SEATTLE - It appears the Orioles dodged a bullet yesterday when their best player, Trey Mancini, got hit by a pitch in the left elbow. But while there were no broken bones, there was a contusion and he should return to the lineup soon. While Mancini is likely going to fall short of being voted an All-Star starter, it appears he has a good chance to wind up on the American League team for the first time next month. The preliminary voting for the game ends tomorrow at 4 p.m. Eastern time. At that...

Broken Nose. Black Eye. Swelling around the eye. Seven Innings of shutout baseball? No problem if you're Max Scherzer. One of those ailments would have been enough of an excuse for lesser pitchers to ask for the day off or skip a start. Not Scherzer. Ever. The right-hander kept the Phillies at arm's length for 21 outs, allowing only four hits, as the Nationals completed the doubleheader sweep with a 2-0 win. Brian Dozier smacked his second homer on the day to give the Nats the early lead in...

When his pitching days are over and the countdown to Cooperstown begins, Max Scherzer will look back at a handful of starts that defined his career. He'll remember the two no-hitters. He'll remember the 20-strikeout game. He'll remember the time he became the first major leaguer in three decades to begin a season 13-0. And he'll remember "The Black Eye Game," the game in which the right-hander took the mound with a huge shiner surrounding his right eye after he broke his nose during a...

Slowly but surely, Davey Martinez has begun to entrust high-leverage situations to Tanner Rainey. But this was the highest-leverage situation to date, considering the score, the opponent and the overall stakes. With the Nationals up 3-1 in the top of the eighth Wednesday afternoon, and the top of the Phillies lineup set to bat, Martinez handed the ball to Rainey and watched to see how the rookie reliever would handle the pressure. The answer: He handled it quite well, pitching out of a...

Despite a broken nose and a black eye, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer went ahead with his start Wednesday night in the second game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jean Segura singled to lead off the first inning. But Scherzer got the next three batters out, including Rhys Hoskins, who took a called third strike. Brad Miller singled with two outs in the second inning, but Scherzer induced a fly out to left field by Andrew Knapp to end the frame. Scherzer struck out two...

OAKLAND - Well, the Orioles lost another game and got swept in a series today for the seventh time. But they very likely didn't lose their best player to the injured list, and while Trey Mancini could miss a game or two, it shouldn't be much more than that. Mancini - batting .304/.359/.558 with 18 doubles, two triples, 16 homers and 35 RBIs - left today's game in the top of the first. A 3-1 pitch by Oakland right-hander Chris Bassitt came up and in on him and plunked him in the left elbow....

The Orioles are changing cities and their roster. Dwight Smith Jr. is expected to come off the concussion injured list after playing two games with Triple-A Norfolk and hitting a home run last night, though manager Brandon Hyde left open the possibility on MASN that it could happen Friday. The Orioles must decide whether to option Anthony Santander or Stevie Wilkerson, the latter capable of backing up in center field as well as the infield positions, if Trey Mancini avoids the injured...

OAKLAND - They lost their best player in the first inning and didn't get a hit until the sixth. And while they made this game close after initially falling behind, in the end, it was another loss for the Orioles. The Athletics beat the Orioles 8-3 to complete a three-game home sweep. At 21-53, the Orioles now have an eight-game losing streak, which is a season high. Baltimore has lost 12 of 14 and 16 of the last 20. The Orioles finish the season series going 1-6 against Oakland, allowing 62...

They got through the opener of today's doubleheader without incident, the skies remaining clear and the field dry throughout the Nationals' 6-2 win over the Phillies. Now they're hoping for similar good fortune in the nightcap of this day-night doubleheader. The forecast has steadily improved throughout the day, though there does remain a chance of rain later tonight. The Nats are confident enough in the forecast to send Max Scherzer to the mound, broken nose, black eye and all. Talk about...

Left-hander Patrick Corbin bounced back from a run of rough starts with the help of a newly reunited former teammate, center fielder Gerardo Parra, in the Nationals' 6-2 win over the Phillies in game one of a Wednesday doubleheader at Nats Park. Parra, who played his first game for the Nats May 10, went 2-for-4 with a double, homer, a run scored and two RBIs. He also made the defensive play of the game - a barehanded play on a single towards him in center field - that he picked up and nailed...