Former Nationals right-hander Lucas Giolito is back in D.C. for the first time with his new team since he was traded in December of 2016 to the Chicago White Sox. After an up-and-down 2018 campaign, Giolito is off to his best start in his young career, winning a career-high seven games in a row since April 12, now 8-1 with a 2.54 ERA. It is a far cry from where Giolito was in 2016 with the Nats when he was called up for six appearances, including four starts. In that run with the Nats he went...

Trevor Rosenthal is slated to make another rehab appearance tonight for Double-A Harrisburg, once again trying to put together the kind of clean inning of relief that convinces the Nationals he can be trusted to return to the big league bullpen again. This has been going on for nearly four weeks now, but it cannot go on long enough to reach a fifth week. The Nats have managed to delay this decision as long as they can, but they're about to be forced into making it, one way or the other. MLB's...

ARLINGTON, Tx. - Catcher Chance Sisco is listed among the reserves tonight on a three-man bench that's more comfortable to him than a seat on the Triple-A shuttle. Sisco is back in the majors after the Orioles recalled him yesterday from Norfolk. He was batting .289/.383/.530 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 37 RBIs in 44 games. The 10 home runs already are a career high. "I'm definitely excited to be here," he said this afternoon. "Things that were going well, just sticking to my...

ARLINGTON, Tx. - The Orioles reinstated first baseman Chris Davis from the injured list this afternoon to complete their 25-man roster. He's batting seventh tonight to start a three-game series against the Rangers at Globe Life Park. Renato Núñez moves up to third, followed by Dwight Smith Jr. Dylan Bundy was 0-4 with a 6.67 ERA and 1.518 WHIP in six March/April starts over 28 1/3 innings. He went 2-2 with a 2.64 ERA and 0.978 WHIP in five May starts over 30 2/3 innings. He allowed four...

Don't blink or you might miss the Nationals' homestand. Seriously, it's only two games and tomorrow's finale against the White Sox is a matinee. Not sure I can ever remember a homestand that brief. The Nats and White Sox actually will face each other four times over the next week-plus, with a two-game series on the South Side coming up next Monday and Tuesday. So maybe it's better to think of this as a four-game series with a long break (in San Diego) in the middle. Whatever the case,...

The Orioles will make eight picks today in the First-Year Player Draft as the clubs complete rounds 3-10 on the second day of the draft. Check back here often today and hit refresh for updates. In round 3: The Orioles selected LSU junior outfielder Zach Watson with selection No. 79, the first pick of the round. Watson, 21, has outstanding speed and this year he hit .310/.377/.476 with 17 doubles, seven homers, 41 RBIs, 52 runs and 11 steals in 12 tries. He was a draft-eligible sophomore last...

The Baltimore Orioles tonight selected catcher Adley Rutschman from Oregon State University with the first overall selection of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Orioles also selected infielder Gunnar Henderson at No. 42 overall from John T. Morgan (Ala.) Academy and outfielder Kyle Stowers at No. 71 overall from Stanford University (Calif.). Rutschman, 21, led all of Division I with a .575 on-base percentage and 76 walks during his junior season. He was named the 2019...

The first night of the First-Year Player Draft found the Orioles select three position players in a catcher No. 1 overall followed by a high school shortstop and college center fielder. There were no pitchers selected yet by the Orioles and the draft began with the O's on the clock for the second time in team history. The club selected Oregon State junior catcher Adley Rutschman with the No. 1 pick. He became the first catcher taken 1/1 since Minnesota selected Joe Mauer in 2001. After his...

What seemed impossible only 10 days ago suddenly looks significantly more plausible today. Yes, the Nationals still face an incredibly daunting challenge as they try to turn their season all the way around, but they're actually taking steps in the right direction (with some help from the rest of the division). Winners of seven of their last nine, the Nats are finally starting to play a better brand of baseball and getting rewarded for it. And thanks to a suddenly freefalling Phillies club, the...

The Nationals' first-round selection in the First-Year Player Draft, right-hander Jackson Rutledge, said he was pretty excited when he got the news the Nationals had chosen him with the 17th pick in the draft. "Hearing my name called was kind of an out-of-body experience," Rutledge said. "It's something you dream of and it (did not) really hit me until it happened." General manager Mike Rizzo was equally excited to be able to select Rutledge and feels the big right-hander brings a lot to...