If you're in need of a little pick-me-up following Wednesday night's extra-inning loss to the Phillies, here's one that might do the trick: Cade Cavalli's professional career is off to a fantastic start. The Nationals' 2020 first-round pick authored another impressive outing Wednesday for high Single-A Wilmington, tossing five scoreless innings while striking out eight during an eventual 1-0 win over Jersey Shore. Cavalli surrendered only one hit, a third-inning single by Jonathan Guzman,...

They had played far from a perfect ballgame, and certainly they didn't tear the cover off the ball, but the Nationals nonetheless put themselves in position to beat the Phillies this evening, thanks to an effective start by Jon Lester, some timely hits in the sixth, a massive blunder in the outfield by Bryce Harper and strong setup work from Sam Clay and Daniel Hudson. Victory, however, could not be secured until Brad Hand pitched a scoreless ninth, something that only a week ago felt like as...

A caller to my postgame radio show on Tuesday night expressed a take that the Orioles could trade left-hander John Means, and that they could get a big package of prospects for their ace pitcher. Other fans have expressed concerns that the club would even consider such a move. While none of us know exactly how executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias feels on this topic, we do know that he would only be doing his job to field offers for any player at any time. That doesn't mean...

The Nationals have activated Wander Suero from the 10-day injured list and will have their workhorse reliever available for tonight's game against the Phillies. To clear space on their active roster for Suero, the Nats optioned veteran right-hander Paolo Espino to Triple-A Rochester. Suero, who had been out since April 18 with a left oblique strain, was cleared to return three days after a one-appearance rehab assignment for Rochester. Starting the game against Lehigh Valley, he gave up two...

The Washington Nationals returned from rehab assignment and reinstated right-handed pitcher Wander Suero from the 10-day Injured List and optioned right-handed pitcher Paolo Espino to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Suero, 29, returns to Washington's bullpen after missing 21 games with a left oblique strain. He posted a 1.42 ERA (1 ER/6.1 IP) in eight appearances before being placed on the Injured...

César Valdez retires the side in order with his bizarro changeup and he's a lovable, unorthodox closer who should get the ball in every save opportunity. An intriguing and embraceable success story. Who cares about his velocity? He blows a save and suddenly he doesn't belong in the role and the Orioles are clowns for refusing to find a better option. Enough of the warm and fuzzies. Can't close with that velocity. It's exhausting and predictable. Valdez is not a prototypical closer and is...

The Nationals need to score runs tonight. This does not qualify as some sort of huge revelation. It's simply the truth. Over their last eight games, the Nats have scored an average of 3.4 runs on 7.5 hits. Which isn't great, but it's even worse when you consider they exploded for 11 runs on 10 hits during Friday night's win at Yankee Stadium. Throw that outlier from the mix, and you get an average of 2.3 runs on 7.1 hits during this stretch. So the mission tonight is clear: Score, and score...

The on-field portion of Matt Harvey's day at Citi Field began with the usual warm-up tosses in the bullpen and the stroll to the dugout, his mind refusing to play tricks and steer him toward the home side. He walked to the mound after the top of the first inning, heard the ovation, noticed Mets fans standing and holding up signs and tipped his cap. The moment could have overwhelmed Harvey, but he retired the side in order on 13 pitches and headed to the bench. The hope, of course, was that...

After they allowed two runs in the last of the ninth last night and lost 3-2 to the New York Mets, the Orioles will try to bounce back today. They play the Mets at Citi Field, looking for a win to split the two-game series. New York came to bat in the last of the eighth trailing the Orioles 2-0, but scored once in the eighth and twice in the ninth off César Valdez to come back and win. The first-place Mets improved to 17-13 and have won six in a row, allowing only 13 runs in those games. The...

Matt Harvey is back on the Citi Field mound this afternoon as the Orioles try to split their two-game series against the Mets and return home. Harvey hasn't pitched in New York since May 2018. The defense behind him includes Rio Ruiz at second base, Ryan Mountcastle in left field and Austin Hays in right. From 2012-15, Harvey posted a 2.05 ERA in 35 starts at Citi Field and 27 were quality by definition. Shortstop Freddy Galvis is 22-for-60 (.367) in his last 18 games. The Orioles have...