Orioles manager Brandon Hyde usually knows what to expect from starter John Means. There's a certain comfort in the reliability, the innings that are consumed and the chance given to produce a win. Today is different. Means hasn't pitched since Aug. 4. He rejoined the team yesterday after his father, Alan, passed away following a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. "He's been going through a rough time and his in between starts routine obviously has been interrupted. We just don't...

Chris Davis remains on the bench today for the series finale against the Nationals. The presence of a right-handed starter didn't influence Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. Renato Núñez is playing first base instead of Davis, who's 10-for-32 (.313) with a double, a home run and 10 strikeouts against Max Scherzer. Pedro Severino is the designated hitter and Chance Sisco is behind the plate. Cedric Mullins is in center field with Austin Hays on the injured list. Pat Valaika is the shortstop...

At 20 games into the 2020 season, the Orioles are in second place in the American League East at 12-8, with the fourth-best record in the league. Since they got swept in four in a row by the Miami Marlins, they have gone 7-1. They continue to hit well against accomplished pitchers and are beating good teams. No one can say they haven't earned 12-8. The Orioles have faced this group of eight pitchers nine times this season: Gerrit Cole, J.A Happ, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Stephen Strasburg...

BALTIMORE - If you haven't heard, the Nationals have started this 60-game season with a 7-11 record. And if you haven't heard, the equivalent record in a 162-game season would be 19-31. Yes, with 30 percent of the 2020 season completed, the Nats are playing at exactly the same pace they played at through the first 30 percent of the 2019 season. But wait, there's more. At this point last season, the Nationals were scoring 4.38 runs per game. This season, they're scoring 4.39. Their on-base...

No one should attempt to get inside John Means' head and his heart. Certainly not today. Means is back with the Orioles and starting this afternoon against the Nationals to close out the series. He's been transferred from the bereavement list to the injured list to the 28-man roster. To an area that pulls him away from his privacy and from a family that's been huddled together for the last week. Propping up each other. Baseball has been known to provide a distraction, even if it lasts only...

BALTIMORE - Left-hander Patrick Corbin struggled from the start, unable to get his bread-and-butter slider over for the usual swings and misses. The Orioles scored two runs in each of the first two frames to race out to an early lead and coast from there, 7-3 over the Nationals, tying the series up at a game apiece. The Nats fall to 7-11. The Orioles pounded out 13 hits on the night, tallying at least one base hit in every inning. Corbin gave up five runs on eight hits in five innings. He...

The Orioles broke out their Sunday lineup a little early. Or maybe it was too late. They should have tried it last night. An injury to his starting center fielder and an opposing left-handed starter had manager Brandon Hyde digging into his bench and providing opportunities that eluded a few players. Chris Davis and Dwight Smith Jr. sat against Nationals southpaw Patrick Corbin. Bryan Holaday served as the designated hitter for the first time in his career. Pat Valaika made his third start in...

BALTIMORE - In the suspended game that was completed Friday here at Camden Yards, 29-year-old Dakota Bacus made his major league debut for the Nationals. The right-handed reliever from Moline, Ill., fired two shutout innings, allowing no runs and no hits with one strikeout, finishing off a 6-2 loss to the Orioles. Bacus did his job. He struck out Austin Hays on a swinging strike three with an 87 mph slider. The Orioles were unable to hit the ball out of the infield in his two frames. Bacus...

After another "flush it" game for the Orioles, it's "bounceback" time again. Their two most lopsided losses of the 2020 season have come in their first game and their last game. They lost 13-2 on opening night at Boston and 15-3 last night at home versus the Washington Nationals. Tonight they host the Nats in the second game of a three-game series. The Orioles' (11-8) previous three losses before last night were by one run each, and their previous four losses were by seven total runs. But...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde struck an optimistic tone this afternoon while explaining Austin Hays' injury and timetable for his return. Whether he hit the right note won't be known for 10 days. Hays was placed on the injured list with a non-displaced rib fracture, but the club believes he can return to the active roster when eligible based on information provided by the medical staff. "Hopefully, Haysy won't be very long, but we put him on the IL for a little bit," Hyde said during his...