PITTSBURGH - The Nationals scored 13 runs in Monday night's series opener. Then they scored one run last night. So what does tonight hold in store? The Nationals will try to get their offensive mojo back against Pirates right-hander Joe Musgrove. Musgrove hasn't faced the Nats this year. He's had an up and down season, but in his most recent start he held the Cubs to two runs and four hits while striking out nine over 7 1/3 innings. Patrick Corbin starts for the Nationals. The lefty did face...

The Orioles conclude their three-game series against the Royals with Chris Davis out of the lineup for the third night in a row. Trey Mancini remain at first base and DJ Stewart is in right field. Richie Martin is the shortstop tonight with Jonathan Villar at second base and Hanser Alberto at third and leading off. Stevie Wilkerson is in center field. Aaron Brooks has allowed five runs or more in four of his last five starts and is dragging a 9.22 ERA and 1.756 WHIP into tonight's game since...

On Aug. 3, 2019, the Diamondbacks rolled past the Nats 18-7. The lowlight for Washington: One of their hottest pitchers, Stephen Strasburg, was lit up to the tune of nine runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. In a season with 15 wins, it was by far his worst outing to date in 2019. Arizona crushed five extra-base hits in that game, including a two-run shot by Eduardo Escobar, a solo shot from Nick Ahmed and a three-run homer by Jake Lamb. Ketel Marte delivered a triple and David Peralta a...

The Orioles have not won a series for almost a month and that run can end tonight. They've split the first two games against the Kansas City Royals with the series-deciding game set for tonight. Baltimore's last series win was July 25-28, when they took three of four from the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. Since then, they split with San Diego and Toronto, and lost series to New York, Houston, New York and Boston. Kansas City beat the Orioles 5-4 on Monday night and the O's came back to win...

Orioles right-hander Hunter Harvey can admit it now. There was a time during all his injury issues - including Tommy John surgery in 2016 - that he wondered if he would continue to play the game. Making the majors seemed a long, long way off. "With all the injuries and stuff, I had some negative thoughts go through my mind," he said in the O's clubhouse yesterday before the game. "Will I ever make it? In '15 and '16 I had thoughts, 'Will I ever pitch anymore? What is going to happen?'...

PITTSBURGH - It all happened so fast. The Nationals held a 1-0 lead when the seventh inning ended Tuesday night. Stephen Strasburg was in complete control. And then the Nationals were down 4-1 to the Pirates after Wander Suero and Daniel Hudson made a mess of the eighth inning. It's hardly the first time this has happened to the Nationals this season. But it was a particularly interesting recurrence of "The Eighth Inning Problem," for a variety of reasons. There were interesting decisions...

Chance Sisco has absorbed the usual punishment as a catcher. The foul tips, the backswings, the collisions. No one is immune to it if their chosen profession involves squatting behind home plate. But the sixth inning. What in the world was going on in the sixth inning? The Red Sox sent 12 batters to the plate Sunday afternoon and scored six runs. They also sent Sisco to the trainers' room, the second unfortunate incident thrashing the highest pain threshold. There was no way to withstand...

PITTSBURGH - Stephen Strasburg didn't necessarily dominate the Pirates tonight. He simply cruised along, allowing a few baserunners here and there but never allowing them to seriously threaten to score against him. And when he departed the mound after seven innings of 94-pitch ball, the Nationals right-hander seemingly had another frame in him. But when Strasburg reached the dugout, he was greeted with handshakes from his manager and pitching coach. His night was over. Davey Martinez was now...

Looking for offense to end a losing streak and back a good effort by right-hander Dylan Bundy tonight, the Orioles got some. Better late than never and it didn't come in time for Bundy but it did for flame throwing reliever Hunter Harvey who picked up his first major league win. Hanser Alberto's three-run homer into the O's bullpen in the eighth broke a 1-1 tie as the Orioles beat Kansas City 4-1 at Camden Yards. Alberto hit No. 8 as the Orioles ended an eight-game slide. In the Baltimore...

Orioles first baseman Chris Davis wasn't in tonight's lineup, but he delivered the card to home plate for the traditional exchange. Coaches repeat the task after a win. The losing streak had manager Brandon Hyde searching for replacements. Davis could be on the bench again Wednesday night, but he's going to be the first Orioles player at the plate. Dylan Bundy held the Royals to one run in seven innings, the Orioles tied the game in the home half and Hanser Alberto hit a three-run shot with...