For a guy who firmly believes a start is defined by the last 10 to 15 pitches he throws, Max Scherzer was not satisfied with his two previous outings this summer. In each case, an otherwise strong start ended on a sour note, with the Nationals ace surrendering four late runs to fritter away what seemed like a comfortable lead. So when he walked off the mound at fabled Fenway Park tonight, having just put a definitive stamp on a classic Scherzer pitching performance, the three-time Cy Young...

One of manager Brandon Hyde's finest traits is his ability to communicate with his players. Maybe it's an age thing. Maybe it's just his personality. But he's earned praise for it. Hyde also scores points because he listens. There's so much to dissect and digest from events this week. The hard discussions and postponed games. The raw emotion, which Hyde showed Thursday evening on a Zoom conference call while attempting to convey how he's been able to guide the club through difficult and...

Pennant race baseball in Buffalo. Another unexpected touch to the 2020 season. The Orioles are playing meaningful games in the last weekend of August for the first time in three years. They trailed the Blue Jays by 1 1/2 games for the last playoff spot as the teams prepared to get back on the field after their respective postponements. The expansion of qualifiers made the impossible seem a little more attainable. The rest was up to the Orioles. Four games above .500 on Aug. 15 and beginning to...

On a night that the Orioles lost another close game, lefty starter John Means took at least a small step forward. But Toronto beat the Orioles 5-4 in 10 innings as they fall to 0-4 against the Blue Jays and 14-17 for the season. O's killer Randal Grichuk blasted a two-run homer to center with two outs in the 10th off right-hander Cole Sulser. Sulser's cutter found too much of the plate and Grichuk did it again against the Orioles. Grichuk has 13 RBIs in five games versus the O's. So close to...

Injuries, opt-outs and inconsistent performances have forced Davey Martinez to reconsider his batting order almost every day this season. Tonight, circumstances prompted the Nationals manager to make one of his biggest lineup changes to date. Adam Eaton, who has batted second in each of the 25 games he's played so far this year, was bumped down to the sixth spot for tonight's series opener against the Red Sox. That move, which allows Juan Soto to move up to the No. 2 position, was made in...

Today marks the official Major League Baseball in-season remembrance of Jackie Robinson Day, which usually is commemorated on April 15. Customary to the annual in-season Jackie Robinson Day celebration, all players, managers, coaches, umpires and other on-field personnel will wear Robinson's No. 42 to honor the historic significance of him breaking the color barrier in in the majors in 1947. "For us baseball players, he was the guy that united and started honestly what we call right now is...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has been saying that reliever Hunter Harvey should be activated from the injured list during the current road trip. There are four games left before the club returns home. Harvey is still expected to be activated. "There's a really good chance you'll see him toward the end of the series," Hyde said during today's Zoom conference call with the media. The latest Harvey update remains positive, and they come in almost daily increments. He was facing hitters at the...

After losing two games against Tampa Bay and after last night's postponement, the Orioles tonight begin a four-game series in Buffalo against the Toronto Blue Jays (15-14). The Jays, who swept three from the Orioles earlier this season, hold third place in the American League East and are the current No. 8 seed for the AL playoffs. Toronto is 1 1/2 games ahead of the Orioles (14-16) as the series begins. The O's lost 4-2 and 4-3 in St. Petersburg, Fla., versus Tampa Bay. The Orioles began the...

They are playing baseball tonight in Boston, where the Nationals make their first trip to Fenway Park since 2015 and only their fourth visit in club history. Each of the three previous series there has been lopsided: The not-so-good 2006 Nats were swept, the very good 2012 team swept the Red Sox in something of a coming-out party and the disappointing 2015 team played poorly while losing two-of-three in a mid-April series. Tonight is a special occasion across the majors, which is celebrating a...

Jackie Robinson Day is being formally commemorated today and tonight around Major League Baseball. There will be a focus on Robinson's activism and impact on civil rights in society during and following his playing career. Today's date of Aug. 28 is the anniversary of the March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, which Jackie and Rachel Robinson and their children attended. It is also the date in 1945 when Robinson and Branch Rickey met to discuss his future as a member of the...