One of the players many hoped would step up offensively for the Nationals in 2020 did just that in game two of this abbreviated campaign. Victor Robles is one of the Nats many hoped could pick up the offensive slack left when Anthony Rendon signed with the Angels. Saturday night he showed that promise, going 3-for-4 with a double, a two-run homer and four RBIs in the Nats' 9-2 win over the Yankees. It was the defending champions first win of 2020. "Tremendous," said manager Davey Martinez on...

No Stephen Strasburg? No worries, because Erick Fedde was ready for his emergency start. No Juan Soto? No worries, because Victor Robles, Asdrúbal Cabrera and the rest of the Nationals lineup more than made up for the continued absence of the club's best hitter. And if those two developments during tonight's 9-2 blowout win over the Yankees weren't surprising enough, Davey Martinez managed to get five scoreless innings from his bullpen without using any of his top three arms. It might...

The manipulation of a prolonged baseball shutdown and the changes created in roster projections has a glowing example residing inside the Orioles bullpen. Evan Phillips is sitting in it. Phillips was a slam-dunk resident of the injured list back in March, when elbow soreness led to an MRI, a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles and some bleak news. No surgery was the only encouraging development. But Phillips was going to be sidelined for a while and have to slowly work his...

The Nationals were the ones that came up with the early offense against the Yankees Saturday night. Starlin Castro drilled an opposite-field two-out triple off of left-hander James Paxton in the first inning, but Howie Kendrick flew out to center field to end the threat. But in the second inning, the Nats reeled off four consecutive hits to send Paxton to the showers. Asdrúbal Cabrera, Kurt Suzuki and Carter Kieboom started the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles. Kieboom fought back...

After Friday's opening night loss, a result of some poor pitching, the Orioles got the season's first win less than 24 hours later. They beat the Boston Red Sox 7-2 Saturday at Fenway Park and they can win the series there this afternoon. In the 13-2 loss in the opener, Baltimore pitchers threw 191 pitches over eight innings with seven walks. Yesterday five pitchers threw 140 pitches over nine innings with no walks and 11 strikeouts. Boston went 10-for-19 with runners in scoring position...

Right-hander Kyle Finnegan has been in the minors since 2013, so making the opening day roster in 2020 with the Nationals was a big step. Since arriving as a sixth-round pick by the Athletics, Finnegan has played for seven different teams and logged time at every level. He was a starter from 2013 to 2015, making it to Double-A in 2014 and Triple-A in 2017. The Nats signed him as a free agent in December 2019. In late March, the Nats optioned him to Double-A Harrisburg. But then the coronavirus...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that he wanted to flush last night's loss. His team almost clogged the bases early this afternoon. Alex Cobb, making his first start since April 26, 2019, was handed a three-run lead before he stepped on the mound and carried a shutout into the sixth in a 7-2 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Cobb had pinpoint control of his fastball while allowing one run and four hits with no walks and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out Rafael Devers with...

A lot has happened over the last 72 hours, only some of it having to do with actual baseball. Hopefully, though, baseball takes center stage this evening and remains there for the foreseeable future. If nothing else, the Nationals would love to be able to play a full nine innings for the first time since October. The good news: Tonight's forecast looks much better. There's still a slight chance of storms, but nothing like we saw earlier in the week. Stephen Strasburg was supposed to make his...

The Orioles turned in a much different start today, with a strong pitching effort that got an early boost from some aggressive swinging. They beat Boston 7-2 to even the three-game series at Fenway Park. We all understand the need to work the count and get pitchers pitch counts up, but sometimes early count hacking can get the job done - if you swing at hittable pitches. The Orioles did that early in today's game against Boston lefty Martín Pérez, scoring three runs in the first and two...

The Nationals had to take the field opening night without their star slugger in the lineup. Now they'll have to take the field tonight without their World Series MVP on the mound. Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from his scheduled season debut against the Yankees due to a nerve issue in his right hand and thumb, manager Davey Martinez revealed this afternoon. Erick Fedde, who was supposed to serve as the long man in the Nationals bullpen, will start in Strasburg's place. So, no Juan Soto...