Over the years, I've learned that manager Gary Kendall can provide some real solid insights on his players. He did that again this week. The first-year manager of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides was a guest on "The Scott and Jeremy show" on 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore. Kendall was asked about right-handed hitting prospect Ryan Mountcastle, who is ranked as the No. 2 Orioles prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 69 on the updated top 100 list by Baseball America. The 22-year-old Mountcastle is...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles made it through last night's game without calling upon a 47th different player. They managed to get by with the current group, covering nine innings and heading to Toronto for the final series before the All-Star break. Are 46 players a lot over the course of a season? How about in the first half? Spoiler alert: The first-half number is a club record. So, yes, it's a lot. Consider that the Orioles' record for a season is 56, set last year as they began to...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - John Means tied his career high tonight by working seven innings, pounding the strike zone as if he's angry at it. Ninety-eight pitches and 71 strikes for Means, who held the Rays to two earned runs and three total, didn't walk a batter and left with the score tied. His 2.50 ERA didn't change. The game did after he left. The Orioles erupted for six runs in the ninth off reliever José Alvarado, the last three on Renato Núñez's 19th homer, and they avoided the...

Sean Doolittle did it again, finding a way to record a save, as the Nationals edged the Marlins 3-1 to win the first two games of the series. But again, this save, his 19th on the season, was not easy. With one out in the top of the ninth and the Nats leading 3-0, the Marlins put together back-to-back-to-back singles to ignite a rally attempt against the Nationals closer. Doolittle bore down and struck out JT Riddle for the second out. But then César Puello was hit by a pitch to allow Neil...

No matter how unimposing the opponent, it's just not that easy to keep winning every single night. Yes, the Nationals are facing an especially fortuitous portion of their schedule. But aside from one hiccup Saturday in Detroit, they are taking care of business like nobody's business. Tonight's 3-1 victory - made possible by 7 1/3 innings of brilliance from Stephen Strasburg, home runs from Brian Dozier and Matt Adams and late escape acts from both Fernando Rodney and Sean Doolittle - was the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Josh Rogers underwent a procedure on his left elbow today known as an ulnar collateral ligament "revision," the name given for a second Tommy John surgery. Rogers had the first procedure as a high school senior. Dr. Keith Meister performed today's surgery in Arlington, Texas and the Orioles said it was successful. The timetable is the same, with Rogers missing the rest of the 2019 season and perhaps most of 2020. "It went well today," said manager Brandon...

The bullpen has had a lot more positive moments the last month which has helped a great deal in the team's 18-8 June. But the Nationals have still not found the complete answer for the eighth inning. Right-hander Wander Suero could not complete the eighth Tuesday night without allowing a run. The Nats' 2-1 lead went by the wayside when César Puello doubled and Miguel Rojas connected on a deep fly ball to left field. Game tied 2-2. Saturday night in the bottom of the seventh at Comerica...

Max Scherzer is about to add the biggest event yet to his already eventful summer. With his wife, Erica, due to give birth to the couple's second daughter Thursday, Scherzer has been placed on the paternity leave list. The transaction allows the right-hander to take three days off to be with his growing family without missing a start, and it allows the Nationals to add an extra player (Adrián Sanchez) to their bench in the interim. Scherzer has been anticipating this event all year, with a...

Two days after he was named National League Player of the Week, Max Scherzer was named National League Pitcher of the Month. Apparently awards season has come early this year. Scherzer was honored for his utterly dominant June, during which he went 6-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 68 strikeouts with only five walks. It was a historic performance for a right-hander who has made plenty of history over the years. Scherzer became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out at least 68 batters while...

This is a series of rematches. Last night, it was a rematch between Patrick Corbin and Zac Gallen (at least until the storm hit). Tonight, it's a rematch between Stephen Strasburg and Sandy Alcantara, the same two right-handers who squared off Thursday night at Marlins Park, with Strasburg and the Nationals emerging victorious. That win made Strasburg 10-0 against Miami since late in the 2015 season, but he didn't exactly dominate. The Marlins scored three runs off him in the third, then...