A soft liner leaves the opponent's bat, the shortstop catches it and players sprint onto the field to begin a raucous celebration. Teammates surround the starting pitcher. Grown men jump up and down as if reliving their childhood. But enough about the 1983 World Series ... Ramón Urías played the role of Cal Ripken Jr. yesterday in Seattle and John Means was Scott McGregor. Except the Orioles didn't win a championship. They just reacted as if a trophy would be hoisted later and champagne...

With a roster that is less than ideally constructed and a matchup against a left-handed starter this evening, Nationals manager Davey Martinez wound up fielding a lineup loaded with right-handed hitters and a bench loaded with big names who he could choose to insert somewhere along the way when the right situation arose. Trouble is, Martinez never got around to using Juan Soto or Josh Bell when either would've had a chance to bat with a chance to make a big difference. Instead, it was Yadiel...

We have pointed it out before, but it still holds true: John Means was never ranked once among the Orioles' top 30 prospects by Baseball America and barely made it onto the MLBPipeline.com list. But not being ranked doesn't mean you can't make the majors, be good when you get there and be a Rookie of the Year contender. For Means, check, check and check. It doesn't mean you can't pitch a no-hitter. Check. MLBPipeline.com ranked him No. 29 on its O's preseason top 30 in 2015 and 2017, and...

He was hitting corners. He was getting four pitches over consistently for strikes. He was throwing a remarkable percentage of first-pitch strikes. And he was dominating. But would John Means make history this afternoon or just post another dominant start and lead the Orioles to another win? It was the first part. Today the lefty produced the sixth no-hitter in Baltimore Orioles history and the first since 1991. It was the first solo no-hitter by an O's pitcher since 1969. Throwing first-pitch...

After stranding 12 runners last night and continuing to search for a big hit with men in scoring position, the Orioles delivered twice today in the second inning for left-hander John Means, shut down for a while and simply let their ace handle the rest. And boy, did he handle it. Against a team that had no idea what to do with him. That couldn't get ahead in the count or throw a scare into him. That was lucky to graze the ball, weak contract about as much as it could muster. Means threw the...

Stephen Strasburg and Wander Suero will take the next important step in their return from injuries when they pitch in a simulated game Thursday afternoon before the Nationals' series finale against the Braves. It'll be the first time both right-handers have faced live hitters since going on the 10-day injured list April 18, Strasburg with shoulder inflammation, Suero with a left oblique strain. Both Strasburg and Suero had successfully thrown off flat ground and then off a bullpen mound in...

The Nationals didn't have an answer for Huascar Ynoa on Tuesday night. They better have one for Max Fried tonight or else they're going to drop their second straight to the Braves. Fried returns to Atlanta's rotation after spending the last three weeks on the injured list with a strained hamstring. The Nats already got to the lefty back in early April, to the tune of five runs and eight hits in two innings. And that was before they had a healthy lineup. Manager Davey Martinez is again...

The Orioles are going to need a spot starter for Saturday night at Camden Yards, the pitcher's identity withheld as they finish their series today in Seattle and board a flight home. Optioning left-hander Bruce Zimmermann has created an opening and the Orioles decided again to move it up, as they did after removing Dean Kremer from the roster. "Right now it's our friend TBA," manager Brandon Hyde said in today's Zoom call. This could indicate a bullpen game, the course chosen after Kremer...

Freddy Galvis is out of the Orioles lineup this afternoon for their series finale in Seattle that also concludes their road trip. Ramón Urías is the shortstop and Pat Valaika is starting at second base. Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays continue to bat 1-2 in the order. Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman and Trey Mancini is the designated hitter. Left-hander John Means will try to maintain his roll. He's posted a 1.70 ERA, 0.838 WHIP and .163 average against in six starts and has allowed...

The Orioles can produce both a winning series and a winning road trip with a victory this afternoon at Seattle. The trip began when they took two of three from first-place Oakland over the weekend. It continued Monday with a 5-3 win at Seattle before last night's 5-2 loss. The Orioles (14-16) are playing .467 ball at the 30-game mark. That would produce a final record of 76-86. Even with Tuesday's loss, they have won four of their last six, six out of 10 and are 9-8 over the last 17 games....