The pitch from Kyle Finnegan, a 3-2 sinker to Gary Sánchez in the bottom of the seventh that appeared to split the outer edge of the superimposed strike zone on your TV screen, was called a ball by Carlos Torres. Sánchez trotted to first base, and nobody at Yankee Stadium thought much of his one-out walk during Friday night's game against the Nationals. If you've been watching closely this week, though, you understood the significance of that borderline call. And why it produced...

For the Orioles, the road to get back to the .500 mark is hard. Very hard. They have had seven tries since April 10, playing games where they were one game under .500. With last night's 6-2 loss to Boston, they are 0-7 in those games. The Orioles (15-17) had chances last night, going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 men on base. They fell to 2-14 when scoring three runs or fewer. They have scored two runs or fewer in 11 of their 17 losses. So yep, frustrating. It was...

Left-hander Keegan Akin made his first start last night with Triple-A Norfolk, inserted into a rotation that he tried to leave behind for good last summer. Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann follows Akin tonight as the extended series continues in Jacksonville. Dean Kremer was the last rookie standing with the Orioles, having made it back from his option and preparing for Sunday afternoon's game against the Red Sox. He'll be joined tonight by left-hander Zac Lowther, whose second promotion brings...

Matt Harvey struck out J.D. Martinez tonight and extended the Orioles' streak of hitless innings to 10. John Means did the heavy lifting. Harvey was just following a tough act and trying to keep up. The Red Sox elevated Harvey's pitch count early, plated four unearned runs in the fourth inning and kept the Orioles below .500 with a 6-2 win before an announced crowd of 7,724 at damp and cold Camden Yards. Ryan Mountcastle led off the sixth inning with a home run, driving a full-count 99 mph...

The situation - runner on second, nobody out, late in a close game - felt eerily familiar. What happened next felt completely foreign for a Nationals club that has spent weeks trying everything in its power to manufacture some late runs and tonight broke through with an eighth-inning rally that provided as cathartic a moment as these guys have experienced in some time. Knotted in a low-scoring tie game with the Yankees entering the eighth, the Nationals didn't just plate the go-ahead run. They...

If he craves the biggest stage in baseball, it stands to reason that Max Scherzer would enjoy pitching at Yankee Stadium. It doesn't matter if it's the third incarnation of the historic ballpark. Everything about the place - the monuments in center field, the pinstriped players, the rhythmic cadence of the fans' roll call - is special. So why has the right-hander struggled - at least by Scherzer standards - in the Bronx and against the Yankees? Scherzer is 4-4 with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.531...

As the Orioles get ready to, hopefully, play Boston for the third series this season tonight, they can look back on two very different series against the Red Sox. The start of tonight's game, which was set for 7:05 p.m., is being delayed by rain. Shortly after 8 p.m., an approximate start time of 8:40 was announced. The Orioles opened the year by sweeping three straight at Fenway Park. They outscored the Red Sox 18-5 in those games, holding them to 15 hits, and they pitched to an ERA of 1.67...

The Nationals have Juan Soto back in their lineup tonight. And they could have him back in right field as soon as Saturday afternoon. With his team playing at Yankee Stadium this weekend, manager Davey Martinez is able to utilize Soto as his designated hitter for tonight's interleague series opener. And prior to the game, the 22-year-old was planning to attempt to make throws from right field to second and third base for the first time since going on the injured list April 20 with a left...

There's really only one question everyone wants answered today: Is Juan Soto in the Nationals lineup? The answer you've been waiting for: Yes. For the first time in 18 days, Soto is starting, albeit as designated hitter. Still unable to make throws in the outfield without fear of further injury to his left shoulder, he's being held back to hit only for the Nats' series opener against the Yankees. But that's still a major development for a team that desperately needs to generate some...

The Orioles will make their seventh attempt tonight to get back to .500 for the first time since April 10 as they open a four-game series against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. As long as the weather cooperates, of course. Rain is falling and the tarp is on the field, but pitchers aren't letting it interrupt their bullpen sessions or throwing in the outfield. Austin Hays is starting in right field tonight, with Ryan Mountcastle in left and Pat Valaika playing first base. Trey Mancini is the...