The roster manipulation by the Orioles yesterday was minimal. One player on the taxi squad for the trip to Philadelphia. Nothing else to report. Left-hander John Means joined right-hander Jorge López on the injury list in a pair of procedural moves. They can be placed on the active roster after undergoing COVID-19 intake testing and the team has the results. Keegan Akin remained in the bullpen last night, still unsure how long he's going to stay in the majors. He gives the Orioles an extra...

Trea Turner went 2-for-4, smacking a solo homer over the right field wall on the game's second pitch and then helping the Nationals with his defense late in a nail-biting 2-1 win over the Mets at Citi Field on Tuesday night. The blast was the 10th leadoff home run of his career, a new Nationals record. With a home run and a single to start the contest, Turner was in the midst of five hits in his last six at-bats in the series. He now has two homers in the first two games in New York. After...

The new baseball trade deadline is creeping up on teams. None are certain how the market is going to evolve in a truncated season. But pitching always is in demand and an expansion of the playoff field could lure more executives into discussions. Alex Cobb was supposed to be a topic of conversation last summer, except he was injured in spring training, made only three starts and underwent hip and knee surgeries. Not much demand for an injured pitcher in the second year of a four-year, $57...

They can't all be laughers. The Nationals couldn't go into Citi Field tonight and expect to blow out the Mets again. No, they were going to need to win a tight ballgame if they wanted to remain perfect on the road. And it doesn't get any tighter than 2-1. Thanks to a gutsy start from Max Scherzer in his return from a nagging hamstring ailment, a couple of quick runs off Rick Porcello and lights-out work from the back end of their remade bullpen, the Nationals eked out a tense, low-scoring...

As the 2020 season began, the Rockies weren't considered a legitimate playoff contender, not even in a 60-game season. After all, they finished last in 2019 with a rotation that had the highest ERA (5.87) in the National League. And the Rockies didn't bother to fix their starting staff. That brought second-guessing from critics. Colorado stuck with Jon Gray, Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela, four pitchers that helped them get to the playoffs in 2017 and 2018 who...

The Philadelphia Phillies (5-6) have hit well but not pitched very well thus far in the 2020 season. They will host the Orioles for the next three nights at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies beat Atlanta 13-8 last night at home to split a four-game series. They scored 18 runs in the two games they won and just two runs in the two they lost. But the Phillies offense is averaging 5.0 runs per game and they rank first in the National League in team OPS at .790. The Philly pitching staff ranks next...

Allowed to carry five players on their taxi squad for the trip to Philadelphia, the Orioles have taken a more conservative approach and added infielder Ramón Urías for their series against the Phillies. Urías is the lone extra and he's with the club to provide insurance with shortstop José Iglesias out of the lineup again tonight due to soreness in his left quadriceps muscle. Manager Brandon Hyde planned to sit Iglesias on Sunday, but the veteran was expected to start tonight....

Nationals manager Davey Martinez announced Monday that the club's five-man taxi squad included left-hander Seth Romero, who has never pitched in the major leagues. The 2017 first-round selection out of the University of Houston missed all of the 2019 season as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. It was an interesting choice, showing the Nats have confidence in Romero and his stuff and believe that he is very close to making that next step. Plus, looking at the structure of the Nats bullpen...

When last we saw him on the mound, Max Scherzer was slogging his way through a 27-pitch top of the first against the Mets, clearly not right. Turns out he had "tweaked" his right hamstring the previous day and decided he shouldn't try to continue to pitch through it. Six days later, Scherzer is back on the mound, back facing the Mets, believing the same thing won't happen again. He passed all his required tests during the week, but the real test will come in the bottom of the first tonight...

José Iglesias was given a planned day off Sunday in D.C., but he remains out of the lineup tonight in Philadelphia. Pat Valaika is the starting shortstop to open the series. Iglesias is 3-for-6 with a double against Phillies starter Zack Wheeler and 15-for-37 (.405) this season with seven doubles and seven RBIs. Pedro Severino is behind the plate and batting fifth after sitting out Sunday's suspended game with a sore left wrist and hand. Austin Hays is batting seventh and Chris Davis...