As he watched a Nationals club with lofty expectations struggle to generate any kind of positive momentum and arrive at the trade deadline with a sub-.500 record, general manager Mike Rizzo explained why he felt like his best course of action was to stand pat with the roster as is, neither buying a big-name player who could make an immediate impact or sell a popular veteran set to become a free agent at season's end. "Track record," Rizzo said. "We believe in the players we have. ... We...

When the local nine lets a lead get away in the eighth inning and gets tied and in the ninth inning and loses, let's just say there have been better days in Birdland. But it was an active day and certainly not without some potentially very positive developments. * Let's start with Ryan Mountcastle. He hit two homers and each one gave the Orioles the lead. It looked like he had some guy chasing balls out near the highway beyond left field. His first homer went 420 feet and his second 410 feet....

Sometimes it works precisely as intended. The Orioles signed veteran left-hander Tommy Milone to a minor league deal in spring training, one of their typical late moves under the Florida sunshine. Never make roster projections until after everyone reports to camp. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias had the same vision as his predecessors. Bring in a pitcher or player on a shortened and inexpensive deal and hope for the type of production that benefits the club on the field and...

The Orioles made two trades today and remain open for business less than 24 hours before the deadline. Executive vice president Mike Elias sent left-hander Tommy Milone to the Braves for two players to be named later and Mychal Givens to the Rockies for corner infielder Tyler Nevin, middle infielder Terrin Vavra and a player to be named later. He i

The Orioles took a break from their trading this afternoon to play a baseball game. They shuffled two pitchers out of Buffalo and held an audition for right-hander Jorge López. One of their busiest and most important days. No one pretended that López wasn't pitching for a job. Wade LeBlanc is out for the season with an elbow injury. Tommy Milone is starting tonight for the Braves. There are several candidates, but López had first dibs. Ryan Mountcastle doesn't need to audition. He's...

On the day Ryan Mountcastle hit his first two homers, both giving the Orioles the lead, would it be enough to end a four-game losing streak? Mountcastle blasted No. 1 on a 2-2 changeup off Tanner Roark in the second. That gave the O's a 1-0 lead. He hit No. 2 off a Roark fastball with a man on in the sixth. That gave the O's a 4-3 lead. But after Toronto tied it 4-4 in the last of the eighth, the O's had to take the lead again. And they did in the ninth on an infield RBI single up the middle...

The 2020 season is now more than halfway complete, and the defending World Series champs still have won only a single three-game series. Not even a weekend at Fenway Park against a Red Sox roster that is now a shell of its 2018 championship form could cure what ails the Nationals. The 2019 champs still can't get consistent starting pitching or consistent offensive production with runners on base. And because of that, the Nats lost again this afternoon, 9-5, for yet another series loss and yet...

The Orioles have swung their second trade of the day, sending reliever Mychal Givens to the Rockies. MLB Network's Jon Heyman first reported the trade, which has been confirmed. However, the return is currently unknown and this story will be updated shortly. Givens, 25, was a second-round pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft who made the successful conversion from light-hitting shortstop to reliever. He allowed two runs this summer with 19 strikeouts in 13 innings. Over six seasons and 296...

With a record of 0-2 in this series and 0-4 on this road trip, the Orioles play the Toronto Blue Jays again today in Buffalo. The Blue Jays shut out Baltimore 5-0 yesterday as O's hitters went 5-for-32 with just one extra-base hit, a double. During a four-game losing streak the Orioles have scored just nine runs. An offense that averaged 5.35 runs per game while going 12-8 its first 20 games has slowed. The Birds are scoring 3.42 runs per game the last 12 games while going 2-10. Perhaps today...

Though he knew he wouldn't be re-signing with the Red Sox last winter and wound up with the Brewers instead, Brock Holt decided to keep living in his suburban Boston home. So when the veteran utility man was designated for assignment last week, he returned home and decided to enjoy the time with his pregnant wife, Lakyn, and their 3-year-old son, Griffin, while waiting to get a call from another club. The call came Friday from the Nationals, and Holt was eager to join the defending World...