Washington Nationals Philanthropies, the official charitable arm of the Washington Nationals, announced today plans to hold a signature fundraising event this fall in lieu of its traditional gala. The Nationals Home Plate Celebration, to be held on September 27 at Nationals Park, will uniquely showcase the cornerstone elements of the organization's holistic food access program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the team is on the road, the Home Plate Celebration event invites...

An 8-3 homestand, capped with a strong and often thrilling weekend against the Mets, was a great first step for the Nationals to get themselves back into the mix in the National League East. A good road trip this week against two more division opponents would go a long way toward making this surge truly legitimate. It begins tonight in Philadelphia in the opener of a quick, two-game series against the Phillies. And it begins with the ace back on the mound. Yes, as he promised over the weekend,...

The Washington Nationals reinstated right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer from the 10-day Injured List and placed right-handed pitcher Kyle Finnegan on the 10-day Injured List (retroactive to June 21) with a left hamstring strain on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Scherzer, 36, will start Tuesday night's series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies. His last full start came on June 4 against the Phillies before being...

On the first night of Major League Baseball's new "sticky stuff" rules, with baseball pledging to enforce the rules about pitchers using foreign substances and threatening transgressors with ejections and suspensions, there were no offenders reported that I could tell. As of around midnight, I had not seen any reports from any games of someone ejected. Didn't we hear that most of the pitchers were bending the rules or, to say it another way, cheating? Many suggested they were, but last...

The only stickiness for Keegan Akin tonight was a third-inning jam. A worse mess for the Orioles was their inability to get a hit until the eighth inning. Three Astros pitchers beginning with Jake Odorizzi combined for only a walk and hit batter before Maikel Franco's two-run homer off reliever Brandon Bielak in the Orioles' 10-2 loss before an announced crowd of 7,414, a potential eighth no-hitter against them and second at Camden Yards sailing into the bullpen. Bielak nailed Austin Hays on...

Erick Fedde's phone rang around midnight, a few hours following the Nationals' May 18 loss in Chicago. He was immediately asked where he was (his hotel room) and instructed not to leave. "Wait, what are you talking about?" the right-hander finally asked. At which point he was told the news: "You have COVID." "I was like, it has to be a false positive," Fedde said Sunday during a one-on-one interview outside the dugout at Nationals Park. "Unfortunately, it wasn't. I guess shock is...

If the Orioles stick with their five-man rotation through a grueling stretch that doesn't bring an off-day until July 1, Matt Harvey would take his next turn Friday night in Buffalo. He'll be opposed by Josh Allen. But seriously, Harvey is lined up to face the Blue Jays in the second game of the series while a segment of the fan base - impossible to measure because the loudest dissenters tend to post more regularly on social media - wonder why he's still in the rotation. Or the...

After losing two of three games to Toronto - and dropping the last two games after Friday's 7-1 win - the Orioles host Houston beginning tonight at Oriole Park. It is a three-game series to complete a six-game homestand. Then the Orioles will play the Blue Jays and Astros again on the road as part of a 10-game road trip that also includes a trip to Anaheim. Tonight's game will not start on time as planned due to a rain delay, but the outlook for the rain to pass looks good for later this...

The Orioles have placed reliever César Valdez on the 10-day injured list with a strained muscle in his lower back and recalled reliever Travis Lakins Sr. from Triple-A Norfolk. Valdez lost his closer's job and is carrying a 5.74 ERA and 1.650 WHIP in 25 appearances and 26 2/3 innings. He surrendered two more runs yesterday in the eighth inning and has allowed six runs and 11 hits this month in only seven innings. The slump has been extensive, with Valdez registering a 1.42 ERA and 1.105...

Anthony Santander is out of the lineup tonight to ease the strain on his sore left ankle, though he's available to come off the bench for the series opener against the Astros at Camden Yards. DJ Stewart is in right field and Austin Hays is in left. Trey Mancini is playing first base and Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter. Pedro Severino is behind the plate. Shortstop Freddy Galvis is batting second. Rookie Keegan Akin went a career-high 5 2/3 innings in his last start in Cleveland, but...