When Brad Hand signed with the Nationals and envisioned his first appearance with his new club, the veteran reliever probably pictured himself trotting in from the bullpen at Nationals Park in the season's opening series against the Mets, looking to close out a one-run game. But pitching the eighth inning with his team trailing by three runs at Dodger Stadium, in the sixth game of the season? Uh, something would've needed to go terribly wrong for that scenario to play out. Something indeed...

The four-game series against the Mariners that begins tonight at Camden Yards features three opposing left-handed starters, which won't influence whether Cedric Mullins stays in the lineup. Those days appear to be in the past. The novelty of Mullins batting left-handed against southpaws is now viewed as the proper approach from a player who's easily been the most impressive in the lineup to begin the 2021 season. Ignore the lowered bar. He's earned the distinction. Mullins is 6-for-11 with a...

When the Orioles' minor league seasons begin next month, we could see rosters filled with starting pitchers and starting pitcher candidates. Piggyback pitching is coming to the O's farm this year. No, this doesn't have anything to do with anyone lugging around someone else on their back. We've seen it before, where a pitcher will piggyback in a minor league game. It essentially means splitting up the game between two starting pitcher candidates, one that starts the game and one that picks...

One week into a season that didn't start when they expected and didn't include the roster they expected, the Nationals have established a fairly common daily narrative. And not an uplifting one. The typical game has played out like this: An impressive outing by the starter is squandered by a lack of offense (especially a lack of power), with some shaky fundamentals and maybe a late home run served up by the bullpen thrown in for good measure. That formula added up to a 3-0 loss to the Dodgers...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde can keep talking about the bad at-bats and tough luck that run through his lineups, or he can just lean on the dugout railing and make mental notes as examples play out in front of him. There isn't much that Hyde can do to silence the effects of a screaming line drive today from Maikel Franco in the second inning that produced a double play and another layer of frustration. Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers making a backhanded grab - the glove somehow staying...

It was a series that began amid a lot of hope for the Orioles. They were coming home for the first time this season off a thrilling, 11-inning win Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. They were facing a Boston team they swept three straight last weekend, winning 11-3 in the final game. But the results this time were very, very different. The Red Sox have not lost since the Orioles left Fenway Park. They scored four in the third inning and five in the fifth today to build a midgame 10-1 lead, and...

The Nationals are hoping their four remaining quarantined players will be cleared by Monday, and there's a chance Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Josh Harrison could be with the club for the start of their three-game series in St. Louis, though Jon Lester is going to need more time to build his arm back up before he pitches in a big league game. "Until we have clearance, I don't know anything yet," manager Davey Martinez said today at Dodger Stadium during his pregame Zoom session with...

It's hard to call a ballgame on April 11 a "must-win," but here we are. The Nationals, having dropped four in a row since their walk-off win on opening day, kind of really need to find a way to emerge from Los Angeles with a victory this afternoon. Not that it would doom their season, but another loss to complete a sweep would leave them 1-5 and needing to win two of three in St. Louis just to come home 3-6. That's not a situation Davey Martinez and Co. want to find themselves in. The good...

The Orioles have recorded a three-game sweep over Boston this year, and the Red Sox will have one over the Orioles if they win this afternoon at Camden Yards. Boston has won 7-3 and 6-4 in 10 innings to take the first two games in this series. The Red Sox (5-3) now have the longest win streak in the American League - five in a row - and have moved into sole possession of first place. They lead the division by a game over the Orioles and Tampa Bay, both at 4-4, and by two games over New York and...

The run-scoring single that Freddy Galvis poked into left field last night in the eighth inning to give the Orioles a short-lived lead could be an indication that his early hitting woes are evaporating. Or it was a tease - just like the lead that also disappeared. Galvis struck out in the 10th to close out a 6-4 loss to the Red Sox, raising his total to 13 in 31 at-bats. Three of those strikeouts came last night. Going to the opposite field on a 0-2 pitch from Adam Ottavino offered a glimmer of...