The Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays have exchanged 7-1 results the last two games, with the Orioles winning last night. A Baltimore win today would give the Orioles a 2-2 split in this series and a 4-3 homestand before they play two games in Washington starting Tuesday night. Pedro Severino hit his first career grand slam last night, and Hanser Alberto and Jonathan Villar added back-to-back homers in the O's fourth inning. Severino connected for his slam with two outs in the third inning, producing...

Current Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart and Ryan Mountcastle, very likely a future Oriole, have played together as teammates in the minor leagues. But they have ties beyond that. Not only were they the O's top two picks in the 2015 draft - Stewart taken No. 25 overall and Mountcastle No. 36 - but both have strong relationships with Jered Goodwin, who was Mountcastle's head coach at Hagerty High School in Florida. He later coached Stewart with the FTB Mizuno premier travel team in Florida....

CHICAGO - Trea Turner legged out an infield single to open Saturday's game at Wrigley Field. In doing so, he extended his career-high streak of games reaching base to 31. And then he went and reached base three more times, scored two runs and stole a base a help lead the Nationals to a 7-2 win over the Cubs. "It's just fun scoring runs," he said. "It's fun winning, too." Yes, it is. And Turner has done just as much to help the Nationals win a lot of games this summer as anyone else on...

The Orioles are wrapping up their series against the Rays today, and trying to win it, with Trey Mancini returning to the lineup. Could be first base, right field or as the designated hitter. But he's going to play. Manager Brandon Hyde has been wanting to sit Mancini, but he needed to find the right moment. Mancini is such an integral part of the lineup and Hyde is trying to win games. Mancini stayed on the bench against Rays opener José Alvarado, who retired only one batter, and the three...

After scoring just three runs in the first two games of this series - and going 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position - the Orioles offense turned to the longball to get it done tonight. The Orioles got three homers, including a grand slam from catcher Pedro Severino, to back a strong John Means outing. They beat Tampa Bay 7-1 after losing the first two in this series. But it took a few innings for the offense to get going. The Orioles spoiled a bases-loaded chance in the first, getting...

Hanser Alberto wanted to hit 10 home runs this season. Told the media that he set the total as a goal. Jonathan Villar is trying to become the sixth Orioles player to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in the same season. He's made no secret of his desire to do it. Pedro Severino just wanted a second chance tonight with the bases loaded. Some goals are more modest than others. Alberto produced his 10th with two outs in the fourth inning and Villar followed with his 19th, leaving him one away...

The Orioles' John Means (8-9, 3.75 ERA) has shown signs recently of putting together a strong game from start to finish. The Orioles would love to see it happen tonight as they host the Tampa Bay Rays at Camden Yards. Means is 1-5 with a 7.48 ERA in six second-half starts, allowing an opponent OPS of .885. He's allowed seven homers over 27 2/3 innings in this span. The Orioles are 1-5 in those games, losing four in a row. Means was named to the 2019 American League All-Star team on June 30,...

CHICAGO - The combination of an explosive lineup and consistently dominant starting pitching has allowed the Nationals to weather the first week of Sean Doolittle's stint on the injured list without having to put too much weight on the shoulders of their reconfigured bullpen. Because he's been getting seven (or more) innings out of his starters, and because his lineup has been averaging 10 runs a game, Davey Martinez hasn't really needed to worry about who's going to close out games in...

The news has slowed down at Camden Yards as the Orioles perform fielding drills, take batting practice and throw in the outfield. Players are allowed to wear shorts and T-shirts. Hey, it's their weekend. Trey Mancini is getting a day off. There's nothing wrong with him physically. "He needs a breather," said manager Brandon Hyde. Reliever Shawn Armstrong said his right forearm feels better after the Orioles placed him on the 10-day injured list yesterday with a strained muscle. "Honestly,...

After he homered last night, Orioles infielder Jonathan Villar now needs just two homers to join a select group. Villar has 28 steals to rank third in the American League. If he can hit two more home runs, he'll become the sixth player in Orioles history with 20 or more homers and steals in the same year. "I don't really think too much about that," Villar said this afternoon. "It would be unbelievable to do that. But if I think about hitting homers, I won't hit any homers. I don't want...