Zac Lowther sat in the Orioles bullpen this afternoon and waited for the phone to ring. A second call in less than 24 hours that would thrill him. That would allow a fourth player on the club to make his major league debut in less than a month. The fly in the ointment was a former All-Star pitcher who's the undisputed ace of the staff. A starter who didn't need a reliever to provide length. John Means was dealing again. Austin Hays was destroying fastballs. Lowther wasn't debuting until the...

The final tally - Mets 4, Nationals 0 - suggested a one-sided game. It suggested yet another rough start for Patrick Corbin and yet another lifeless afternoon at the plate for a Nats lineup that has been shut out five times in 19 games to begin the season. In reality, this had a chance to be a far more competitive ballgame, perhaps even a victory for the visitors. It proved not to be because the Nationals did just about everything in their power to spoil the countless opportunities they had to...

The way he was pitching, maybe Orioles left-hander John Means would not need big run support. As it turned out, he would not get it. But he was a stopper today for the O's. He stopped a three-game losing for the team as they avoided getting swept by Oakland. Means also stopped Oakland's 13-game winning. The run ends one short of the second-best streak in team history when they won 14 in a row from April 23-May 9, 1988. The 20-game run in 2002 is the club record. Means was real good again for...

Zac Lowther is in the bullpen this afternoon as the Orioles close out their series against the Athletics. Whether he stays there, and with the Orioles, can't be answered today. The Orioles recalled Lowther from the alternate training site in Bowie for a specific purpose this afternoon. "The need for somebody who can give us multiple innings," manager Brandon Hyde said in his Zoom call with the media. "And Zac being on roster, throwing the ball well at the alternate site, having a good...

It's not uncommon for Ryan Zimmerman to go an entire week without appearing in a major league game. This is a player, after all, who has dealt with every manner of injury throughout his 16-year career, and has required time off both in the short and long term to get his body right. But never before has Zimmerman missed an entire week while on the Nationals' active roster and, by all accounts, healthy enough to play. Until this week. It's been seven days since the face of the franchise showed...

Pitchers like Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer and Bruce Zimmermann have preceded him. Now 24-year-old lefty Zac Lowther arrives in the majors for the first time. Taken by the Orioles out of Xavier with the No. 74 pick in the 2017 draft, he was added to the big league roster today as Wade LeBlanc was designated for assignment. Lowther's strong minor league resume includes being named O's co-Minor League Pitcher of the Year with Akin 2018 and a stellar 2019 season when he was one of the best pitchers...

In an attempt to pick up their second home win of the season, avoid a three-game sweep and snap Oakland's long winning streak, the Orioles turn to their lefty ace today. John Means (1-0, 1.52 ERA) will make his fifth start. Means went seven scoreless innings on three hits last Sunday at Texas and is pitching on two extra days of rest. He threw 96 pitches last Sunday with two walks and nine strikeouts. Means ended his 2020 season by pitching to an ERA of 1.52 over his last four starts. He has...

Despite what they might try to insist, managers are a superstitious lot. When something works one day, they tend to not want to change it up the next day. So when the Nationals scored a season-high seven runs Saturday with a new-look lineup, you shouldn't be surprised to see Davey Martinez go right back to the same lineup for today's series finale in New York. Yes, that means Josh Harrison and Yadiel Hernandez are at the top of the batting order again. And it means Josh Bell, despite his...

The Orioles have sent out today's lineup ahead of their roster move, with left-hander Zac Lowther joining them from the alternate training site in Bowie and veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc being designated for assignment. The transaction will be announced shortly. Update: It was just announced. Lowther is wearing No. 59 and waiting to make his major league debut. Lowther will be in the bullpen this afternoon as the Orioles try to avoid a sweep and the Athletics attempt to run their winning streak...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn't offer a long-term endorsement yesterday for the current group of hitters on the roster. You don't make promises while an offense keeps stalling. Reasons are highlighted, such as players pressing to be "the guy," as Hyde said, and the expansion of the strike zone. "We just have a lot of guys that are trying to make up for the start of the year with one at-bat," Hyde said via Zoom, "and that's not how it works." Many of the roster moves this month have...