The search for pitching that can provide length and serve in swingman and long relief roles has brought the Orioles to right-hander Jorge López. A team that's trying to get back above .500 fiddling with its roster. The Orioles claimed López off waivers from the Royals earlier today, filling their 40-man roster and 60-man player pool with one transaction. They made the move while also busy building a lead against the Nationals that's been put on hold in the top of the sixth inning due to...

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo met with the media Sunday prior to the series finale against the Orioles and talked about the state of his club after 11 games. He said there are some reasons the team has struggled out of the gate at 4-7. "They sound like excuses, so I'm not going to use 'em," Rizzo said on a Zoom video call. "But, yeah, obviously the unevenness of the schedule, that doesn't help with your routine, your rhythm, either on the mound or at the plate. But we're dealing...

The Orioles, who had no series sweeps in 162 games last year, can record their second of 2020 in the season's first 15 games today. After beating Washington 11-0 and 5-3 this weekend, the O's can complete the sweep this afternoon at Nats Park. The Orioles' last series sweep of the Nationals came on May 8-9, 2017, when the O's swept a two-game series at Oriole Park. Their last three-game series sweep of Washington came on Sept. 22-24, 2015 at Nationals Park. The Orioles' last three-game...

Pedro Severino is on the bench this afternoon after being hit last night on the left wrist by a pitch from Nationals reliever Ryne Harper. Manager Brandon Hyde intended to start Severino until checking on him this morning. "Sevie's wrist is sore, his hand, from being hit last night, so he was going to play today, but I talked to him this morning and he's pretty sore from getting hit last night," Hyde said today in his Zoom conference call with the media. Bryan Holaday gets his first start...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is providing rest for a few of his veterans this afternoon as the team attempts to complete a three-game sweep over the Nationals in D.C. Pat Valaika is the shortstop, with José Iglesias on the bench. Renato Núñez is the first baseman, with Chris Davis on the bench. Bryan Holaday gets his first start behind the plate. Chance Sisco is the designated hitter and Pedro Severino is out of the lineup again after his pinch-hit home run last night. Austin Hays...

The Nationals must make a quick turnaround as they look to snap a three-game skid and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Orioles with an early Sunday afternoon series finale on the docket today at Nats Park. And the Nats (4-7) could not ask for a better pitcher to be their stopper, right-hander Stephen Strasburg (0-0), making his season debut after recovering from a right wrist injury that scratched his scheduled first start way back on July 25. The Nats need a spark, because at the start of...

It is not a rule that every series the Orioles play this year has to end in a sweep. But if they beat the Nationals this afternoon in Washington, they will have played in four consecutive sweeps. The Yankees swept two straight in Baltimore, then the O's took three straight from Tampa Bay and Miami took four in a row from Baltimore. Today we could see a three-game sweep. If the Orioles get it, the 2020 club will have produced two more series sweeps that the 2019 squad did in 52 series. Which...

Had things played out the way the Nationals wanted them to Saturday night, we'd be talking this morning about Austin Voth's impressive start. Of course, by the end of a disastrous, 5-3 loss to the Orioles, Voth's outing was an afterthought, bumped by Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson's eighth-inning meltdown. In the bigger picture, though, Voth's performance was significant. The second-year starter continues to show he has the stuff to be effective at this level. He just needs to show he...

Nothing against Asher Wojciechowski, who's been chosen to make today's start for the Orioles to close out the series in D.C., but confirmation that he'd get the assignment stung a fan base that's itching to watch Keegan Akin's major league debut. The Orioles recalled Akin from the alternate camp site in Bowie and the jumping to conclusions looked like an Olympic event. They needed a starter with John Means away from the team. A bullpen game was an undesirable option. Akin was summoned to...

The Orioles destroyed baseballs and an old adage tonight in the top of the eighth inning. A team that enjoys a massive offensive explosion always seems to go into a shell the following night. Death, taxes and bats disappearing. Can always count on them. Shut out on two hits over the first seven innings, the Orioles had fallen into that same inexplicable trap. But they rose up with three home runs, the last a three-run shot by Anthony Santander off Daniel Hudson, and reveled in the...