SAN DIEGO - They got the string of clutch hits they needed to tie the game in the seventh. They got a pair of scoreless innings of relief from the two righties who have shown signs of potential as reliable setup men. And then they got the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth with good execution and then a fortuitous wild pitch from the opposition. All the Nationals needed to pull off a solid win over the Padres tonight were three outs from Sean Doolittle. "You go into the bottom of the ninth...

That's four games on the road trip and four one-run games with three losses for the Orioles. Very competitive yet again, they did some good things but failed to win. Thanks to an error and a few timely hits, they took a 3-0 lead on Houston right-hander Gerrit Cole through four innings. Rio Ruiz had a clutch two-out, bases-loaded single in the first. Chance Sisco hit his first homer of the year and fifth of his career in the third. Sisco did a nice job to wait on a curveball over the outside...

HOUSTON - The Orioles lost another game last night on a walk-off, this time with catcher Chance Sisco holding up the ball and sprawled in front of the plate and the Astros' Yuli Gurriel somehow able to touch it while disappearing from sight. The latest defeat for the Orioles, their 44th in 63 games, didn't come at the usual price on this trip. No one dislocated a body part. Chalk outlines weren't drawn on any walls. The Orioles, for at least one night, were safe on the road. Stevie Wilkerson...

HOUSTON - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde keeps challenging his younger and less experienced players to seize an opportunity. Run with it. Do what's necessary to become established at the major league level. Anthony Santander has played only two games for the club this season. He homered last month in the second game of a doubleheader in Chicago and doubled and scored in the first inning tonight. Chance Sisco was behind the plate again, batted cleanup, and homered to extend a lead that Rio Ruiz...

SAN DIEGO - Ryan Zimmerman has missed considerable time with injuries before, too many times during the course of his career. He's dealt with setbacks. He's had timetables for recovery extended. The bout of plantar fasciitis the Nationals first baseman has now been trying to recover from for six weeks, though, may top the list for the sheer aggravation it has caused. "It's been really frustrating," Zimmerman said today. "It's been probably one of the more frustrating things I've gone...

After the Orioles went 1-2 at Texas, their road trip moves to Houston and Minute Maid Park. They'll play the Astros tonight in the opener of a three-game series. It's a matchup of a Houston (43-21) club that is tied with Minnesota for the best win percentage in the American League against an O's club (19-43) that has a win percentage of .306 to equal Kansas City at the bottom of the AL. While the Orioles are 0-11-1 in their past 12 series, Houston is 9-0-1 in its last 10. The Astros lost 100...

HOUSTON - Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias anticipates that the club can begin announcing draft-pick signings next week, and he remains convinced that the process with catcher Adley Rutschman, the first-overall selection out of Oregon State University, will be a smooth one. The July 12 deadline shouldn't trip up the Orioles. "We've got a big effort on our hands now getting all these guys signed," Hyde said earlier today. "I'm working on that. Brad Ciolek,...

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals have been a much more productive team against left-handers this season than right-handers. Against lefties, they're batting a collective .287 with an .851 OPS, both second-best in the National League (behind the Diamondbacks). Against righties, they're batting a collective .237 with a .710 OPS, both 12th in the NL (behind a whole bunch of teams). So this weekend's series against the Padres, who are starting at least three lefties (Saturday's starter is still TBA),...

HOUSTON - Dwight Smith Jr. has joined the Orioles in Houston, allowing the medical staff to check on him again before he dressed and headed out of Minute Maid Park this afternoon. Smith isn't available to the media because he's under concussion protocol. In his place is outfielder Anthony Santander, who's starting tonight in right field after the Orioles recalled him from Triple-A Norfolk. "I feel good," Santander said via interpreter Ramón Alarcón. "Very thankful to the team for...

HOUSTON - Anthony Santander is back with the Orioles and playing right field tonight for the series opener at Minute Maid Park. Santander is batting second and catcher Chance Sisco is hitting cleanup. Trey Mancini remains the designated hitter and Chris Davis returns to first base. Mancini is 38-for-108 (.352) in 28 road games. Six of his 13 home runs have come in the first inning. Gabriel Ynoa hadn't faced the Astros until tonight. Gerrit Cole's 116 strikeouts lead the American League and...