At the end of a miserable day and night - weather-wise and baseball-wise - there really aren't any silver linings for the Nationals to hang their caps on. Swept by the Brewers over the course of 14 innings of poorly executed baseball, they look very much like the last-place team they are this Memorial Day weekend. Yes, there are four months of baseball still to go. And if any franchise has proven how much can change in four months, this is it. But what reasons for optimism are the Nationals...

When the Orioles promoted infielder Joey Ortiz yesterday from high Single-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie, that opened a spot for another infielder at Aberdeen. Could 19-year-old Gunnar Henderson be ready to move up already and take that spot? Would his low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds teammate Jordan Westburg join him, or does the 22-year-old drafted out of Mississippi State move up first? Good questions, and while just one of this pair could soon be moving up to Aberdeen for the beginning of the...

The Orioles are expected to reinstate reliever Hunter Harvey from the 60-day injured list on the front portion of a three-team homestand that begins Memorial Day against the Twins. They could choose to give him a fourth appearance on his injury rehab assignment after Friday night's start at Triple-A Norfolk or bring him to Baltimore. Whatever they do, they're going to largely ignore his stats as they might in spring training. Harvey has been charged with three earned runs and five total with...

For the Orioles, not only has it been a while since they won, but it has been a while since they won a John Means start. Yep, their ace was 4-0 with a 1.79 ERA, but the Orioles had not won with Means on the mound since he pitched a no-hitter May 6 at Seattle. In three starts since then, Means was 0-0 with a 2.79 ERA. And that would not change tonight in the second game of the doubleheader at Chicago. The White Sox hit two homers off Means and beat the Orioles 3-1 to complete a twinbill sweep....

Leave it to the Orioles' luck that on the day John Means starts the second game of a doubleheader, their losing streak reaching 11 games, the opposition sends out a pitcher with a lower ERA. A neat trick, considering how stingy Means is allowing runs. Billy Hamilton, the well-traveled outfielder known for his speed rather than his swing, homered off Means with two outs in the fourth inning, José Abreu hit a two-run shot in the fifth after a cheap two-out single ahead of him and the While...

Who's ready for seven more innings of baseball in the rain? The Nationals and Brewers are going to give it a try, hoping the conditions at least allow for play as they did during this afternoon's contest. As always, stay tuned and don't be surprised if there are delays or even a postponement. Stymied by Freddy Peralta in the opener, the Nationals will see if they can get something going against a left-hander: Brett Anderson, who has had an up-and-down start to his season. Because the Brewers...

Games shortened to seven innings aren't capable right now of preventing losing streaks from growing. The Orioles must hope that they don't run out of ideas. Another early lead for the Orioles was erased in rapid fashion today after Freddy Galvis hit the first of his two home runs off White Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel in the first inning. A single by José Abreu tied the game in the first. A pair of Matt Harvey walks and a wild pitch to open the third were followed by Abreu's two-run...

The weather was abysmal, but there was a doubleheader to be played rain or shine, so the Nationals and Brewers went ahead and got the first seven of today's 14 scheduled innings in despite the awful playing conditions. And it produced a result that looked awfully familiar for the Nats. After Patrick Corbin dug them into an early four-run hole, the Nationals lineup could not come close to producing enough offense to get back in this one. They trudged off the field having lost 4-1, with three...

Victor Robles is eligible to come off the injured list Sunday, but with little opportunity to test his sprained right ankle on a wet field all weekend, the Nationals may need to wait a bit longer to activate their starting center fielder. Robles was supposed to run the bases Friday, but the postponement of the series opener versus the Brewers shelved those plans. And with more on-and-off rain today as the two teams attempt to play a doubleheader, the Nationals won't take a chance with the...

The Orioles have two chances today to snap the 17th losing streak of 10 or more games in club history. After last night's rainout, the O's and Chicago White Sox play a straight doubleheader this afternoon. It's the third doubleheader of the season for the Orioles. The first two both came in what was originally scheduled to be a series of four games in four days at home in April versus Seattle. But it ended up being played as two doubleheaders. On April 13, the Orioles lost Game 1 4-3 in...