Barring any setbacks in the next 48 hours, the Nationals plan to activate Max Scherzer off the injured list for Thursday's series finale against the Rockies, a decision they are admittedly making in part because it would then line him up for several key starts the rest of the season ... including a potential wild card game in October. Yep, they've extrapolated the schedule out that far, just to make sure. More on that in a moment. Of more immediate consequence, Scherzer continues to pass...

With Monday's rainout and a doubleheader scheduled for Wednesday, the Nationals now have an opening Saturday in the second game of the Dodgers series. That could be a spot for right-hander Joe Ross to start. Right-hander Austin Voth, who last made a start July 16 in Baltimore, was placed on the injured list yesterday with right bicep tendinitis. Manager Davey Martinez said today that Voth had a setback when he tried to throw Monday and will have to go in for an MRI. "He threw a little bit and...

PHOENIX - Renato Núñez is making his first start at third base this season as the Orioles continue their series against the Diamondbacks. Núñez has played one inning at third this year. Rio Ruiz usually gets the start versus a right-hander. The lack of a designated hitter has forced manager Brandon Hyde to find ways to get Núñez's bat in the lineup. Dwight Smith Jr. is in left field and Anthony Santander is in center. Hanser Alberto is at second base and Jonthan Villar is...

And we're back. The Nationals got an unexpected (but probably needed) night off with Monday's postponement (rain optional) so now they're rested and refreshed for tonight's delayed start of a four-game series with the Rockies. They better have caught up on their sleep, though, because they've now got to play four games in the span of about 51 hours. It begins tonight with Stephen Strasburg (tonight's originally scheduled starter for the Nationals) against Peter Lambert (Monday's...

PHOENIX - The latest Adley Rutschman update finds him as the designated hitter today in his third game with the Gulf Coast League Orioles. Rutschman batted cleanup against the GCL Braves in Sarasota and went 0-for-2 with a walk. An intentional walk. Word is spreading. The teams are playing a second game later today, and Rutschman is out of the lineup. Rutschman is 2-for-10 with a home run and three runs scored since cleared to begin playing. He's been behind the plate in one game. The week...

PHOENIX - One important aspect of the job as a baseball beat writer is reading too much into everything. Ignore the warnings, lower your head and run with it. Left-hander Tanner Scott works a career-high three innings in relief Saturday night and I'm going to assume that the Orioles are stretching him out rather than viewing him as only a back-end power arm and matchup guy. That's not necessarily the case. The Orioles were battered by the Red Sox, giving up a season-high 17 runs and using a...

PHOENIX - An Orioles starter carried a no-hitter through six innings yesterday afternoon. Tonight's starter faced nine batters in the first and allowed three runs. Manager Brandon Hyde's satisfaction with the rotation tends to fluctuate. Adam Jones' ability to get the last word is consistent. Aaron Brooks had a tough act to follow in Asher Wojciechowski and the Diamondbacks made his life much harder by striking early, with Jones in the middle of it all, in a 6-3 win at Chase Field. Brooks...

The Orioles, who went 1-6 on a West Coast trip last month to Oakland and Seattle, begin another one tonight. They'll play three games at Arizona, four in Anaheim and two in San Diego. The O's (31-67) have won three of their last four games and are 9-9 over the past 18 games. In that stretch they have won series against Cleveland, Toronto and Boston. They took two of three over the weekend against the Red Sox to complete a 4-5 homestand. The Orioles came up with their first series win over...

PHOENIX - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde can stick with his planned rotation for the next two games with Dylan Bundy's knee no longer causing discomfort. Bundy remains the scheduled starter for Tuesday night after throwing two bullpen sessions and reporting that his knee is fine. "Just talked to him," said Hyde. "Feels good and should be good to go." Hyde is back in the National League for two of the next three opponents, returning to a style of managing that's comfortable to him following...

When left-hander Alex Wells had solid stats last year at Single-A Frederick but was not as dominant as he was the previous season at Single-A Delmarva, you had to wonder if some of his doubters would be proven right. The lefty without the big fastball would have it tougher as he moved up the Orioles' minor league ladder. Surely hitters would figure him out with more frequency as he got closer to the majors. Then came the 2019 season. The 22-year-old from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia...