The starting pitcher was dealing early and a leadoff triple in the third inning led to a run and thoughts that the offense might have awakened. Deep in the heart of Texas, the Orioles were trying to bury everything that hurt them back home. What needed to be addressed was whether Jorge López could remain upright while taking another turn through the Rangers order and if settling for one run in that inning would bring regrets. Trying to stay in the rotation with other options available to the...

Max Scherzer gave the Nationals exactly what they needed, reminding everyone this team still is built on the broad shoulders of a rotation that may be showing cracks in some spots but remains rock-solid at the very top. Great starting pitching, however, can't win a ballgame all by itself. Somebody's got to score a run at some point. Which the Nats finally did in the bottom of the ninth. On the first official Schwarbomb in club history. Kyle Schwarber launched a 463-foot moonshot onto the...

The Orioles have filled out their rotation for the weekend series in Texas and Dean Kremer is replacing TBD for Saturday night. Kremer is working on short rest after starting Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Mariners, but he threw 54 pitches and has indicated that he's feeling good. Otherwise, the Orioles could have selected one of their long relievers, with the candidates including Wade LeBlanc and Adam Plutko. "We feel confident that he's going to be fine for it," said...

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Kyle McGowin from the Alternate Training Site (Fredericksburg) and placed left-handed pitcher Luis Avilán on the 10-Day Injured List with left elbow inflammation on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. McGowin, 29, appeared in two games out of the Nationals' bullpen before being optioned to the Alternate Training Site on April 10. He tossed 2.1 scoreless innings with...

After losing six of seven games during the season's first homestand, the Orioles are back on the road tonight. They begin a two-city, five-game road stint at Texas versus the Rangers. It's their first trip to Arlington, Texas, since June 4-6, 2019. The Orioles (5-8) lost a doubleheader to Seattle on Thursday and they are tied for fourth in the American League East and are four games back of first-place Boston. The Orioles, who scored just three runs over the two seven-inning games yesterday,...

Davey Martinez stayed up late Thursday night, stayed at Nationals Park til 12:30 a.m., went home and then stayed up until 2 a.m. pondering the state of his team, specifically his pitching staff. The Nationals manager was simultaneously trying to figure out what's going on with Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg and how to get both veteran starters back into a recognizable form while also making sure the rest of his staff was prepared and available for tonight's game against the...

DJ Stewart remains in left field and Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter as the Orioles begin a three-game series tonight against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas. Stewart gets a turn batting third. Trey Mancini is the cleanup hitter and Mountcastle continues to bat sixth. Jorge López needs a good start. He's allowed 11 runs and 11 hits in 8 2/3 innings and opponents have hit three home runs. López has made one career start against the Rangers and he surrendered five runs and seven...

Today's matchup pits two pitchers coming off their best performances of the young season, and both Erick Fedde of the Nationals and Luke Weaver of the Diamondbacks will be hoping to continue their success. At stake for the Nationals: A win today will give them consecutive victories for the first time this season. On the heels of another dominant effort by Max Scherzer on Friday night, the Nats need another strong outing by a starting pitcher. Fedde didn't get ouf of the second inning in his...

The Nationals have slogged their way through a few clunkers in the last week. The good news: They've bounced back in each case to play well the following day and win. So perhaps that portends better things tonight when they face the Diamondbacks and try to erase all memory of Thursday night's fiasco. It starts, of course, with Max Scherzer, who is desperately needed tonight not only to pitch well but to pitch as deep into the game as possible after Patrick Corbin was knocked out two innings...

It's been far too long since we've done one of these. But now that we're 10 games into the season, with no shortage of topics to discuss, it seems like a good time open up the phone lines and hear what you have to say about the Nationals and their not-so-ideal start to the 2021 campaign. What's happened so far? Well, there was the COVID-19 outbreak, which postponed the first four games and sidelined five players for the opening series and four more for the next series as well. There have...