The Los Angeles Dodgers are becoming a bit of a tortured franchise. They have won seven straight division titles - something incredibly impressive - but they are already out of the 2019 playoffs. They lost Game 5 of the National League Division Series at home to Washington. Since the Dodgers started this run, four different teams have won the American League East title. But just one has won in the National League West. So the heartbreak was big when they blew a 3-0 lead after two innings and a...

The Orioles remain in the process of building their minor league staffs, including the implementation of an extra coach with each affiliate. In the meantime, they've elevated minor league pitching coordinator Chris Holt to a position that more closely connects him to the major league team. Holt has been promoted to a director-of-pitching position that extends his reach from the minor league side and more easily allows him to join Orioles pitching coach Doug Brocail in utilizing the technology...

Nationals manager Davey Martinez had good news on the status of catcher Kurt Suzuki, who was hit twice on one pitch from Walker Buehler in the seventh inning of Wednesday night's Game 5 against the Dodgers in the National League Division Series. "Suzuki had an X-Ray on his hand, and it came back negative," Martinez said via conference call prior to boarding a charter flight to St. Louis, where the Nats will face the Cardinals in the NL Championship Series beginning tomorrow night. "He says...

(SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.) K-MOTION - the leader in 3D evaluations and biofeedback training solutions for coaches and athletes - announces an agreement with the Baltimore Orioles to become the organization's Player Development Partner and official 3D Motion Data Technology. With K-MOTION Baseball's precise and personalized 3D swing data, the Orioles' coaches can objectively identify opportunities for improvement in players' swings, train the exact solutions and track progress through a...

LOS ANGELES - Sean Doolittle was trying to run through the final moments of an epic baseball game that propelled the Nationals to the National League Championship Series for the first time in club history. There was a strikeout of A.J. Pollock. Then a ground ball by Max Muncy. Then Michael A. Taylor's diving catch of Justin Turner's sinking liner to center, which had to be reviewed before umpires officially declared the game over. And then a mad celebration, with Doolittle right in the middle...

The Nationals pulled off a miraculous comeback against the best team in the National League in their second straight elimination game. Of course they did. After all, all they did was win for the last 4 1/2 months of the season. And, oh, did they win: 78 of their last 118 games for a .661 winning percentage since May 24. Thanks to a grand slam by Howie Kendrick in the 10th inning, the Nats shocked the top-seeded Dodgers 7-3, winning the best-of-five series NL Division Series before a stunned...

LOS ANGELES - On a warm morning in West Palm Beach in February 2018, Davey Martinez did something that raised a few eyebrows and made even more eyes roll. He gathered his Nationals team together and then directed everyone to watch as coaches Bobby Henley and Tim Bogar rode in on a pair of camels. The point, Martinez explained, was to offer a simple metaphor. This Nationals franchise he had just taken over as manager had been unable to get past the first round of the postseason, falling four...

It is going to come down to this: Can a team still in the early stages of a rebuild in 2020 afford a $10 million middle infielder? MLBTradeRumors.com yesterday came out with its arbitration projections for this winter, and predicted that the Orioles would have to give Jonathan Villar a salary of $10.4 million for next year, more than doubling his $4.825 million paycheck from this past season. That was a much higher projection than I expected. It surely was a strong year for Villar, who hit...

LOS ANGELES - The fate of the Nationals' season will be determined without Victor Robles patrolling center field. Robles, who suffered what the team called a mild right hamstring strain during Game 2 of the National League Division Series, remains out of the lineup for tonight's do-or-die Game 5 against the Dodgers. The 22-year-old rookie, who rated as one of the best defensive outfielders in the majors this season, worked out Tuesday and showed signs of progress, according to manager Davey...

LOS ANGELES - And so it has come to this. Nationals. Dodgers. Game 5 of the National League Division Series. They wouldn't have had it any other way. The winner goes to the NL Championship Series, against either the Braves or Cardinals, whose Game 5 should be wrapping up right around the time this one starts. Reminder: The Nats would not get home field advantage against either opponent, so Games 1-2 would be on the road, with Games 3-5 in D.C., then potential Games 6-7 back on the road. First...