A roster move is pending for the Orioles, with outfielder Austin Hays appearing ready to be activated Tuesday in Miami. Exactly how it was expected to happen. Hays felt fine after playing seven innings Friday afternoon against the Nationals in Fredericksburg, Va., and he was back in left field yesterday for four innings in an intrasquad game at the alternate training site in Bowie. I heard that he looked good again at the plate and in the field. What's left now is a recovery day with camp...

Back when the Nationals broke spring training and headed north, the bullpen looked like a definite strength. The addition of closer Brad Hand set the Nats up for a lockdown back end, and guys like Wander Suero and Kyle Finnegan backed up the high-leverage relievers with the potential to pitch multiple innings in middle relief. Now, barely two weeks into the season, the bullpen is growing shakier by the day. Right-hander Will Harris hit the injured list with what was thought to be a blood clot,...

As the Orioles get set to play the second game of their series at Texas tonight, manager Brandon Hyde has dropped Trey Mancini to fifth in the batting order for the first time this year. Mancini, batting .151/.220/.358/.579 in 59 plate appearances, went 0-for-4 in last night's 5-2 win with four strikeouts. He is 1-for-16 (.063) his last five games and 4-for-33 (.121) his last nine. And while he does lead the club with three homers and ranks second with 10 RBIs, the skipper will drop him down...

The Orioles' 5-2 win at Texas last night was just their second win in a series-opening game this season. They won the other series when they got the opener, in the first series at Boston. Tonight the clubs meet in the middle game of a three-game series at Globe Life Field. The Orioles entered the Texas series having lost six of the previous seven games and were 2-8 since their 3-0 start. But it was a nice start to a road trip as Jorge López and four bullpen pitchers combined on a...

Erick Fedde has struggled through outings where he couldn't seem to harness any confidence. He'd get behind hitters, have to throw a hittable fastball and pay the price. But in the early going of Saturday's start against the Diamondbacks, he got the feel for his changeup and used it masterfully. He also mixed his pitches to keep Arizona hitters off-balance and got on a roll. Fedde matched a career high with nine strikeouts in a five-inning stint and the Nationals beat the Diamondbacks 6-2 on...

Ryan Mountcastle is starting at first base tonight for the first time this season as the Orioles try to secure a series win over the Rangers. Mountcastle has been the designated hitter in eight games and the left fielder in six. He started nine games at first base last summer. Trey Mancini is batting fifth as the designated hitter, followed by Mountcastle. Mancini struck out four times last night to give him 18 for the season, second on the club behind Mountcastle. Rio Ruiz stays at second...

Josh Harrison, arguably the hottest Nationals hitter, is out of the starting lineup for this afternoon's game against the Diamondbacks because he's dealing with some back stiffness. Manager Davey Martinez said Harrison, who is slashing .556/.600/.778 with a homer and five RBIs in five games since being activated off the COVID-19-related injured list earlier this week, reported a stiff back after Friday night's game, leading to the day off. "I've been trying to give him a day off, but when...

If you walk around the Navy Yard this morning, you might still feel the reverberations from Kyle Schwarber's walk-off homer Friday night. That bottom-of-the-ninth blast, which landed on the concourse beyond the second deck in right field, made for as exciting a finish as Nationals Park has witnessed in a while. Before the Nationals and Diamondbacks get back at it this afternoon, let's take one more look at the first Schwarbomb in Nats history, by the numbers ... 463 - Distance, in feet, of...

The progression that's supposed to return Austin Hays to the Orioles put him in Fredericksburg, Va., yesterday for a secondary training site game against the Nationals. Not quite the majors, but four important at-bats in a more intense environment than simulated action. Hays played seven innings in left field, and his most impressive swing drove a ball to the wall in right-center. The Orioles will check on him today and decide whether he starts in a four-inning intrasquad game in Bowie. The...

Right-hander Jorge López had a couple of good starts for the Orioles last year, but he could not put much consistency together. And then he started this year with an 11.42 ERA after two starts. But last night was about as good as he has looked in an O's uniform. In his previous 11 games with the Orioles dating to last season - when he posted a 7.28 ERA - he never had swing-and-miss stuff like he had last night. A night when he was painting corners with 97 mph fastballs. A night when he and...