Just when he was starting to hit on a team that could have used some offense, new Orioles shortstop Freddy Galvis had to miss four games. He suffered a sore left adductor/groin on April 26 against the New York Yankees. But he was back in the lineup over the weekend, starting at short for the last two games of the series at Oakland. "I think it was like little by little," Galvis said via Zoom of that issue that kept him briefly on the bench. " After we came from Texas and Miami, where they...

Buck Britton knows what's coming. Adley Rutschman knows what's coming. The celebrated return of Minor League Baseball should set off nightly fireworks in Bowie with Rutschman, the top prospect in the Orioles organization and rated among the best in baseball, doing most of the catching in his first full professional season. The attention is going to be intense. It won't worry or distract Rutschman or his manager. "Obviously, I was never at that hype. I was always Zack's brother coming up,...

It's been an astounding 20 months since official Minor League Baseball games were last played, an interminable length of time for prospects, staff members, and fans in communities large and small across America to wait since the end of the 2019 season. Suffice it to say, there are a lot of eager folks right now on the eve of a long-awaited 2021 opening day. "It's going to be an exciting day tomorrow for everyone involved," Mark Scialabba, the Nationals' assistant general manager for player...

For nearly two weeks, Ryan Zimmerman mostly sat on the Nationals bench, readying himself for pinch-hitting opportunities that often didn't come. Yes, he started back-to-back games last week against the Blue Jays, but that was possible only because the Nats were facing an American League opponent and needed a designated hitter. So when Zimmerman found himself in Sunday's lineup against the Marlins, it represented his first start in a National League game since April 18. And given his lack of...

It was at least a small step forward over the weekend at Oakland for the Orioles on offense. They scored 16 runs on 28 hits, batting .264 for the three games with four doubles and four home runs. There was no offensive explosion, but there seemed to be less chasing of pitches and more clutch hits. Again, no outpouring of clutch hitting, but seeing Trey Mancini, Freddy Galvis and Austin Hays get run-producing hits with two outs was a step forward in Sunday's 7-5 loss. The Orioles have lost just...

The month of April gave left-hander Zac Lowther his first introduction to the majors with a surprise call-up and his scoreless ninth inning on April 25. Optioned back to the alternate training site, he rejoined the Orioles as a member of their taxi squad for the West Coast trip that resumes tonight in Seattle. Good times for the pitcher MLBPipeline.com deems the No. 11 prospect in the organization. The only downside to placing him on the taxi squad was his inability to start Triple-A Norfolk's...

A 25-pitch first inning for Bruce Zimmermann and the two errors on one play and resulting runs didn't fit a team that sought to sweep a series and extend its winning streak to four games. More appropriate were the two rallies in the first five innings that erased deficits and kept alive the quest to reach .500. And a third RBI for Trey Mancini in the seventh that gave the Orioles their first lead. It didn't last long. And .500 was put on hold in jarring fashion. Ramón Laureano made a...

There is, believe it or not, a scenario more imposing for a lineup than facing Max Scherzer. Daunting as that is, it's nothing compared to the challenge of facing Scherzer five days after he was roughed up by another club. Or, apparently, facing the longtime Nationals ace hours before his wife is due to give birth. Every pitcher insists he wants to bounce back from a rough outing, but nobody actually does it better than Scherzer, who was battered around by the Blue Jays on Tuesday night and...

The Orioles are enjoying the West Coast so far. They've started a six-game road trip by going 2-0 at Oakland and can record a three-game sweep of the Athletics today at Oakland Coliseum. If the Orioles win: * They will have their second three-game sweep, with both coming on the road.* They will have a season-best four-game winning streak.* They'll be back at .500 for the first time since April 10 when they were 4-4.* They will be 4-2 against the first-place Athletics.* They will be 10-4 in...

Shortstop Freddy Galvis played five innings yesterday in his return from a sore left adductor, and he's in the lineup again today as the Orioles attempt to complete the sweep in Oakland. Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter again and Trey Mancini is the first baseman. The outfield corners are the same, too. Austin Hays in left and DJ Stewart in right. Pedro Severino is catching despite being hit on the right wrist yesterday by a foul ball and a pitch in the same inning. Rookie left-hander...