Ryan Ripken was 2 years old when his father stepped out of the dugout again, received an encouraging shove in the back and jogged around the warning track. When the ovation at Camden Yards lasted more than 22 minutes and the entire baseball word hit the pause button to watch him. Ripken spent much of that evening being held by his mother, Kelly, after joining his sister, Rachel, in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch from the first row of seats. Ryan used his left hand. We wouldn't find...

At this point, it's clear the Nationals aren't going to win ballgames in 2020 in the manner we've all been accustomed to for the better part of the last decade. This current team can't win on the broad shoulders of an elite rotation, nor does it currently have the power bats to outslug a lineup like the Braves possess. Tonight, the Nats proved they can do it differently. They can overcome another short and disappointing start. They can score 10 runs without benefit of a homer. And they can...

Keegan Akin didn't know the exact date when the Orioles intended to set him free from the alternate camp site and promote him to the majors. He had no idea that his debut in the rotation would happen in Buffalo and in the thick of the trade deadline. And he couldn't anticipate that he'd get into a pitchers' duel this month with Gerrit Cole. One is a rookie making his second start. The other is making $324 million. Akin didn't allow a run tonight through the first three innings. Cole struck...

On a night when Yankees ace Gerrit Cole fanned eight of the first nine Orioles he faced, an O's rookie left-handed starter was not bad either. Not bad at all as Keegan Akin threw 5 1/3 scoreless for the Orioles in his second major league start. And it was a night when Akin showed that some of the work he did last year to improve his secondary pitches may have paid off. He did not get a decision, but after the Orioles exploded for five runs in the last of the sixth off Cole, the Orioles got a...

After beating the New York Yankees last night for the first time since March 31, 2019, the Orioles look for two in a row against the Bronx Bombers tonight at Camden Yards. The O's lost the opener of Friday's doubleheader 6-5 before winning 6-3 in the nightcap. The Orioles (17-21) ended a 19-game losing streak to New York, improving to 1-3 in the season series. They are 8-15 at home and 9-14 versus American League East opponents. New York (21-17) has lost four of six and 11 of the past 16...

Their lineup ravaged by a recent spate of injuries, the Nationals recalled Carter Kieboom from their alternate training camp today, plugged their struggling prospect into tonight's lineup against the Braves and declared him their starting third baseman for the rest of this abridged season. Kieboom, who had been optioned to the camp in Fredericksburg on Aug. 26, was already in Atlanta as part of the club's traveling taxi squad for this weekend's series at Truist Park. Team officials liked the...

Anthony Santander's season appears to be over after 37 games. A late arrival to summer training camp after testing positive for COVID-19, Santander was enjoying a breakout season until straining an oblique muscle yesterday in the first game of a doubleheader against the Yankees. He's on the injured list, with the Orioles selecting Mason Williams' contract from the alternate camp site in Bowie. Pitcher David Hess apparently has been recalled from the secondary camp. The Orioles still haven't...

The story of Cal Ripken Jr. and his amazing consecutive games streak would no doubt be a source of pride for Orioles fans if Ripken had been born in Florida or California. But because he is a local product and his family has such strong ties to the team make this story all the more special and sweet for O's fans. It's almost homegrown overload. The kid from Aberdeen plays his entire Hall of Fame career for his hometown team. And his brother plays with him and his father is his manager for a...

Friday's doubleheader took a lot out of the Nationals, who over the course of 14 innings of baseball used eight pitchers, gave up 16 runs on 18 hits and eight walks, allowed seven homers and threw 259 pitches. So, what do they have left in the tank for tonight's game in Atlanta? Well, they've got Erick Fedde starting, and they've got to hope he can provide some quality innings so Davey Martinez can hold off on his bullpen as long as possible. Fedde was pretty good in his first five starts,...

As always, the Lerner family made Mike Rizzo wait. And as always, the Nationals owners ultimately kept their commitment to the man who built their baseball organization from laughingstock to World Series champion. The Nationals announced a contract extension with Rizzo today, locking up their president of baseball operations and general manager only a month before his current deal was set to expire. Terms were not publicly disclosed, but a source confirmed it is for three years, keeping Rizzo...