The day has arrived. At last. It required four postponements, four positive tests for COVID-19, nine other players and staff members placed into quarantine and three straight days of negative tests for everyone else, but the Nationals are finally going to open their 2021 season this afternoon. They will do so not against the Mets, but the Braves, who already are 0-3 after a rough weekend in Philadelphia. And they will do so not with the lineup anybody anticipated a week ago, but with a batting...

The Washington Nationals announced the following roster moves on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. * Placed right-handed pitcher Will Harris (right hand inflammation) on the 10-day Injured List retroactive to March 29. Washington also placed catcher Alex Avila, first baseman Josh Bell, left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin, catcher Yan Gomes, left-handed pitcher Brad Hand, infielder Josh Harrison, left-handed pitcher Jon...

The Washington Nationals will celebrate Opening Day and their first home game of the 2021 season on Tuesday, April 6 when the team hosts the Atlanta Braves. The game will be aired on MASN2, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET. The game will also be broadcasted on 106.7 The Fan FM. In accordance with CDC recommendations and MLB protocols, the Nationals will implement appropriate social distancing and safety measures that will allow Nationals Park to host 5,000 fans on Opening Day....

The Orioles today announced that Adam Esselman has been promoted to Manager, Baseball Communications. Esselman will manage the day-to-day operations of baseball communications, including gameday communications, game notes, and player and coach interviews, and will serve as the primary communications representative while the team is on the road. The 2021 season will mark Esselman's fifth with the Orioles and seventh in professional baseball. Esselman was promoted from Senior Coordinator of...

The Orioles today announced that Adam Esselman has been promoted to Manager, Baseball Communications. Esselman will manage the day-to-day operations of baseball communications, including gameday communications, game notes, and player and coach interviews, and will serve as the primary communications representative while the team is on the road. The 2021 season will mark Esselman's fifth with the Orioles and seventh in professional baseball. Esselman was promoted from Senior Coordinator of...

This past week has been difficult for everyone associated with the Nationals. For the four players who learned they tested positive for COVID-19, for the nine players and staff members who were forced into quarantine because they were deemed close contacts, for all the others who were nervous about their teammates' and their own health. And then there's Max Scherzer, who endured though a completely different kind of agony. The Nationals ace knew he wasn't in danger of contracting the virus,...

So much for easing in a Rule 5 draft pick. That was the hope and goal for O's skipper Brandon Hyde with his Rule 5 pitchers, but it doesn't always work out that way. One Rule 5 pick, righty Tyler Wells, made it into the blowout win Sunday. But right-hander Mac Sceroler did not. A pitcher that had not thrown above High-A ball took the mound last night. It was the Yankee Stadium mound. It was to face Aaron Judge. Did I mention the bases were loaded? Go get 'em, kid. And he did. It would be...

The two scoreless innings Sunday afternoon from Orioles reliever Cole Sulser didn't spare him an option yesterday to the alternate training site. It didn't erase the struggles last summer that cost him the closer's job, with the loss of control and skyrocketing walk totals forcing manager Brandon Hyde to scrounge for lower-leverage situations. Those innings, however, were important to a team knowing that it's going to need him in a 162-game season. Knowing that he must be trustworthy no...

Ryan McKenna has no idea how long he's going to stay with the Orioles beyond the trip to New York. His taste of the majors could sit on the tip of his tongue as he reports to the alternate training site in Bowie later this week. He could be introduced to fans at Thursday's home opening day. A mere taste turning into a mouthful. An appetizer or a feast. He isn't counting courses. He's just appreciative of the invitation, so unexpected less than a week into the season. Rule 5 pitcher Mac...

For 31 innings to start the 2021 season, Orioles pitchers were throwing a lot of strikes. But in the fifth inning tonight, they didn't at Yankee Stadium. And it led to their first loss of the year. Right-hander Jorge López was mostly rolling through four innings tonight, just about matching Yankees lefty Jordan Montgomery in a pitchers' duel. It was 1-0 Yankees in the opener of a three-game series. Aaron Judge hit a 344-foot homer - a Yankee Stadium special - to right field on a 2-0...