This one's hard to believe, but it's true: The Nationals today begin their final road trip of the season. With their first and only trek to Florida to face the Rays and Marlins, the Nats are wrapping up the most difficult part of their shortened schedule from a health-and-safety standpoint. They've managed to travel to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Atlanta so far and avoid any positive coronavirus tests. Now they finally venture south to the Sunshine State. The Nationals were...

Orioles first baseman Chris Davis has returned to the 10-day injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis after appearing in only one game, which clears a roster spot for outfielder Austin Hays. Hays has been activated from the injured list and is in left field for tonight's game against the Braves at Camden Yards. Davis was in the lineup for Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader against the Yankees in the Bronx. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and is slashing .115/.164/.173 in 55 plate...

If a relief pitcher gets to the mound enough, even one that is having a good season, eventually something will go wrong. For 26-year-old Orioles bullpen lefty Tanner Scott, yesterday was that day. He entered with two on and two outs in a 1-1 tie in the last of the eighth to face Brett Gardner. But Gleyber Torres had not started for New York and was sent up as a pinch-hitter. Torres took a 97 mph Scott fastball for ball one. Then Scott threw another 97 mph heater. It was down in the zone, but...

Austin Hays is going to be activated from the injured list and is in tonight's lineup for the series opener against the Braves at Camden Yards. The Orioles must make a corresponding roster move to accommodate Hays, who's been on the IL with a non-displaced fracture in his left ribcage. Hays is slashing .203/.273/.246 in 19 games. Manager Brandon Hyde hasn't posted his lineup, but Chance Sisco is in it. Thomas Eshelman is expected to start Tuesday night, as long as he isn't needed tonight...

Lots of chatter from the Nationals recently about how well Matt Cronin is doing at the alternate training site. The left-hander has been dominant and has had the opportunity to showcase his stuff against experienced Nats hitters. "It was a little bit of an adjustment at first just facing more seasoned hitters," Cronin said. "Guys who knew the zone a little better and are used to seeing higher-quality stuff. I was struggling just attacking hitters when I first got here, but after the...

Though they don't want to admit it publicly, the Nationals have reached the point in their season in which the playoffs are no longer a realistic goal. Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Braves left them at 17-28, a whopping 10 games behind Atlanta in the National League East and five games behind the Giants for the NL's eighth and final postseason berth. To finish .500, the Nats would need to somehow go 13-2 down the stretch. A sub-.500 record might still be good enough to squeak in as the final wild...

The Orioles haven't been eliminated from the playoff race. It just feels that way. Beginning a four-game series in the Bronx only 1 1/2 behind the Yankees, the Orioles were swept and bypassed by the Tigers. They have the same 20-26 record as the Mariners. And now they get the Braves for three games to begin their final homestand of the season. The offense shoulders most of the blame for scoring only three runs in 33 innings. John Means kept them close yesterday, just as Dean Kremer did the...

What do you say about a 35-year-old right-hander who had not pitched in the majors since 2017, throws mostly changeups, was the Mexican League Pitcher of the Year last season, and now has an ERA of 0.00 in 10 1/3 innings and five outings with the Orioles? You say you're happy he's on their team and it was good fortune and apparently a great move to sign him as a minor league free agent Jan. 9. In his latest strong outing for the Orioles, right-hander César Valdez pitched three scoreless...

Max Scherzer expended a lot to get through five innings today against the toughest lineup he's faced in 2020. Though the Nationals ace had some of the best pure stuff he's had all season, the Braves wore him down (like they've done to so many opposing pitchers) and left him with a pitch count of 104 as he walked off the mound at the end of the fifth. And once his team scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead, Davey Martinez could've made the decision to pull Scherzer and...

Left-hander John Means was able to follow righty Dean Kremer and throw another strong game for the Orioles on the mound this afternoon. But again, the offense was producing little. The Orioles would need to get at least something going with the bats to pull this game out and avoid a four-game sweep by the Yankees. But they could not do it. Gleyber Torres pinch-hit in the New York eighth with two on and two outs and doubled off Tanner Scott. That broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Yankees a 3-1 win...