BOWIE - Making his third Double-A start of the year and first at home, top Orioles pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings tonight for Bowie against the Akron RubberDucks in front of a big crowd at Prince George's Stadium. After a strong start to his outing, Akron had some nice swings starting in the third inning and there were a few hard-hit balls. He allowed four hits with one walk and six strikeouts in an 83-pitch outing. An inherited runner was stranded when...

In the end, the Nationals didn't want to take a chance putting Max Scherzer on the mound this weekend without knowing for certain if his groin would hold up. So even though the three-time Cy Young Award winner is confident he'll be ready to pitch again in a matter of "days, not weeks," the club decided to go ahead and place him on the 10-day injured list this afternoon. "After going through the process, I just want to be more cautious than not," manager Davey Martinez said during his...

The Orioles have traded Triple-A Norfolk catcher Taylor Davis to the Pirates in exchange for outfielder José Berroa, who will be assigned to a Florida Complex team in Sarasota, Fla. Berroa, 19, was signed by the Pirates as an international free agent from Santo Domingo, D.R., on July 2, 2018. He appeared in a combined 56 games for the Pirates Rookie-level Dominican Summer League affiliates in 2019 and posted a .254 average (48-for-189) with a .678 OPS, six doubles, three triples, 21 RBIs and...

The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Justin Miller and designated right-handed pitcher Rogelio Armenteros for assignment on Tuesday. Additionally, the Nationals placed right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer on the 10-day Injured List (retroactive to June 12) with groin inflammation. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Miller, 34, joins the Nationals after going 1-0 with five saves, a 0.55 ERA (1 ER/16.1...

Austin Hays and Maikel Franco return to the lineup tonight as the Orioles continue their series in Cleveland. Hays is in right field after staying on the bench last night. Franco is playing third base after delivering a pinch-hit single. Trey Mancini is the first baseman. DJ Stewart is in left field and Anthony Santander is the designated hitter. Austin Wynns is behind the plate for the third time in four games. Since being stuck with four unearned runs on May 7, Matt Harvey has surrendered 31...

First, the news of the day, not totally unexpected: The Nationals have placed Max Scherzer on the 10-day injured list with groin inflammation. The move is retroactive to Saturday, so that means he'll be eligible to return one week from today against the Phillies. Again, no shocker here, and Scherzer certainly seems to expect he'll be good to go by then. With a chance to add another pitcher, the Nats purchased right-hander Justin Miller's contract from Triple-A Rochester, bringing back the...

It's back on the field tonight for the Orioles for the second game of a four-game series at Cleveland. The Orioles are winless on this road trip, have lost five in a row overall and 16 straight road games since winning at Seattle on May 6 when John Means pitched a no-hitter. The Orioles (22-43) lost 4-3 on Monday night and they are now 1-10 in their past 11 games decided by one or two runs. They are 4-11 in one-run games after that series-opening loss. The Birds are 4-10 versus the American...

The structure of the voting for the 2021 All-Star Game allows the top nine outfielders in each league to advance to the next "phase," as Major League Baseball is calling it. Cedric Mullins is currently 10th with 145,537 votes. Of course it's ridiculous. His 2.9 WAR last night, per Fangraphs.com, ranked fifth in the American League at any position, his 78 hits were tied for third in the majors and he led off the game with a single, and his defense has been Gold Glove-worthy. But the All-Star...

Dean Kremer made his 14th major league start tonight and could brag of being the most experienced pitcher among the three rookies now planted in the Orioles rotation for however long it lasts. Kremer was recalled this afternoon from Triple-A Norfolk, his reset complete, and joined left-handers Bruce Zimmermann and Keegan Akin, who have started in 12 and nine games, respectively. If fans want a distraction from the losing streaks that keep hounding this club, a trio of pitching prospects taking...

Kyle Schwarber tried to act like a traditional leadoff hitter in the third inning of tonight's series opener on South Capitol Street, attempting to use his legs to take an extra base that wasn't there for the taking and paying the price for it. So when the opportunity to make a difference in this game came four innings later, Schwarber decided he'd be better off doing it the best way he knows how: by hitting the ball a long way and making the trip around the bases risk-free. Schwarber's...