The Washington Nationals returned from rehab assignment and reinstated right-handed pitcher Trevor Rosenthal from the 10-day Injured List and optioned right-handed pitcher Kyle McGowin to Double-A Harrisburg on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Rosenthal, 29, returns to the active roster after missing 39 games while on the 10-day Injured List. He appeared in 10 games with Double-A Harrisburg while on rehab assignment,...

SAN DIEGO - After a couple of gloomy evenings to begin the weekend, the sun has finally come out and it's a beautiful day here. Maybe that's a good omen for the Nationals, who had to be feeling a bit gloomy themselves after Friday night's walk-off loss to the Padres. Things can only get sunnier from here, right? Here's reason for the Nationals to feel upbeat: Max Scherzer is on the mound tonight. That certainly doesn't guarantee victory, as we've seen too many times this season. But...

HOUSTON - Astros left fielder Derek Fisher didn't flinch. Didn't move a muscle. Renato Núñez launched a ball over his head today in the sixth inning and he had no interest in watching its flight or checking where it landed. He knew only that he couldn't touch it and a scoreless tie was history. Anthony Santander raced to the fence in right-center field in the bottom half of the inning and made a leaping catch to rob Yuli Gurriel of a three-run homer. It went down in the books as a...

HOUSTON - Sending down reliever Branden Kline last night had less to do with performance than the need to have someone available out of the bullpen. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is sifting through his options today after using Shawn Armstrong, Richard Bleier and Mychal Givens last night. Kline surrendered the walk-off double to Robinson Chirinos, threw 23 pitches in two-thirds of an inning and headed out while the Orioles recalled Evan Phillips from Triple-A Norfolk. "We needed a fresh arm,"...

The Houston Astros (44-21) are tied with Minnesota for the best win percentage in the majors at .677. They have a 10-game lead atop the American League West and are 26-7 since May 4. They are a most formidable opponent that the Orioles took to extra innings last night. Leading 3-0 in the fourth, the O's saw Houston homer twice in the fifth to tie it up, and then win it in the last of the 11th on walk-off double by Robinson Chirinos. Houston is 7-1 over its past eight games and has the best...

HOUSTON - Trey Mancini is playing first base this afternoon and Chris Davis heads to the bench, as the Orioles continue their series against the Astros. A right-handed lineup includes switch-hitters Anthony Santander in right field and Stevie Wilkerson in left, Hanser Alberto at third base, Pedro Severino behind the plate and Renato Núñez as the designated hitter. Severino and Jonathan Villar return to the lineup after being absent the past two games. The Orioles are using their 64th...

HOUSTON - The latest bullpen move for the Orioles has returned Evan Phillips to the majors. Phillips has been recalled again this morning after the Orioles optioned Branden Kline following last night's 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Astros. He's a fresh arm with his last appearance coming Wednesday. Phillips' next appearance with the Orioles will be his 13th. He's allowed 10 runs and 14 hits with 11 walks and 17 strikeouts in 13 innings. The results are strikingly different with Triple-A...

SAN DIEGO - It's not easy to look for silver linings after gut-punch losses such as the one the Nationals suffered Friday night. But in the bigger picture, it's hard not to be encouraged by Erick Fedde right now. Long touted as a long-term part of the Nationals' rotation, the 26-year-old finally is living up to the billing. He has now made four big league starts this season, and he sports a 2.70 ERA in those starts, having yet to surrender more than three runs in any outing. And for the...

SAN DIEGO - They got the string of clutch hits they needed to tie the game in the seventh. They got a pair of scoreless innings of relief from the two righties who have shown signs of potential as reliable setup men. And then they got the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth with good execution and then a fortuitous wild pitch from the opposition. All the Nationals needed to pull off a solid win over the Padres tonight were three outs from Sean Doolittle. "You go into the bottom of the ninth...

That's four games on the road trip and four one-run games with three losses for the Orioles. Very competitive yet again, they did some good things but failed to win. Thanks to an error and a few timely hits, they took a 3-0 lead on Houston right-hander Gerrit Cole through four innings. Rio Ruiz had a clutch two-out, bases-loaded single in the first. Chance Sisco hit his first homer of the year and fifth of his career in the third. Sisco did a nice job to wait on a curveball over the outside...