Joey Rickard and Richie Martin return to the Orioles lineup for today's series finale against the Rays. Jonathan Villar is playing second base and Hanser Alberto has moved to third. Rio Ruiz is on the bench. Stevie Wilkerson is 6-for-14 with four RBIs and three runs scored in his last four games, but he isn't in today's lineup. Dwight Smith Jr. is 12-for-29 (.413) in 10 career games against the Rays, who are sending opener Ryne Stanek to the mound if the weather permits. For the Orioles...

PHILADELPHIA - So, about the state of the Nationals roster ... Everyone inside the visitors' clubhouse was aglow last night following a 10-8 win over the Phillies that defied logic, but the reality of the situation also had to set in at some point. This team is decimated by injuries right now, and two more players joined the club during this game. Matt Adams and Michael A. Taylor each departed by the fourth inning with injuries. Adams jammed his left shoulder diving into first base to complete...

At a time when teams are scrambling to get their starting pitchers to complete six innings, a complete game is becoming very rare. And one on under 100 pitches sounds almost impossible. But it happened at Wrigley Field Friday when the Cubs beat their rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks pitched a four-hitter on just 81 pitches. That is known in the game as a "Maddux," as in something Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, but not many others, could do. Throw a shutout on under...

PHILADELPHIA - They are underachieving, there is no question of that. Their bullpen remains a mess, and their lineup is now in shambles, with regulars dropping like flies and even their backups falling victim to injury. They have dug themselves into a hole in the highly competitive National League East, and they're going to face a devil of a time trying to climb their way out of it, given the state of the roster and the daunting schedule that awaits them. But let's pause for just a moment and...

The bouncing between bullpen and rotation has stopped for Orioles rookie John Means. He's settling in as a starter, circumstances and performance conspiring to define his role. Alex Cobb is on the injured list for a third time. The Orioles determined in spring training that Nate Karns was more likely to hold up physically if pitching in relief, though he joined Cobb on the IL. Those are the circumstances. Means' 2.81 ERA is the lowest on the club among pitchers with a minimum of 8 2/3...

He owned an ERA of 8.76 after his first three starts of this season. But right-hander Dylan Bundy seems to be slowly but surely making progress. He provided a big example of that tonight. Bundy produced the longest outing by an O's starter this year with 7 1/3 scoreless innings as the Orioles blanked Tampa Bay 3-0 at Camden Yards. It was the club's first shutout since the last game of last year, on Sept. 30 versus Houston. The game was swiftly played, taking just two hours and 19...

The Orioles scored a run in the first inning tonight and the race was on to make it an official game before the storms hit. The forecast called for rain around first pitch, but there were only dry eyes in the house. Another run in the third inning and still nothing. Dwight Smith Jr. led off the fourth with a home run and the grounds crew hadn't left the shed. Dylan Bundy got on a roll, the tarp stayed rolled up and the Orioles defeated the Rays 3-0 before an announced crowd of 15,241 on "Star...

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals are going to try Erick Fedde out as a reliever again. After watching the right-hander dazzle during a four-inning relief appearance against the Padres earlier this week, the Nats decided not to move him back to the rotation at Double-A Harrisburg but instead to let him continue to work as a reliever. If things go well, they'll likely bring him back to the majors sometime in the near future and see if he can help resolve the club's biggest problem area. "We're...

PHILADELPHIA - Juan Soto was hitting in the cage before Wednesday's game at Nationals Park when he first noticed a problem with his back. "I was hitting in the cage, and I just did a deep breath and started feeling something, and I went right to the trainer's room," he said. "And then it was stuck, and I can't even move. And after that I started getting treatments, and now we're here." "Here" is on the 10-day injured list, a place of residency Soto has never occupied in his brief...

Orioles reliever Nate Karns has returned to Baltimore and will receive a second opinion on his right forearm Monday after being removed from his injury rehab assignment. Karns hasn't pitched since working one inning April 25 at Double-A Bowie, where he allowed two runs and two hits. He retired only one batter April 20 at Triple-A Norfolk, and surrendered three runs, but the Orioles are more interested in how his arm's feeling than the outs that it produces. "Once we get the results there,...