As far as opening day games go, this one was hard to beat. John Means was dealing, Trey Mancini officially returned to the sport and young Ryan Mountcastle came up with a clutch two-run double. The Orioles had their first win of the year and first shutout on opening day in 16 years. Means joined a list of five O's starters who took the ball in an opener where the team would go on to win by a shutout. * 1973, O's win 10-0 versus Milwaukee. Dave McNally pitched a three-hitter with no walks and...

The first Orioles game of the 2021 season put John Means back on the mound and Trey Mancini in a lineup. Rio Ruiz at a new position and Major League Baseball closer to its old, familiar self. Take it. All of it. Whatever the final score. Means retired the last 18 batters he faced to complete seven scoreless innings. Mancini grounded into double plays in his first two at-bats and still was the most important player in the game with his inspiring comeback from Stage 3 colon cancer. Ruiz made a...

Whether lefty John Means becomes a true ace pitcher for the Orioles in the future or not, he showed us today what one looks like. Means was absolutely dominant in a 3-0 win over the Red Sox on opening day in Boston. Means allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings as the Orioles recorded their first opening day shutout since 2005. Then they beat Oakland 4-0 as Rodrigo Lopez threw six scoreless innings. It was the sixth opening day shutout in club history. Means today became the first pitcher in...

The Nationals' entire weekend series against the Mets was postponed today by Major League Baseball, with four players having officially tested positive for COVID-19 and six others (five players, one staff member) in mandatory quarantine after being designated close contacts. The postponement of all three scheduled games at Nationals Park wasn't a terribly surprising announcement, given the news of the last 24 hours, but it's nonetheless another disappointing development for both clubs, which...

How the Orioles handle second base in the early portion of the season is a fluid situation that begins this afternoon with Rio Ruiz making his first career start at the position in the regular season. A two-game audition late in camp has led to more opportunities. The length to be determined. Ruiz is the Orioles' third different opening day starter in a row at second base after Jonathan Schoop's run of five consecutive assignments. Jonathan Villar started in 2019 and Hanser Alberto last...

The Orioles open their 68th season today when they play the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park. It is the start of a three-game series and season-opening six-game road trip that also takes the Orioles to Yankee Stadium before the April 8 home opener. That is also against Boston. The 2020 Orioles played 40 of their 60 games within the American League East. They went 5-5 against Boston, 4-6 versus Tampa Bay, 3-7 against New York and 2-8 versus Toronto. They went 5-14 in division road games. At 12-15...

Ryan Mountcastle is ready for a special day: his first opening day in the major leagues. His first game last year was on Aug. 21. Today he is in the Orioles lineup as cleanup hitter and DH for the season opener at Boston. It's a big milestone. "Yeah, for sure," he said. "I've gone to big league spring training four or five times and I've gotten sent down every time. The first time I get to break with the club it's definitely a surreal moment and something I'll cherish, for sure." And...

The Orioles' first lineup of 2021 today includes Rio Ruiz making his first career major league start at second base and Austin Hays playing left field. Ruiz started at second base in back-to-back exhibition games to close out the Grapefruit League schedule. Cedric Mullins is leading off and playing center field. Trey Mancini is batting second and playing first base and Anthony Santander is slotted behind him in right field. Left-hander John Means is making his first opening day start. His...

These are, unfortunately, uncertain times for the Nationals. They were all set to open the 2021 season Thursday night against the Mets, then learned the game had been postponed when one (eventually three, possibly four) players tested positive for COVID-19. Now, with Major League Baseball declaring the game would not be made up today, the Nats face another day stuck at home in isolation, awaiting results of another round of tests that should help determine whether they can actually play as...

Two more Nationals players, and potentially a third, have now tested positive for COVID-19, all of them close contacts to the original player who learned Wednesday he had tested positive, leaving the team's season-opening series against the Mets in flux. General manager Mike Rizzo delivered that new batch of unpleasant news early this evening after the results of the tests the entire team took Wednesday morning came back. The Nationals now have reason to believe four of their players in total...