We have reached the final week of a most unusual regular season. Around these parts, that usually means a pennant race, a potential clincher for the Nationals and maybe a few days to rest guys up for the postseason. Not in 2020. Though the Nats are technically still alive, practically speaking they're done. Their elimination number, if you're wondering, is currently three, so the earliest they could be officially knocked out is Tuesday. (Update: It turns out they actually could be eliminated...

Carson Fulmer's stay in Baltimore was brief. The Orioles lost Fulmer today on a waiver claim by the Pirates after he made three relief appearances. He's headed back to the organization that lost him on a waiver claim by the Orioles two weeks ago. Reliever Cody Carroll was placed on outright waivers, cleared them and will remain assigned to the alternate camp site in Bowie. The moves leave the Orioles with only 37 players on the 40-man roster and 59 in the 60-man pool. Fulmer, the eighth...

Eric Thames, only minutes removed from dropping the throw that sent the Nationals to an agonizing, 2-1 loss to the Marlins in the opener of Sunday's doubleheader, was asked during his Zoom session with reporters how high the frustration level has become on the majors' most disappointing team of 2020. His answer, which grew more and more exasperated with each sentence, revealed a lot more than that. "It's very frustrating living life as it is now," Thames said. "It's not just on-the-field...

It was a game that had some of us - OK, me - checking the record book on several occasions. At various times Sunday I wondered about the O's record for consecutive strikeouts, about the record for strikeouts by a pitcher in one game and the team record for strikeouts in one game. On Wednesday night, lefty Keegan Akin fanned six straight Atlanta Braves. It was on that night we were reminded the team record for consecutive strikeouts was seven. That was done by Sammy Stewart on Sept. 1, 1978 in...

After missing a catch at first base Sunday afternoon in Game 1 loss in a doubleheader against the Marlins, Eric Thames spoke about the frustration he's felt during this abbreviated season and how it has played out for the last-place Nationals. In Game 2, his teammates took out those frustrations on a difficult campaign, slamming five homers and collecting 18 hits in a 15-0 shellacking of the Marlins at Marlins Park, splitting the twinbill. "This game is unbelievable," said manager Davey...

Renato Núñez was back in the Orioles lineup yesterday after sitting out Saturday night's game, a cleanup hitter in a messy slump. Pedro Severino was the designated hitter on Saturday and behind the plate yesterday, also looking lost during the times that he stepped up to it. Could two players bust out of two funks on the same afternoon? The Orioles settled for a split, which enabled them to defeat the Rays 2-1 and avoid a sweep in the final home game at Camden Yards. John Means earned...

If this wasn't the epitome of the Nationals' 2020 season, it's tough to imagine a sequence that could define this agonizing campaign any better. Max Scherzer on the mound, his pitch count well into triple digits. The Marlins threatening to take a late lead. Manager Davey Martinez trusting his ace to get out of the jam over anyone out of his bullpen. And then a defensive miscue costing Scherzer and his team the game. Despite thinking for a split-second he had escaped a bases-loaded jam with a...

For a young player in his rookie season, there will be highs and lows. There will be good plays and bad. But the one thing Nationals manager Davey Martinez wants Luis García to remember: Relax, have fun and play the game. "I told him, 'Just be you,'" Martinez said via Zoom. "There is going to be conversations about the game that we have every day with him, whether it's with me, whether it's (bench coach) Tim Bogar, whether it's with (third base coach) Chip Hale. This is a learning...

Sammy Stewart was a rookie making his major league debut in 1978 when he struck out seven batters in a row to set an Orioles record. John Means was in his second full season, though in truncated style, when he tied the record today. Pitching in the final home game in 2020. Back to the form that made him an All-Star last summer. Means went on to set a career high with 12 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, allowing only one run in his third consecutive start, and the Orioles defeated the Rays 2-1 at...

Most days, Orioles left-hander John Means features a solid fastball. He throws it about 49 percent of the time and averages around 94 mph. Today, the velocity was there as usual, but the results were not usual at all. Means was showing an at times elite fastball as the Orioles edged Tampa Bay 2-1 to take the final game of this five-game series. Means usually uses that fastball to set up his quality secondary pitches. Today, that heater was helping him rack up a career-best 12 strikeouts over 5...