Joey Rickard is starting in center field today as the Orioles close out their series against the Twins at Camden Yards. Cedric Mullins and Rule 5 shortstop Richie Martin are on the bench. Jonathan Villar is playing shortstop and Hanser Alberto is at second base. Jesús Sucre is catching Dylan Bundy. Chris Davis is playing first base and Trey Mancini is in right field. The Orioles have slipped into last place in the American League East at 8-14. They're 1-8 at home. For the Orioles Jonathan...

MIAMI - Well, this certainly is not what the Nationals expected. Arriving Thursday night, the Nats were above .500 again after a series win at home against the Giants. As of today they have lost two in a row to the last-place Marlins and now look to veteran right-hander Stephen Strasburg (1-1, 5.56 ERA) to be the stopper and avoid the sweep. I wrote this morning about how Strasburg has used a matured mental approach to get better with each start. Strasburg needs two innings to become the...

MIAMI - Right-hander Stephen Strasburg gets the ball today in the Nationals' series finale against the Marlins at Marlins Park. With one inning pitched today, Strasburg will match left-hander Gio Gonzalez for most innings twirled in Nationals history. That is 1,252 1/3 innings since 2010. Strasburg is five wins away from 100 for his career. He has 210 starts with the Nationals, three away from Gonzalez's franchise mark of 213. At 30, Strasburg pointed out during spring training that he is the...

Former Oriole Jonathan Schoop has played on the field at Camden Yards often. But he came out of the visiting dugout to play at the Yard for the first time yesterday. After 635 Orioles games between 2013 and 2018, Schoop was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers last July 31. Then, as a free agent, he signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins in December worth $7.5 million plus incentives. So some memories came rushing back before Saturday's doubleheader when Schoop talked to a group of...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde admits that he knew very little about Rio Ruiz before spring training. Watched him play a few times for the Braves. Noticed a nice swing. That's pretty much the extent of his early scouting report on a player who's become the Orioles regular third baseman. Ruiz went 2-for-3 with his team-leading 11th walk yesterday in Game 1 of a doubleheader, the 16th time in 17 starts that he reached base. His on-base percentage increased to .356. Executive vice president and...

The Orioles' chances to gain a doubleheader split today, win their second home game of the year or have a game without allowing homers went south quickly tonight. Right-hander Alex Cobb returned from the injured list, but allowed a pair of homers in the first inning as Minnesota went on to crush the Orioles 16-7 at Oriole Park. Coupled with their 6-5 win in the opener, Minnesota completed a twinbill sweep to improve to 11-7. The Orioles fall to 8-14 overall and to 1-8 at home. Chris Davis made...

The patience that Alex Cobb required to get him through his two stints on the disabled list, the groin injury late in spring training and the back spasms that cropped up after his first start, will be needed to guide him through another difficult period in his professional life. Cobb's return to the active roster and rotation couldn't have gone much worse tonight. He allowed three home runs as the Orioles blew past the major league record. The nine runs charged to him tied his career...

MIAMI - The Nationals lost 9-3 to the Marlins on Saturday night, but the biggest concern after the game was the status of third baseman Anthony Rendon. Rendon had to leave the game in the third inning after getting hit by a pitch on the left elbow. With his departure, Rendon's career-high 17-game hit streak came to an end. Fortunately, Rendon's X-rays came back negative. "I'm still breathing," Rendon said. "So, I'm doing all right. It's just a little swollen. X-rays were negative, so...

The Orioles created a roster spot for starter Alex Cobb tonight by optioning reliever Josh Lucas to Triple-A Norfolk. Cobb comes off the injured list to start Game 2 against the Twins, as the Orioles try to avoid a sweep. Tonight marks his second outing with the Orioles. He's been on the IL with groin and back injuries. Lucas allowed two earned runs (three total) in 4 1/3 innings. Branden Kline is officially the 26th man for the nightcap. He's part of the roster shuffling today. Joey Rickard...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde stated before Game 1 of today's doubleheader that his club needs to play good defense because it's not going to set any home run records. He meant at the plate. Dan Straily surrendered three homers today over five innings, including two by Eddie Rosario. The Orioles have allowed 49, one short of the 1996 Tigers for the major league mark through April. Opponents have homered in 20 of 21 games. The Orioles hit three of their own this afternoon, but the Twins scored...