives in California to finish its road trip against the Angels. The Orioles are off Thursday. No matter the result, Lakins is expected to be unavailable for a significant stretch. "Right now we're still calling it an elbow strain, but they're going to do some further tests on it,"...

The Orioles placed pitcher Travis Lakins Sr. on the 10-day injured list today with right elbow pain, selected the contract of pitcher Spenser Watkins from Triple-A Norfolk and recalled reliever Isaac Mattson. Watkins and Mattson were on the taxi squad. Left-hander Alexander Wells was optioned to the Tides after earning his first major league win last night. The Orioles also declared infielder Stevie Wilkerson has been designated for assignment to create room for Watkins on the 40-man...

Asked during his pregame Zoom session with reporters around 2:15 p.m. who he planned to have pitching the late innings today if the Nationals hold a lead, Davey Martinez laughed like a manager who knew there was no simple answer to that question. "Actually, I've got a meeting at 3 o'clock with (pitching coach Jim) Hickey, so we're going to start figuring this stuff out," Martinez said. Suffice it to say, the situation is more complicated than it normally would be. Four key late-inning...

The Tuesday drive from Mac Sceroler's home in Louisiana to Chattanooga, Tenn., didn't show it on any map, but he traveled down a steep hill to get there. The peak of it actually back in Baltimore. The descent from the majors to Double-A baseball is common with Rule 5 selections. Sceroler sensed that it might be coming. Braced for it and understanding of the reasons. Two months spent on the injured list and rehabbing his right shoulder tore through whatever odds of success existed with...

It is scorching hot today. It's going to be 95 degrees with a heat index well above 100 when the Nationals take the field at 4:05 p.m. for the finale of their two-game series with the Rays. If you've got tickets, make sure you dress appropriately and prepare to drink a lot of water. And, of course, make sure you're in your seats in time for the first pitch of the bottom of the first, when Kyle Schwarber digs in to face Rays opener Drew Rasmussen and tries to do it again. The current tally,...

One of the hottest pitchers in all of baseball resides in the Nationals farm system and is going to be in the national spotlight a couple of weeks from now during Major League Baseball's All-Star festivities, testing his talents with the best prospects the sport has to offer. Cade Cavalli has been selected to represent the organization in the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. The announcement was made earlier Wednesday morning on MLB Network's "MLB Central." Cavalli, 22, leads all of...