MINNEAPOLIS - New venue but a similar result. The Minnesota Twins mashed more home runs off Orioles pitching tonight to win 6-1 in the series opener at Target Field in front of 23,658. O's right-hander Alex Cobb had a third straight poor outing and allowed a career-high four homers in four innings. He gave up three in a row in the first inning and left with an 0-2 record and ERA of 10.95. Cobb got the first two outs in the home first. But then Nelson Cruz, Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron went...

With Max Scherzer dealing and notching his 2,500th career strikeout and Carter Kieboom providing the highlight home run in his major league debut, the Nationals should have had all kinds of reason to celebrate tonight. Even though their bullpen had surrendered another eighth-inning run in agonizing fashion, they still had Sean Doolittle on the mound in the ninth inning of a tie game. How could that scenario possibly turn sour? Welcome to 2019, folks, because it somehow did. Hunter Renfroe's...

Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer and Padres left-hander Matt Strahm traded punches through the first three innings on a dark and gloomy Friday night in Washington, D.C. Scherzer appeared to have a better handle on his off-speed offerings this time around compared to Saturday night in Miami, striking out six and not allowing a hit through four innings. Scherzer was hovering around 97-98 mph with his fastball early on. Strahm gave up first-inning base hits to Adam Eaton and Yan Gomes, but...

MINNEAPOLIS - The Orioles have seen enough of left-hander John Means to want to keep him in the starting rotation. And manager Brandon Hyde said today they will do just that. Means, who is 3-2 with a 1.74 ERA over seven games and three starts, will get a start in the series with the Chicago White Sox that begins Monday night. Hyde said David Hess will go to the bullpen for now. Monday would be Hess' next scheduled turn, so Means could get the ball in the series opener. He just threw five...

Carter Kieboom woke up at 9 a.m. Thursday to the ring of his hotel room phone in Reno. He had figured he had plenty of time to relax before heading to the ballpark for Fresno's 6:35 p.m. Pacific Coast League game against the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate. But then he checked his cell phone and realized he had missed five calls from Grizzles manager Randy Knorr, who left a message saying he needed to get down to the lobby ASAP. When he finally made it downstairs, Kieboom was greeted by...

MINNEAPOLIS - He's hitting .286 overall and .476 with runners in scoring position, so why not move Dwight Smith Jr. to the cleanup spot in the Orioles batting order? He's there tonight for the start of a three-game series with Minnesota at Target Field. When he was traded to the Orioles on March 8, probably not even Smith himself could have imagined things going this well with his new team. He was acquired for international signing bonus slots and has hit .286/.327/.527 with seven doubles,...

Prior the opening game of their series with the Padres, the Nationals placed right-hander Trevor Rosenthal on the 10-day injured list with a viral infection and reinstated right-hander Justin Miller from the IL. Rosenthal has had an extremely poor start to the season, throwing with good velocity but almost completely unable to find the strike zone on a consistent basis. He has allowed five runs in his last three innings over three appearances with five walks and two hit batters. His season ERA...

The Orioles wisely used their selection in the eighth round of the 2013 draft on Notre Dame first baseman Trey Mancini, who has emerged as their top hitter and someone capable of making the transition to the outfield. Finding Mancini still available after using earlier picks on outfielder Josh Hart, left-hander Travis Seabrooke, infielder Drew Dosch and catchers Jonah Heim and Alex Murphy was fortuitous. He's going to be a steal if he continues to grow as a player, the heights perhaps...

Chris Davis isn't in the Orioles lineup for tonight's series opener against the Twins in Minnesota. Davis had to leave the club Wednesday for personal reasons, but manager Brandon Hyde said the first baseman would join the team in Minnesota. The Twins are starting left-hander Martín Pérez and Davis is 3-for-19 with 10 strikeouts lifetime against him. Davis was 2-for-17 with a home run at the old Metrodome, but he's slashed .338/.368/.723 with seven doubles and six home runs in 68 plate...

It is absolutely pouring here on South Capitol Street, as appears to be the case throughout the region. The good news: The storms are supposed to clear out of here before gametime, though it may be awfully windy for the Nationals' series opener against the Padres. The weather won't do anything to dampen Carter Kieboom's excitement for his major league debut. The 21-year-old infielder officially had his contract purchased from Triple-A Fresno this afternoon, and he's in the lineup starting...