Zac Lowther is in the bullpen this afternoon as the Orioles close out their series against the Athletics. Whether he stays there, and with the Orioles, can't be answered today. The Orioles recalled Lowther from the alternate training site in Bowie for a specific purpose this afternoon. "The need for somebody who can give us multiple innings," manager Brandon Hyde said in his Zoom call with the media. "And Zac being on roster, throwing the ball well at the alternate site, having a good...

It's not uncommon for Ryan Zimmerman to go an entire week without appearing in a major league game. This is a player, after all, who has dealt with every manner of injury throughout his 16-year career, and has required time off both in the short and long term to get his body right. But never before has Zimmerman missed an entire week while on the Nationals' active roster and, by all accounts, healthy enough to play. Until this week. It's been seven days since the face of the franchise showed...

Pitchers like Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer and Bruce Zimmermann have preceded him. Now 24-year-old lefty Zac Lowther arrives in the majors for the first time. Taken by the Orioles out of Xavier with the No. 74 pick in the 2017 draft, he was added to the big league roster today as Wade LeBlanc was designated for assignment. Lowther's strong minor league resume includes being named O's co-Minor League Pitcher of the Year with Akin 2018 and a stellar 2019 season when he was one of the best pitchers...

In an attempt to pick up their second home win of the season, avoid a three-game sweep and snap Oakland's long winning streak, the Orioles turn to their lefty ace today. John Means (1-0, 1.52 ERA) will make his fifth start. Means went seven scoreless innings on three hits last Sunday at Texas and is pitching on two extra days of rest. He threw 96 pitches last Sunday with two walks and nine strikeouts. Means ended his 2020 season by pitching to an ERA of 1.52 over his last four starts. He has...

Despite what they might try to insist, managers are a superstitious lot. When something works one day, they tend to not want to change it up the next day. So when the Nationals scored a season-high seven runs Saturday with a new-look lineup, you shouldn't be surprised to see Davey Martinez go right back to the same lineup for today's series finale in New York. Yes, that means Josh Harrison and Yadiel Hernandez are at the top of the batting order again. And it means Josh Bell, despite his...

The Orioles have sent out today's lineup ahead of their roster move, with left-hander Zac Lowther joining them from the alternate training site in Bowie and veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc being designated for assignment. The transaction will be announced shortly. Update: It was just announced. Lowther is wearing No. 59 and waiting to make his major league debut. Lowther will be in the bullpen this afternoon as the Orioles try to avoid a sweep and the Athletics attempt to run their winning streak...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn't offer a long-term endorsement yesterday for the current group of hitters on the roster. You don't make promises while an offense keeps stalling. Reasons are highlighted, such as players pressing to be "the guy," as Hyde said, and the expansion of the strike zone. "We just have a lot of guys that are trying to make up for the start of the year with one at-bat," Hyde said via Zoom, "and that's not how it works." Many of the roster moves this month have...

Yadiel Hernandez has two stints on the Nationals roster already this season, once because of the club's end-of-spring COVID-19 outbreak and once because of Juan Soto's shoulder strain. He entered Saturday having taken 11 plate appearances in eight games, starting only one of them. So what did the 33-year-old rookie outfielder think when he learned he not only was in Saturday's lineup against the Mets, but would be batting second? "In reality, I wasn't expecting it," he said during a Zoom...

Break up the alternate site Orioles. They are an unbeaten club. The group of players that provide insurance for the roster of the big league team as the wait for the minor league season to start May 4 are 4-0 in games where box scores have been provided. They have scored 38 runs in winning four versus the Nationals alternate squad camp roster. The Orioles posted some information on their player development Twitter account. During the Friday broadcast on MASN, O's executive vice president and...

The Orioles are recalling pitching prospect Zac Lowther from the alternate training site in Bowie, according to an industry source, and he'll be available in the bullpen for Sunday afternoon's series finale against the Athletics. Wade LeBlanc, who started tonight, will be designated for assignment to create roster space. Lowther, who turns 25 on Friday, is the No. 11 prospect in the system, according to MLBPipeline.com, and he's on the verge of making his major league debut. The Orioles...