The Orioles have made a late roster move tonight, again impacting their bullpen. Carson Fulmer has been activated after completing the intake process. Branden Kline was optioned to the alternate camp site in Bowie as the corresponding roster move. Fulmer has joined the team in New York, where a two-game series against the Mets begins Tuesday night. The Orioles also are playing four games against the Yankees. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias claimed Fulmer, 26, on waivers from...

Nationals starter Max Scherzer commanded his fastball well, mixing in an improved curveball and changeup for seven shutout innings in a 6-1 victory over the first-place Rays at Nationals Park. "I always want to get through seven innings," Scherzer said during his postgame Zoom video session with reporters. "If I can get out there and get deep into a game, seven innings, it allows our bullpen guys to only have to try to get six outs. That's always a huge goal of mine, to get deep into a ball...

Let's take a few moments today to appreciate the recent improved play of the Orioles. I'll throw some player and team stats into the beginning of this entry that illustrate that better play. I will add that some of this was surprising to me and I've watched every pitch of the 2020 season. * Over the last 14 games, the team ERA is 3.26. That has brought their season ERA down from 4.99 to its current 4.38 which ranks eighth-best in the American League. The 2019 final team ERA was 5.59, which...

After a grueling, 11-game road trip that for all practical purposes quashed hopes of October baseball around here, the Nationals returned home this evening just needing to feel good about themselves for a change. A makeshift lineup that was missing four key regulars from recent weeks due to nagging injuries only made the task more challenging against a Rays club that came into the day with the American League's best record. But what that lineup lacked in name power made up for it with...

The Orioles begin a six-game stay in New York tonight with their series opener against the Mets. They boarded a train yesterday with a taxi squad and at least one injured player. Chris Davis is on the trip and could be activated before the Orioles return to Baltimore and start their final homestand of the 2020 season. They'll have the option to do so while he's staying with the team. Davis has been working out at the alternate camp site in Bowie for more than a week, contradicting a recent...

After what felt like the longest road trip ever - but in reality was only 10 days and 11 games - the Nationals return home tonight to open a five-game homestand. And they're facing stiff competition right out of the gate in the exceptional Rays. Owners of the American League's best record at 28-13, Tampa Bay has quietly put together an outstanding team, even if many of the names don't jump right out at you. The Rays don't hit for a ton of power, but they get on base and they score runs. So...

Twenty-four hours later, Nationals manager Davey Martinez still isn't entirely sure what happened between general manager Mike Rizzo and the umpiring crew during Sunday's series finale in Atlanta. "I'm actually still a little confused about the whole deal," Martinez said during his Zoom session with reporters before tonight's series opener against the Rays. "I didn't realize, honestly. I didn't realize he got thrown out." Rizzo did get thrown out by home plate Hunter Wendelstedt in...

Manager Davey Martinez did not have a definitive answer during his pregame media access today as to when left fielder Juan Soto will return to the Nationals lineup. Soto has been dealing with a sore elbow and has missed a couple of games. "He's going to come in, he's going to do some activation stuff," Martinez said during his Zoom video session with reporters. "We will see how he feels." Second baseman Luis García was pulled in the middle of Sunday's game at Atlanta because of heel...

Now with Mike Rizzo in the fold for at least three more seasons, the general manager said he wants to get a new deal done for his World Series-winning manager, Davey Martinez. The skipper confirmed that Rizzo had come to him saying he will see if he can work with the Lerner family on going further than the club option in Martinez's contract for 2021 and just build a whole new deal. "He did mention something to me last night," Martinez said during the postgame Zoom video session with...

A day without baseball is like a day without sunshine. Except the forecast is calling for it today in Baltimore. Lots of it. A day without sunscreen could lead to a nasty burn. There's always the risk of a nasty burn when I sort through my mailbag. And the sarcasm doesn't require extra postage. You know the drill. You keep asking the same stuff and I keep answering it. Or I just make it up as I go along. I don't like stale bread - unless it's used for my mother's homemade stuffing - or...