As bad as things went Tuesday night in St. Louis, the Nationals still woke up this morning with a chance to win the series and come home with a 3-6 record in spite of everything that's happened to this team. Maybe it's grasping at straws, but it feels like a win today would go a long way toward boosting everybody's mood. To pull it off, the Nats will need another solid start from Joe Ross, who tossed five scoreless innings against the Dodgers in his season debut. Ross should be good to build...

Josh Harrison had been through this before. Sort of. Upon signing with the Nationals shortly after opening day in 2020, the veteran utility man had to wait several days for his intake screening test - a test he says initially was lost - to be processed before he could actually join his new team. "I had to stay in my room a few extra days 'cause my test got lost," he said during a Zoom session with reporters Tuesday. "So I've been in this situation before, not as long as this one was. But I...

It may have been the biggest hit of the night for the Orioles and maybe one of their biggest of the 2021 season so far. They had lost Game 1 to Seattle 4-3 in eight innings and they were trailing Game 2 by a 4-0 score when third baseman Maikel Franco batted in the last of the third. The bases were loaded and there were two outs. A loss in the nightcap and the Orioles would have a five-game losing streak and would fall to 1-7 since the opening weekend at Boston. But they got back in the game...

The red flags appeared to be there right from the get-go. Stephen Strasburg's first pitch of the night was a 91 mph fastball. There were more of them throughout a first inning that saw one ball leave the yard, then plenty more in the tortured innings that followed. Strasburg clearly didn't seem to feel right. That seemed obvious based on the numbers - eight runs allowed, five batters walked, three homers surrendered, two or three miles per hour reduced on all of his pitches - but also on what...

The eight-pitch first inning tonight, the ease in which Dean Kremer handled the Mariners, didn't establish a tone for his start. Didn't offer any hints or clues. Just provided a reminder of how good he can be - and where the Orioles want to get him. Kyle Seager's sacrifice fly and a three-run homer by José Marmolejos in the third set up Kremer for another short outing, but it also didn't define Game 2. Too much happened after he left. There was a comeback, which included Cedric Mullins'...

Down 4-0 in the last of the third in Game 2 of tonight's doubleheader against the Seattle Mariners, the Orioles were in desperate need of a break. They got a couple in that third inning that were big, but got another one in the last of the seventh to produce the season's first walk-off win. Ramón Urías' RBI single to center with two outs gave the O's a 7-6 win and doubleheader split. Leading 6-4, the Orioles got tied up 6-6 in the top of the seventh, the scheduled last inning of the...

Former Orioles manager Johnny Oates always insisted on putting his best defensive outfielder in left at Camden Yards, which is why Brady Anderson did most of his early work in the corner, though the three-time All-Star is mostly identified as playing center in Baltimore. There was the angle, and fans in the first row of seats who easily could reach out and interfere with fly balls or attempts to catch them. Oates wanted Anderson guarding that area. The Orioles want Ryan Mountcastle, a player...

The Nationals' lineup and bench are now complete with Monday's activation of Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Josh Harrison. The Nationals pitching staff, however, is still not at full strength and won't be until two veterans - Jon Lester and Will Harris - are ready to make their season debuts. Each is making progress toward that goal, but it appears each still needs some more time to get there. Lester, who was among the nine major leaguers who had been in quarantine after either testing...

Two batters into Game 1 of today's doubleheader and John Means was tasked with maintaining a streak that no longer could support a mistake pitch. Or a lucky bounce. Or anything that pushed across another run. Seattle's Ty France hit a changeup into the left field seats with the bases empty. One run was on the board. Tom Murphy led off the second inning by launching a 92 mph fastball into a similar area. Two runs were too many. Means wasn't going to allow one or less for a seventh consecutive...

If it worked last night, might as well see if it works again tonight, right? The Nationals liked what they got from their finally full-strength lineup in the opener of their series in St. Louis, so manager Davey Martinez is sticking with the same one through seven hitters in tonight's game at Busch Stadium. The only change among position players: Alex Avila is behind the plate instead of Yan Gomes. It's Avila's Nats debut, and in the process he becomes the team's fourth different starting...