The Orioles bullpen, which was pretty airtight in the big win Wednesday night at New York, had a few leaks on Thursday afternoon in the home opener in Baltimore. We know the team is heavy on long-relief options, and we're going to find out over time how the late-game relievers hold up and protect leads. So far, right-hander César Valdez had been outstanding in recording two saves and a win. On Wednesday night when the Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was limited to one inning, the O's...

Until they get their remaining middle-of-the-order bats back from the COVID-19 injured list, the Nationals are going to need stellar performances from their pitching staff and a few clutch hits from a depleted lineup in tandem to emerge victorious. They got the pitching today at Dodger Stadium, most notably from Joe Ross in his 2021 debut. They did not get the one timely hit they needed and thus suffered their second consecutive shutout loss, this one by the agonizing score of 1-0. Despite five...

The Orioles announced one half of a roster move this afternoon, optioning utility player Pat Valaika to the alternate training site in Bowie. How they replace Valaika will be revealed prior to Saturday night's game against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. Outfielder DJ Stewart is expected to be activated from the injured list. He hasn't played since straining his left hamstring on March 5 in Dunedin, but he's working out at Bowie and eligible to return. Valaika is 1-for-9 with a walk and run...

The Nationals will have four of their previously ineligible players in uniform and available for today's series opener at Dodger Stadium, and they could have their No. 3 starter back on the mound for Saturday night's game. Alex Avila, Patrick Corbin, Yan Gomes, Brad Hand and Jordy Mercer all cleared their COVID-19 protocols and flew on a charter from Washington to Los Angeles this morning, manager Davey Martinez revealed during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. All but Corbin have been...

The Orioles are only seven games into their season, but they don't have a reason to second-guess the decision to carry two Rule 5 pitchers on the opening day roster. The risk made sense back in Sarasota and it makes sense further north. Tyler Wells surrendered his first major league home run Thursday, but he also struck out three batters in the inning. Franchy Cordero was fed two changeups and two four-seam fastballs and swung through an 87 mph slider. Wells got swinging strikes on Bobby...

Here's some good news to share as the Nationals prepare to open their weekend series at Dodger Stadium against the 2020 World Series champs: They've got four of the nine players who were sidelined for COVID-19 reasons back on the active roster, including both catchers and their closer. Yes, the Nats announced the activation of Yan Gomes, Alex Avila, Brad Hand and Jordy Mercer from the injured list in time for today's game in L.A. It's not as much of a boost as ideally they could've...

The Washington Nationals announced the following roster moves on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. * Reinstated catcher Alex Avila, catcher Yan Gomes, left-handed pitcher Brad Hand and infielder Jordy Mercer from the Injured List. * Optioned catcher Tres Barrera and right-handed pitcher Ryne Harper and added them to the Taxi Squad. * Optioned infielder Carter Kieboom to the Alternate Training Site (Fredericksburg). *...

The Nationals flew west Wednesday night, all the way west for their first trip outside the eastern time zone since 2019. They were a fairly exhausted group, certainly more exhausted than you'd normally expect only three games into the season. Those first three games, of course, were anything but normal. Manager Davey Martinez wanted everyone to have a full day off in Los Angeles, a chance to sleep, a chance to recover, a chance to breathe some fresh Southern California air and prepare for what...

The sore hamstring that forced Austin Hays onto the injured list again also has removed a plus defender from left field. There are going to be days and nights, as one would expect, when it shows more than the others. Ryan Mountcastle served as the designated hitter in the three-game series in Boston, but he's back in left, where he made 23 starts last summer. He's still learning the position, his fourth as a professional, and the growing pains have been a little sharper this week. There was...

If we are taking a big picture view, the Orioles are tied for first place and they have a 4-3 start. A winning overall start against Boston and New York. They'd likely take that record in every seven-game sample against those clubs. But since the club's 3-0 start in Boston, where they scored 18 runs, they have hit less and won less. They've allowed seven runs in three of the four games, going 1-3 since the first Boston series. They lost the home opener 7-3 yesterday to Boston and those last...