Entering this weekend, almost all the teams in Major League Baseball were on pace to be at 60 games played through the end of the regular season on Sunday. My take is this is a real accomplishment for MLB. The sport had many doubters leading up the start of the year. And as some teams had in-season COVID outbreaks, no one could take for granted that the season would be played to its conclusion. But it surely appears headed in that direction. Issues could still pop up along the way during the...

An abnormal 2020 season that began with serious doubts about its staying power naturally is ending for the Orioles in Buffalo. Because so little has felt right. So little has made actual sense. Manager Brandon Hyde joked again today about doing his Zoom conference call from "a tent." The ballpark's extreme makeover couldn't hide all the blemishes. Hyde also stressed again the importance of finishing strong. But here's where abnormal spins to back to uncomfortably normal. Randal Grichuk...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde can read the statistics. He can stand in the dugout and watch the innings and at-bats. The stuff that's laid out for everybody. Sometimes, it's the little things that grab his attention. That don't directly impact a 13-1 win but stand out as much as the home runs and strikeouts. José Iglesias convinced Hyde that he could play Thursday night in Boston. He took batting practice again and lobbied for his inclusion in the lineup as the designated hitter. For a...

The Nationals' scheduled game tonight against the Mets has been postponed due to rain that is forecast to fall throughout the evening and continue into Saturday morning. The two teams are now scheduled to play a doubleheader, each game lasting seven innings, on Saturday beginning at 3:05 p.m. The Mets remain mathematically alive for the final wild card berth in the National League, and though they could be eliminated later tonight based on the results of other games, Major League Baseball will...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has confirmed today that left-hander Keegan Akin will close out the season with Sunday's start against the Blue Jays in Buffalo. Akin will be making his sixth major league start and eighth appearance. The bullpen also could be active on Sunday. "It's going to be Keegan Akin," Hyde said. "And maybe Johnny Wholestaff after." Left-hander John Means gets the start Saturday night. Hyde said Renato Núñez, out of the lineup again tonight with a sore knee, is a...

The Orioles begin the final series of the 2020 season tonight when they play at Buffalo's Sahlen Field against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles (24-33) could finish 27-33 and would be playing .450 ball for the year if they sweep this series, but they are just 1-6 on the season against Toronto. The Blue Jays (30-27) beat the New York Yankees 4-1 last night to clinch their first playoff berth since 2016. They are two games behind New York for second place in the American League East and a...

His season ended in early September due to a right oblique strain and it wasn't long after that the Orioles were straining to score runs. They miss outfielder Anthony Santander, who today was named the 2020 Most Valuable Oriole. The Orioles do not release results of the voting by local media that cover the team on a regular basis, but in a year with several worthy contenders, Santander is the winner. He finished the year batting .261/.315/.575 with 13 doubles, one triple, 11 homers, 24 runs...

Jorge López makes the start tonight for the Orioles as they begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays in Buffalo that closes out the 2020 season. López has registered back-to-back quality starts. The Orioles haven't announced their Sunday starter. John Means is on the mound Saturday. Austin Hays is leading off for the first time since Aug. 1 and playing left field, with Cedric Mullins batting ninth. DJ Stewart is the right fielder. Hanser Alberto moves down to sixth in the...

For the first time since they arrived in town a decade and a half ago, the Nationals know they have a manager for the long haul. The organization and Davey Martinez agreed to a contract extension today, ensuring the manager who guided the franchise to its first World Series title in 2019 will remain in his position beyond 2021 and become the longest-tenured skipper in club history. The deal has not been officially finalized yet, according to a source familiar with the discussions, but an...

This hasn't been the season Max Scherzer or the Nationals envisioned. All they can do now is try to finish strong and head into the winter with something of a positive taste left in their mouths. For Scherzer, the final opportunity to do that comes tonight against the Mets. Though his overall numbers (4-4, 3.67 ERA, 1.386 WHIP) are not up to his usual standards, Scherzer has pitched pretty well over the second half of this season. In his last five starts, he has a 3.00 ERA and 41 strikeouts...