ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Chance Sisco is batting third and catching tonight as he tries to extend his power run and the Orioles try to avoid being swept at Tropicana Field. Sisco has homered in three of his last four games. Jonathan Villar is playing shortstop with Hanser Alberto at second base. Keon Broxton is in center field. Chris Davis is at first base after homering last night for the first time since May 12. Nothing eye-popping about the lineup. John Means makes his first start since being...

Following a month in which he went 6-0 with a 1.00 ERA (5 ER/45.0 IP) and 68 strikeouts and five walks in six starts, Washington Nationals right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer was named National League Pitcher of the Month for June on Wednesday. Major League Baseball made the announcement on MLB Network. Washington's surge during the month of June was led by Scherzer, who put together an historic calendar month in addition to helping the Nationals to wins in each of his starts. Some notable...

Right-hander Ryne Stanek (0-1, 2.64 ERA) will be the starting pitcher against the Orioles for the second time in three games tonight. He was the opener for the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday and will be again tonight when the clubs conclude a three-game series. The Rays have posted back-to-back 6-3 wins over the Orioles. Last night the Rays scored two runs in the sixth and seventh to turn a 2-1 lead into a 6-1 margin. Chance Sisco's two-run homer in the ninth accounted for the final score. Stanek...

The Nationals have now hit a homer in 16 consecutive games, setting a new club record. The 1999 Expos also hit a home run in 16 straight games. Juan Soto's two-run shot in the first inning gave the Nats a 2-1 lead. It was his 15th homer of the season. Last year, he hit 22 home runs. The Nats have combined to hit 28 homers in those 16 games. Soto had a homer and a triple in his first two at-bats. "All the guys, they're hitting the ball hard," said Nationals manager Davey Martinez. "The...

Davey Martinez began his afternoon touting the positives of his logjam at first base, with Ryan Zimmerman back from the injured list to join the already productive Matt Adams and Howie Kendrick at a suddenly overcrowded position. "For me, this is a great problem to have," the Nationals manager said. "When Zim does play, Matty's on the bench ready to go. We can plop him into any situation at any time and drive in some big runs. Same thing with Howie." When just such a situation arose...

Calling Tuesday a "special day" for the Orioles, first-year senior director of international scouting Koby Perez was pretty thrilled with a class of 27 signings of young, amateur talent. It was especially solid work when you consider that the top players already had agreements with other teams in place well before Perez was hired by executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias in January. Elias had been hired in November. Perez and Elias are trying to give the Orioles'...

After Wander Suero blew a save in the eighth, the Nationals found a way to win the game anyway, scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth thanks to an outstanding at-bat from Trea Turner. With two outs, Turner's double to the right-center field gap scored Yan Gomes from first base and the Nats walked off the Marlins 3-2 at Nationals Park. The Nats have won four straight over the Fish and 11 of their last 14 overall to go two games above .500 (43-41) for the first time this season. Juan Soto hit...

The play tends to get lost in a game where the Orioles again fall on the wrong side of the score. A catch that's marked in the book as exceptional and is minimized later because it didn't influence the outcome. Manager Brandon Hyde will remember it. So will first base coach Arnie Beyeler, who also serves as the outfield instructor. Anthony Santander charged Kevin Kiermaier's sinking liner last night with two outs in the fourth and made a diving grab, his belly flop getting starter Asher...

Patrick Corbin led the Nationals out of the dugout shortly before 7:05 p.m. tonight for what should have been an ordinary start against the Marlins, the opener of the final homestand of the season's first half, an opportunity to continue to lift his team during its slow climb up the standings. Before he tossed his first warm-up pitch, though, Corbin knelt down behind the rubber and with his index finger wrote the number 45 in the dirt. Astute observers also would have noticed the left-hander...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles have an opportunity to relax their rotation following tonight's 6-3 loss to the Rays. The next four starters are known and already with the team. No one is coming up from the minors or outside the organization. Asher Wojciechowski made his debut with the club tonight and worked into the sixth inning. He walked off the mound just as uncertain about his immediate future. Does he get the ball again after the break or is he headed to Triple-A Norfolk? Tom...