Allowed to carry five players on their taxi squad for the trip to Philadelphia, the Orioles have taken a more conservative approach and added infielder Ramón Urías for their series against the Phillies. Urías is the lone extra and he's with the club to provide insurance with shortstop José Iglesias out of the lineup again tonight due to soreness in his left quadriceps muscle. Manager Brandon Hyde planned to sit Iglesias on Sunday, but the veteran was expected to start tonight....

Nationals manager Davey Martinez announced Monday that the club's five-man taxi squad included left-hander Seth Romero, who has never pitched in the major leagues. The 2017 first-round selection out of the University of Houston missed all of the 2019 season as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. It was an interesting choice, showing the Nats have confidence in Romero and his stuff and believe that he is very close to making that next step. Plus, looking at the structure of the Nats bullpen...

When last we saw him on the mound, Max Scherzer was slogging his way through a 27-pitch top of the first against the Mets, clearly not right. Turns out he had "tweaked" his right hamstring the previous day and decided he shouldn't try to continue to pitch through it. Six days later, Scherzer is back on the mound, back facing the Mets, believing the same thing won't happen again. He passed all his required tests during the week, but the real test will come in the bottom of the first tonight...

José Iglesias was given a planned day off Sunday in D.C., but he remains out of the lineup tonight in Philadelphia. Pat Valaika is the starting shortstop to open the series. Iglesias is 3-for-6 with a double against Phillies starter Zack Wheeler and 15-for-37 (.405) this season with seven doubles and seven RBIs. Pedro Severino is behind the plate and batting fifth after sitting out Sunday's suspended game with a sore left wrist and hand. Austin Hays is batting seventh and Chris Davis...

He homered in the top of the second. He doubled down the third-base line in the top of the fourth. He doubled again in the top of the fifth, driving a ball over center fielder Brandon Nimmo's reach to drive in two runs. He walked in the sixth. And then he homered again in the seventh, this time on a pitch below his knees that he basically could only reach with one hand. That's a 4-for-4, two-homer, two-double, one-walk, five-RBI night for Asdrúbal Cabrera, who made it look remarkably easy...

Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin used his slider, mixing it at different speeds, and rode a huge early lead to dismantle the Mets 16-4 in the first game of a four-game series Monday night at Citi Field. New York was held to five hits with Corbin on the hill. The left-hander used his slower slider early in counts, and then turned the velocity up later in at-bats to baffle the Mets lineup. He struck out four, allowing doubles to Jeff McNeil and Wilson Ramos. But those were the only two...

Life on the road in 2020 is nothing like life on the road in 2019. With one exception: The Nationals are still winning. There may not be fans in the stands or anywhere to go for breakfast, lunch or postgame entertainment, but the Nationals kicked off their delayed first road trip of the season with an all-too-familiar result: a lopsided victory over the Mets. Two home runs by Asdrúbal Cabrera, a solo shot by Trea Turner and a 463-foot blast by Juan Soto that cleared the big apple behind...

While the Orioles have gotten off to a solid start to their season, the players not currently on their roster but on the 60-man player pool get their work in at the alternate site at Double-A Bowie. And while they wait for a call that might never come, the players there go beyond just getting themselves ready. According to Gary Kendall, one of the managers from the O's farm at the Bowie site along with Buck Britton, veteran players are sharing information with young players. They are trying to...

Stevie Wilkerson knew before he yanked the glove off his left hand. He felt the pop. A diving catch in right field impressed the judges but also ruined his season before it started. Wilkerson saw the swelling in his ring finger. The unnatural bending. He saw months spent on the injured list. The exact name of the injury is a "boutonniere deformity," with the joint nearest the knuckle bent toward the palm and the farthest joint bent back. "It looks as weird as it sounds," he said. The...

When the Orioles play in Philadelphia this week, they need to check out a humorous piece of baseball history in section 302V, Row 21, Seat 1. Tip: Use binoculars because the seat is high above right field, likely the worst seat at Citizens Bank Park. The seat is where the Phillies have a cutout of Bob Uecker, the Brewers' Hall of Fame radio broadcaster who was a catcher for the 1966 Phillies and made a famous commercial for Miller Lite during the 1980s. In the commercial, Uecker gets ready to...