The Orioles today officially set their 30-man roster for Opening Day. The roster includes 16 pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders, and five outfielders. 12 of the 30 players were on the Orioles' 2019 Opening Day roster. Eight players are donning an Orioles jersey for the first time. Three players will start the season on the 10-day Injured List, right-hander Hunter Harvey (retroactive to July 20; right forearm strain), left-hander John Means (retroactive to July 20; left shoulder fatigue),...

The Major League Baseball season starts Thursday night with the first two games in Washington and Los Angeles. By far, the 60-game schedule is not only the shortest in history, it's also the most unusual, framed by a killer pandemic, labor strife, social-justice issues and questions about whether the season would - or should - be launched at all. The season was supposed to start March 26, but spring training camps in Arizona and Florida were shut down March 12 because of a spiking coronavirus...

The 2020 Major League Baseball season begins tonight, and did you ever think those words would mean what they do right now? This promises to be a season unlike any other, and we don't know yet if that will be for positive reasons, negative reasons or a little of each. It may be different, but that doesn't mean it won't include a few familiar traditions. Like this one. For 11 seasons now, members of the Nationals beat have graciously agreed to make season predictions, publish them and then...

Today marks the final time in 2020 that we can wonder whether the Orioles actually will make it to opening day without the coronavirus pandemic or any assortment of disasters and traumas again shutting down baseball. The completion of a 60-game season remains a dicey proposition, but the 30-man roster will be turned into Major League Baseball by noon, the Orioles will hold an optional workout and they'll head to Boston for their first opener at Fenway Park since 1966. "I think we're as ready...

When they take the field Thursday night for the first time in 2020, the Nationals will do so as defending World Series champions, having just raised a flag and pennant minutes earlier. They'll be sending their potential future Hall-of-Famer Max Scherzer to the mound. The opponents, the Yankees, are merely baseball's most-storied franchise, one sending its new ace, Gerrit Cole, to the mound in its first step toward competing for its 28th World Series title. This would be a blockbuster event...

Orioles reliever Hunter Harvey won't be in the visiting bullpen for the opening series against the Red Sox, his next move appearing to be the 10-day injured list instead of the closer's role. Harvey is bothered by some tightness in his elbow that manager Brandon Hyde described as "muscular," which reduces the level of concern but also prevents the former first-round draft selection from remaining active. "That's very doubtful that he's going to break with us," Hyde said on his Zoom...

Is it possible, even minus Trey Mancini and Jonathan Villar, that the Orioles offense improves in the 2020 season? Those are two huge losses. Mancini was the club's Most Valuable Oriole and became the 10th player in club history with 30 doubles, 30 homers and 100 runs. He hit .291 with an .899 OPS. Villar set career highs in hits (176), runs (111), triples (5), home runs (24) and RBIs (73). The 111 runs were the most by an Oriole since Melvin Mora also scored 111 in 2004. According to...

The 2020 regular season finally gets underway for the defending world champions tonight when they host the New York Yankees at Nats Park. It's game one of 60 on the schedule and will be played before a nationally televised audience, but without fans in the stadium. Right-hander Max Scherzer is again on the hill to begin a season for the Nationals, but this time around under unique safety protocols and rules in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's like every opening day," Scherzer said...

The Washington Nationals will celebrate Opening Day and their first home game of the 2020 season on Thursday, July 23. The game will be aired nationally on ESPN, with first pitch scheduled for 7:08 p.m. ET. In addition to the Opening Day game airing on ESPN, the game against the Yankees on July 25 will be broadcast exclusively on FOX. The Yankees game on July 26 will be broadcast nationally on TBS, as well as on MASN. The opening of the 2020 season marks the first time in Nationals history that...

This isn't how it was supposed to happen. Tommy Milone didn't sign a minor league contract with the Orioles in February, a late arrival to their spring training camp in Sarasota, with the idea that he'd make the opening day start. He just wanted to make the club. In one of the sports' unpredictable and, depending on the depth of your sentimental slant, charming twists, Milone has gone from competing for the fifth spot in the rotation to leading it into the season. One of baseball's truly...