That the Nationals stayed in the fight tonight and didn't roll over after trailing the Marlins by seven runs early is testament to their gumption - even in the middle of a crowd-less, disappointing-to-date 2020 season. But at the end of an 11-8 loss that saw the home team's spirited rally fall short, the most significant development of the night was the manner in which that early seven-run deficit came about. If these were normal times and they had one of baseball's best rotations, the...

As the Orioles prepare for a two-city road trip that begins tonight in St. Petersburg, Fla., reliever Mychal Givens must wonder whether he's pitched in his last game at Camden Yards as a member of the team. He hears the rumors every year. Trade chip talk follows him like baby chicks. He'd probably feel lonely without it. Baseball's deadline version of separation anxiety. The Orioles were willing to move Givens last summer, but they couldn't find the right partner. The days of being...

The Washington Nationals recalled left-handed pitcher Ben Braymer from the Alternate Training Site (Fredericksburg) and placed left-handed pitcher Seth Romero on the 10-day Injured List with a broken right hand on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Braymer, 26, joins the active roster for the first time in his career, and will make his Major League debut with his first appearance. Washington's 2018 co-Minor League Pitcher of...

Seth Romero, the highly touted pitching prospect who made his major league debut for the Nationals two weeks ago and had become the club's only active left-handed reliever, broke his right hand in a fall late Saturday night and has been placed on the injured list. Romero, who faced four batters in the bottom of the fourth inning during the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader against the Marlins, told manager Davey Martinez he slipped on a set of stairs later that night after he left Nationals...

Tonight is the rubber game of a five-game series, and how often do you get to say that? The Nationals and Marlins have played a lot this weekend, and they're not done yet. Tonight they'll play the finale of this extended series, the winner taking three of five and perhaps carrying some momentum into the rest of the week. After Sunday's 9-3 win, the Nats have to feel good about their lineup, but they still need to prove they can maintain some consistency at the plate. They've got about as...

For the Nationals to return to the power offense they enjoyed when they were really rolling in 2019, the club needs the top of the lineup to get on base. Trea Turner and Adam Eaton are keys to the offense, setting the table for Juan Soto, Howie Kendrick, Asdrúbal Cabrera and Eric Thames. Unfortunately, the pair has not been in sync for extended periods of time at the beginning of this shortened season. Turner has been coming around. Now riding a nine-game hitting streak after Sunday's...

The Orioles are a .500 team (14-14) 28 games into the 2020 season. That is an impressive record for a club that combined to lose 223 games the last two years. We'll see what the final 32 games will hold, but the club did enough the last two days to snap the losing streak, beat Boston twice and get back to the .500 mark. A few random thoughts on the team: Mullins is making an impression: He began last season as the club's starting center fielder and then was sent down to Triple-A and later...

The trade deadline is exactly one week away and the mystery surrounding it is one of the many new twists to the season. One of the great unknowns that's become timely. Executives really have no idea how it's going to evolve with the expanded playoff field perhaps reducing the number of sellers. Relievers usually are in demand and the Red Sox traded two during their trip to Baltimore, sending Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to the Phillies. The Orioles dealt left-hander Richard Bleier to the...

The transitioning of the Orioles roster to a younger look and more prospects populating it can happen with the front office operating the controls or fate intervening. Wade LeBlanc came out of today's start against the Red Sox in the first inning with discomfort in his left elbow, the severity of the injury unknown until tests are run. There's never a long wait to speculate on a roster replacement, but the Orioles are going to take it one step at a time Thomas Eshelman entered the game after...

In the first two innings today, the Orioles had numerous chances to score against Boston right-hander Zack Godley. But they went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded five runners. They got leadoff doubles each inning, but the clutch hit didn't come. The question that s the game went on: Would the early failures come back to bite them later? Not today. Third baseman Rio Ruiz, who had been struggling recently and began today batting .050 with runners in scoring, came up with two...