ATLANTA - For the second game in a row, the Nationals had trouble scoring runs against a Braves left-handed starter. On Thursday night, Max Fried tossed seven shutout innings and struck out nine in a 4-2 Atlanta win. Friday night, Dallas Keuchel (7-5) kept the Nats off the board for six innings, guiding the Braves to an early 2-0 advantage. Josh Donaldson added a two-run shot off of Wander Suero in the seventh. The veteran third baseman connected on a curveball. Ryan Zimmerman unleashed a...

SALISBURY, Md. - Single-A Delmarva manager Kyle Moore didn't worry when the Shorebirds offense was a little slow out of the gate Friday night in Game 2 of their South Atlantic League semifinal series against the Hickory Crawdads. The way Gray Fenter was dealing gave the bats ample time to adjust and wake up. "Our offense does that, has done that a lot," Moore said. "They kind of feel them out the first three innings and so we usually beat teams in the fourth, fifth and sixth. So I wasn't...

Another game passed last night with Austin Wynns unable to swing the bat beyond the usual cage work. He's healthy and he's ready, but the life of a third catcher on an expanded September roster can be filled with idle time. There's the fast lane and then the cell phone lot. Wynns hasn't received a plate appearance with the Orioles since Game 1 of a June 1 doubleheader against the Giants. He caught an inning on July 19, two in the nightcap of Tuesday's doubleheader and one last night after...

With his team playing so many close games, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde keeps relying on the same set of relievers rather than diving into the expanded area of his bullpen. It works at times. Tonight wasn't one of them. The Orioles couldn't hold a two-run lead in the seventh inning, with Paul Fry unable to throw strikes and Shawn Armstrong unable to save him. And the quest to match last season's win total stalled again. The Rangers scored three times in the seventh after Dylan Bundy exited...

ATLANTA - Nationals reliever Roenis Elías is dealing with a right hamstring injury suffered late in Friday night's opening 4-2 loss against the Braves. Manager Davey Martinez said they will wait on the MRI until Saturday to check on Eliías' hamstring. "He feels OK. He's really sore," Martinez said. "We haven't gotten an MRI yet because until the swelling goes down it's really going to reveal really nothing. Hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow we'll get an MRI." "I felt a...

SALISBURY, Md. - Beneath the third base stands at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, the sound of bat meeting ball is keeping beat with Waka Flocka Flame's epithet-rich "50K Remix." Before each swing, Dan Radison's right arm snakes around a screen, feeding a pitch to a waiting batter. Over and over, Radison simulates a low, drivable offering, and over and over, faux line drives are sprayed across an oblong cavernous chamber surrounded by a mesh screen that offers little in the way of...

The row of lockers against one wall in the home clubhouse at Camden Yards is the setting for a Triple-A reunion. The expanded roster has allowed pitchers Ty Blach, Chandler Shepherd, Branden Kline, Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips and David Hess to get back to Baltimore. Dillon Tate is assigned a corner locker that leads to the hallway outside manager Brandon Hyde's office, but he already had been recalled. Hyde is starting the next wave of auditions with the relievers, who are handed a clean slate...

Mason Williams gets the start in center field as the Orioles continue their series against the Rangers. Trey Mancini is playing first base. DJ Stewart is in left field. Anthony Santander is batting .415/.415/.854 (17-for-41) with three doubles, five home runs, 12 RBIs and six runs scored during his 10-game hitting streak. He's in right field tonight. Hanser Alberto continues to lead the majors with a .417 average versus left-handed pitching. He's atop the order tonight. Rule 5 shortstop...

The Orioles have played a series of close games since they beat Kansas City 14-2 on the road a week ago tonight. We'll see if that continues this evening in the second game of a four-game series against Texas. The Orioles (46-94) have played six straight games decided by two runs or fewer. They are 1-5 in those games after Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Rangers. This is the second game of a seven-game homestand for the Orioles, who are 22-47 in home games and now 13-33 in series-opening...

ATLANTA - The Nationals turn to their left-handed starter Patrick Corbin tonight as they look to get back in the four-game series against the Braves. Atlanta rode the pitching of their southpaw Max Fried on Friday night to a 4-2 opening win. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg lasted six innings last night, surrendering only three runs for his 19th quality start in 29 games this season. Corbin is the only Nationals starter with more quality starts (21). Nationals manager Davey Martinez said...