On a night they ended a long losing streak, the Orioles got contributions just about everywhere they looked. There was a big inning plus some add-on runs. There were clutch hits and homers. Their starter allowed just one run and the bullpen was dependable at times. For good measure, they threw in a solid defensive play or two. And one spectacular catch by Cedric Mullins. The Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins 7-4 to win for the first time since May 16, over two weeks ago. They ended a 14-game...

The Nationals won't be turning to a sixth starter to take the mound in a pinch Wednesday night. They'll instead ask the oldest player on their roster to pitch on short rest against the Braves. Jon Lester, who started the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader against the Brewers, will return to pitch at Truist Park in Atlanta on only three days' rest, manager Davey Martinez revealed during this afternoon's Zoom session with reporters. That doubleheader created a situation where on Wednesday...

Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann (2-3, 5.15 ERA) will try and be a stopper tonight when the Orioles host Minnesota in Game 2 of a three-game series at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles have lost 14 in a row, which ties for the second-longest run in team history with a 14-game streak from Aug. 11-25, 1954. The only longer stretch was when the 1988 team began the season 0-21 from April 4-28. The Twins won the series opener 3-2 in 10 innings on Monday afternoon, scoring twice in the 10th on a...

Manager Brandon Hyde said reliever Hunter Harvey will throw one-plus or two full innings tonight with Triple-A Norfolk, which is playing in Durham, and the Orioles will decide whether he's ready to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list. "We're going to see how that goes," Hyde said on his Zoom call, "and reevaluate after his outing tonight." Harvey is making his fourth appearance on his rehab assignment. He's allowed three earned runs (five total) and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings....

Pedro Severino is catching tonight and Freddy Galvis is batting cleanup as the Orioles try to snap a 14-game losing streak and defeat the Twins for the first time since March 2018. Trey Mancini is the designated hitter with Ryan Mountcastle at first base. DJ Stewart is in left field. Rookie Bruce Zimmermann is making his ninth start and 10th appearance this season. He held the White Sox to one run over five innings with six strikeouts in his last outing. Michael Pineda has a 2.62 ERA and 0.985...

While Orioles catchers were struggling in Baltimore and the losses started to mount, Austin Wynns, a veteran of 70 big league games over two seasons, was off to a good start at Triple-A Norfolk. Yesterday, Wynns' call back to the majors came. He got the start and the O's pitched well with him back there in a 3-2 loss in 10 innings to Minnesota. It was not a storybook return' as he went hitless and the O's did not end their losing streak. Wynns was catching when Adam Plutko's wild pitch...

May was not kind to the Nationals, who went 11-17 and fell to a season-worst eight games under .500. If you're looking for silver linings, though, they were outscored for the month by only five runs (116-111). The average score of their wins was roughly 7-3. The average score of their losses was roughly 5-2. The point, if there is one: When the Nats hit, they win. When they don't hit, they lose. So perhaps the flip of the calendar to June will benefit this team. (Nothing else has worked.) And...

The first strikeout came on a curveball, down and away, out of the zone. The second strikeout came on a curveball, down and away, though barely in the zone. The third strikeout actually came on a fastball, up in the zone, but only after he had seen three curveballs and a cutter down. And the fourth strikeout came on a slider, the fifth such pitch Trea Turner saw from Braves reliever Luke Jackson during a seven-pitch at-bat that encapsulated the Nationals leadoff hitter's frustrating Monday...

It was just over a week ago that Double-A Bowie catcher Adley Rutschman was batting .211 with a .404 slugging percentage. But some things have changed. After a huge doubleheader on Sunday when he homered in each game and drove in seven runs, Rutschman's stats look a lot better and are probably about where many expected they would be. As Bowie took a pair of games from Harrisburg, Rutschman went 5-for-6 and hit three-run homers in each game, one from either side of the plate. For 22 games, he...

The return for former closer Zack Britton is down to two players. Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Josh Rogers was released yesterday, at least putting on hold his comeback from a second elbow surgery. Rogers, 26, made four appearances with Norfolk, including two starts, and allowed 15 earned runs (17 total) and 24 hits in 17 1/3 innings. He walked three batters and struck out 14. Reports showed that his velocity was good. The arm is healthy again. He just didn't have the overall results to...