The second half of spring training begins today. Yep, 20 days have passed and 20 days remain before the Nationals break camp and head north. So this is about the time when things begin to start ramping up a bit, when pitchers start pitching more, when regulars start playing more. In that vein, Max Scherzer today makes his second start of the spring. He threw 38 pitches over 1 2/3 innings Friday night against the Cardinals. Today, against the same St. Louis squad, he's scheduled to throw 50...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday that he wanted to give Ryan McKenna more at-bats against major league pitching and the team a longer look at him. McKenna is starting in left field this afternoon against the Blue Jays in Sarasota. McKenna is batting ninth. Austin Hays is leading off and playing center field. The lineup also includes Trey Mancini as the designated hitter and Freddy Galvis batting cleanup. Ramón Urías is starting at third base, with Rio Ruiz remaining out of the...

Josh Harrison has been an everyday player. From 2014-17, he took an average of 516 plate appearances for the Pirates and managed to earn two All-Star selections and even a ninth-place finish in National League MVP voting. Harrison's true value, though, lies in his ability to do what most others in baseball cannot do: play multiple positions well while still providing a quality bat. Which means the 33-year-old is more valuable to a club not when he's in the lineup daily, but when he's coming...

The two times Stephen Strasburg took the mound in 2020, Davey Martinez couldn't help but watch nervously, knowing his co-ace was dealing with some kind of ailment in his right hand. And as he watched Strasburg the first few times he threw off a mound this spring in West Palm Beach, Fla., the fourth-year manager again had to at least think about his pitcher's surgically repaired wrist and hope there weren't any lingering issues. But by the time Strasburg strode to the mound inside The...

Pat Valaika was on the Orioles' opening day roster in 2020, his second opening day roster in the majors. Now he's shooting for three and his chances may be pretty good. He showed versatility starting at five positions last year for the Orioles and had a strong finish with his bat. He played in 52 of 60 games, which tied for the third-most on the team. Not considered an everyday player, he still tied for seventh on the club in plate appearances and only three Orioles hit more than his eight...

The Orioles made their first round of cuts and none of them were surprising. They must get down to 26 players by opening day and the roster holds 68, including outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who hasn't been cleared for workouts. The time was ripe for some trimming. There's still lots of work to be done. Starters are getting their second turns. More pitchers are going to be stretched out. Players are rotating to other positions. The usual camp activity. Many of the curiosities that I shared prior...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wanted his pitchers to start pounding the strike zone and reduce the walks. He wanted the defense to tighten, a horrid performance Sunday afternoon in Bradenton testing his patience. Rested after an off-day, the Orioles traveled to Fort Myers this afternoon and blanked the Twins on one hit heading into the seventh and final inning. Miguel Sanó delivered an RBI double off Conner Greene and the Orioles lost 1-0 at Hammond Stadium. Three scoreless innings from Dean...

Jon Lester's Nationals debut won't come quite as soon as everyone initially hoped it might. The veteran left-hander, recovering from surgery to remove his thyroid gland, is now back in West Palm Beach, Fla., and picking up where he left off when he departed town last week for the procedure. But despite some thought at first he might pitch in a Grapefruit League game by the end of this week, the club has now decided to bring him along a bit slower. "He did some exercises yesterday, he did...

They both took place under the Florida sun. But the difference between right-hander Dean Kremer's first spring outing and what he showed this afternoon in Fort Myers was like the difference between night and day. Today he threw three scoreless innings on one hit, facing one batter over the minimum as the Orioles faced the Minnesota Twins. Showing a fastball that on one pitch to his last batter registered 97.5 mph on Statcast and a cutter that got swings and misses, Kremer walked one and fanned...

The last time Stephen Strasburg pitched in a game, he didn't make it out of the first inning. Three batters into his Aug. 14 against the Orioles at Camden Yards, the right-hander departed with an all-too-familiar slump of his shoulders, another injury having prevented him from pitching. Seven months later, Strasburg is back on the mound tonight. The carpal tunnel neuritis that plagued his wrist and caused his hand to go numb last summer has been fixed. By all accounts, he's healthy and good...