Chris Davis is on the bench again tonight as the Orioles open a two-game series against the Padres in San Diego. Renato Núñez is playing first base and the Orioles lose their designated hitter in a National League ballpark. Davis has made one start since July 24 and twice has come off the bench in the late innings. Jonathan Villar is the shortstop tonight with Hanser Alberto at second base. Stevie Wilkerson is in center field with Anthony Santander in left. Jace Peterson stays at third...

SAN DIEGO - After losing two of three in Arizona and going 3-1 in Anaheim, the Orioles have arrived at the final stop of their three-city West Coast trip. And this trip is going much better than their 1-6 run in Oakland and Seattle last month. They gave up 59 runs in seven games then, and had losses of 16-2 in Oakland and 13-3 at Seattle. But on this trip they are 4-3 with two to play at San Diego's Petco Park. That has lifted their overall record to 35-70. They are 4-2 over the last six...

SAN DIEGO - If the Orioles or their fans hoped Jonathan Villar would get on a hot streak for a last-minute bump-up of his trade value, they got what they sought. When it comes to the Orioles infielder, you get a player who flashes All-Star ability at times, but it's mixed in there with sometimes shaky baserunning and the occasional defensive miscue. Some of the ups and downs have been seen on this current road trip. When the Orioles lost two of three at Arizona, Villar went 0-for-15 and struck...

The Nationals wrap up their long homestand with their biggest series to date against the first-place Atlanta Braves. The Nats' deficit in the National League East is 5 1/2 games with 10 contests remaining in the regular season against Atlanta. Following Wednesday's series finale, the Nats embark on a nine-game road trip to Arizona, San Francisco and New York. The Nats and the Braves are each 30-23 at home. Atlanta's advantage comes on the road, where the Braves are 32-21 and the Nats...

Max Scherzer spent a grand total of 20 days on the injured list in his first 11 1/2 seasons as a big league pitcher. Among all his other achievements during a potential Hall of Fame career, his ability to take the ball every turn through the rotation for more than a decade stood out as especially rare in today's game. Now a lingering back injury is guaranteed to keep the Nationals ace sidelined at least 26 total days in the span of a month, all during a critical portion of the season in which...

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde from Double-A Harrisburg and placed right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer on the 10-Day Injured List (retroactive to July 26) with a mild rhomboid strain. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Fedde, 26, is 1-1 with a 3.40 ERA in 13 games (eight starts) for Washington in 2019. His last start came on June 24 vs. Colorado when he allowed one earned run on three hits in 4.0...

David Hess is getting another chance in the Orioles rotation. For however long it lasts. Hess has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to start tonight's series opener against the Padres in San Diego. Reliever Evan Phillips was optioned to create room on the 25-man roster. The Orioles needed someone to replace rookie John Means, who's on the 10-day injured list with a left biceps strain. The decision puts Hess on the mound on short rest. He started Thursday for the Tides and threw 86 pitches...

SAN DIEGO - When he took the mound on Friday night at Angel Stadium in the third inning, Orioles right-hander Tom Eshelman could hear some of his former college teammates loudly cheering him on from behind the Baltimore dugout. This trip represents a homecoming for Eshelman who pitched Cal-State Fullerton, which is just a few miles from Anaheim. The trip continues the next two days in San Diego. Eshelman is from nearby Carlsbad, Calif., and is scheduled to pitch against his hometown team on...

The Nationals survived their weekend series with the Dodgers. That's probably the best way to describe what took place the last three days on South Capitol Street, where the majors' hottest team of the last two months took on the majors' best team of the entire season and suffered a pair of frustrating losses before bouncing back to win Sunday's finale. Given the matchup and the state of their pitching staff, the Nats couldn't complain about the 1-2 result. Nor their 3-4 overall record...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - It was a big ask of right-hander Mychal Givens. But the Orioles turned to him in the last of the ninth today to hold a 4-4 tie. Givens finished last night's win, getting four outs and throwing 30 pitches. He was right back out there this afternoon trying to put up a zero and send this game to extra innings. The O's were seeking their first four-game road sweep since Aug. 22-25, 2011, at Minnesota. Givens got Andrelton Simmons to ground out. But third baseman Matt Thaiss, the...