The Nationals want MacKenzie Gore to be the ace of their next winning team. MacKenzie Gore wants to be the ace of the Nationals’ next winning team. To get there, the left-hander knows he needs to find a level of consistency that has heretofore eluded him in two full big league seasons. But if he can bottle up what he did over the last six weeks of

MINNEAPOLIS – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has made it official. Corbin Burnes will start Game 1 of the Wild Card game Tuesday at Camden Yards. Burnes was the logical choice, of course,  and Hyde already talked about shortening his outing at Yankee Stadium because he’d be on regular rest on his next turn. Burnes was ticketed for Opening Day and Gam

MINNEAPOLIS – Jackson Holliday is making his first major league start at shortstop tonight against the Twins. This is the “already clinched” lineup. Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins and Jordan Westburg are sitting. Ramón Urías is playing second base. Emmanuel Rivera is at third. Austin Slater is the center fielder. Adley Rutschman is

The Nationals’ decision in mid-August to re-sign their entire coaching staff caught most outside observers by surprise. Yes, the team had shown signs of progress, but not so much progress that the decision to bring everyone back was a no-brainer. If nothing else, conventional wisdom suggested the front office would wait until season’s end to evalua

MINNEAPOLIS – The Orioles are going with Matt Bowman as an opener for tonight’s game against the Twins at Target Field. Bowman has made 210 appearances in the majors with zero starts. He’s started 71 games in the minors, most recently with Triple-A Las Vegas in 2015. Bowman has registered a 3.77 ERA and 1.395 WHIP in 14 games this season. He’s allo

Who were those guys in Nationals uniforms Friday night, and why haven’t we seen more of them during this final month of the season? It’s too late for them to rewrite the past, but maybe that 9-1 thumping of the Phillies bodes well for the rest of the weekend. Then again, for the Nats to keep the good times rolling, they’re going to have to do it ag

Now we know for certain there will be playoff baseball in Baltimore this year. That Oriole Park at Camden Yards will host at least two home games and hopefully many more. With Friday's 7-2 win over Minnesota, the Orioles wrapped up the No. 4 seed, the top Wild Card seed, and will host a series next week, beginning Tuesday versus either the Tigers o

Anyone who paid zero attention to Trevor Williams over the last two seasons would probably have a hard time grasping how he pitched for the Nationals, based solely on his final stat lines. 2023: 6-10, 5.55 ERA, 1.600 WHIP in 30 starts. 2024: 6-1, 2.03 ERA, 1.035 WHIP in 13 starts. What was wrong with the right-hander in his first season in D.C.? An

MINNEAPOLIS – Keegan Akin didn’t make last year’s Division Series roster. He didn’t stand a chance. A lower-back injury ended Akin’s season on June 28. He allowed 10 earned runs and 13 total in four innings over his last four appearances, an ugly stretch by any measurement. The Orioles are meeting to discuss their roster for the upcoming Wild Card

MINNEAPOLIS – Never mind that the Tigers refused to lose again tonight, still behaving like a team determined to run the table. The Orioles used their own tools to nail down the home Wild Card. Ryan O’Hearn hit his first home run since Aug. 27, Cade Povich twirled 5 2/3 scoreless innings and the Orioles pulled away from the Twins for a 7-2 victory