They don't call Ryan Zimmerman "Mr. Walk-off" without good reason. He's got 11 walk-off homers to his credit, and the notion of coming through in the clutch with the game on the line isn't a foreign concept to the longtime Nationals slugger, who has announced he will sit out the 2020 season over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Well, the next best thing to seeing Zimmerman walk off an opponent live is seeing it on MASN - and that's where this week's slate of walk-off-heavy...

The Nationals have called off today's scheduled workouts at Nationals Park amid concerns about the delay in getting COVID-19 test results back from Major League Baseball's lab. Despite assurances from MLB that results sent to the league's lab in Salt Lake City would be available 24 hours after testing, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said players and staff members still haven't received results from the tests they all took 72 hours ago. "We cannot have our players and staff work at...

I've been getting the question multiple times a day, from family, friends and colleagues, all curious to know: What's it been like at Nationals Park during these first three days of summer training? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but the answer is: Pretty boring. That's not to say my time spent at the ballpark is worthless, or normal. It's just been rather uneventful. For those who don't know, media members are allowed to watch a portion of the daily workout (roughly 2-3 hours) from the...

A baseball season cut down to 60 games will start for the Orioles later this month in Boston. Major League Baseball released the schedules tonight and the Orioles are going to play the Red Sox in a three-game series that begins July 24. First pitch for the opener is 7:30 p.m. They won't return to Camden Yards until completing a two-game series against the Marlins in Miami. The first home game is July 29 against the Marlins, with the starting time set at 7:05 p.m. The coronavirus pandemic has...

The number of major league players deciding not to play in the 2020 season is growing. In the last day, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price and Atlanta right-hander Félix Hernández were added to the list. So were Braves coach Eric Young Sr. and Indians bench coach Brad Mills. Earlier, Ryan Zimmerman, Welington Castillo, Ian Desmond and Mike Leake were among the players that opted out. San Francisco Giants star catcher Buster Posey said he had some reservations about playing this year....

As the Orioles transformed yesterday's summer training camp workout from batting practice in the cage to live BP sessions for a group of relievers, projected starter Asher Wojciechowski emerged from the home dugout and headed over to the visiting side. Long hair tied back and a smile on his face as he joined a couple of his teammates. Maybe a chance to feel normal again if only for a few minutes. There isn't much mingling for the Orioles and other clubs during the pandemic. Pitchers dress in...

Sean Doolittle is here. He's been on the field, participating fully in early summer training workouts. He has thrown off the mound, at times while wearing a mask. He wants to be around for the entire 2020 season. But he's not completely convinced yet he's willing to take the risk. "So far - and we're only three days into this - our medical staff has been doing an incredible job," the Nationals reliever said. "I think it's running as smoothly as it can at this point. Like a lot of...

Orioles pitchers Alex Cobb and Mychal Givens will throw live batting practice on Monday after doing side work earlier in summer training camp. They, too, are marked as present and active. "Really good. They threw the ball well," manager Brandon Hyde said in today's Zoom conference call when asked how the two right-handers have looked after three days. Cobb threw to hitters on a back field at the Ed Smith Stadium complex on the day that baseball shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. He...

Two Nationals players tested positive for COVID-19 during the team's initial intake testing program, manager Davey Martinez revealed today. The club has not publicly identified the names of the two players and may only do so with the players' permission, per Major League Baseball's protocols this season. No player is allowed to report to Nationals Park before the intake testing results are returned, so neither player who tested positive has been to the stadium yet and come into contact with...

Nationals manager Davey Martinez said one major issue with trying to play baseball amid the coronavirus pandemic is that he cannot yet get the entire team together on the field at one time. The "circle of trust" was a big rallying cry for the club the last couple of spring trainings under Martinez's direction, but with current safety protocols in place, it just isn't possible. "For us, we are basically working in groups," Martinez told reporters during a Zoom video call Sunday. "This is...