Reliever Evan Phillips is the latest Oriole to be given a reset in the minors. The club optioned Phillips this morning and recalled reliever Jimmy Yacabonis in an exchange of right-handers. Phillips has allowed two earned runs in each of his last three appearances and also let two inherited runners score last night to leave him with a 7.11 ERA in 12 2/3 innings. Command has been an issue with Phillips, who's issued 10 walks and hit three batters. He's also thrown two wild pitches. "We want...

LOS ANGELES - The Nationals and Dodgers are now all even at one game apiece in their four-game set at Dodger Stadium. The Nats won the opener 6-0 and the Dodgers won 5-3 on Friday night. The Nationals did some good things Friday but ultimately were unable to solve Kenta Maeda. They ended up with only four hits. The defense made some plays with Brian Dozier and Anthony Rendon shining, but also had a misstep when Adam Eaton could not make a play in right field and the ball got behind him. Today...

Can Chris Davis lift his average above .199 for the first time since the end of the 2017 season? A hit in his first at-bat today will raise Davis' average to .202. He's currently at .193 and batting sixth. Davis is batting .309 (17-for-55) with three doubles, four home runs, 14 RBIs and eight runs scored in his last 19 games since April 13. Trey Mancini is hitting .483 (14-for-29) with three home runs and eight runs scored in the first inning. He's the designated hitter today with Joey...

I knew very little about the sinking of the cruise ship Lusitania in 1915. The sinking of the Titanic always draws major attention, while the Lusitania story exits in the shadows. That story won't be in the shadows anymore after reading "Dead Wake." Author Erik Larson has written much of historical events in non-fictional works filled with massive research efforts. "Devil in the White City" is a book written about previously on "Hitting the Books," a riveting tale of a murder lurking in...

SALISBURY, Md. - For Single-A Delmarva right-hander Gray Fenter, Tommy John surgery not only fixed his right elbow, but it had other long-lasting positive effects, even beyond baseball. The 2015 draft began with the Orioles selecting DJ Stewart and Ryan Mountcastle. But in round seven, with pick No. 223, they selected Fenter and then signed him to a well-over slot bonus of $1 million. They loved the pitcher from West Memphis (Ark.) High School who touched 97 mph his senior year. They signed him...

LOS ANGELES - Right-hander Aníbal Sánchez had trouble finding a way to get Dodgers slugger Joc Pederson out. Pederson's two monster home runs were the big hits as the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to a 5-0 win over the Nationals on Friday night. Sánchez could not finish five innings and fell to 0-6. The series is now even at one game apiece. David Freese added a two-run homer in the seventh off of Matt Grace. After the Nats opened with a 6-0 shutout Thursday night, the Dodgers returned...

It never fails. A reliever has success and is capable of gobbling up innings and a manager is asked whether a spot in the rotation could open up. Brandon Hyde is experiencing it with Gabriel Ynoa, who has allowed only one run and walked one batter with 11 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings. He's tossed three scoreless innings in back-to-back appearances. "I think he would be in the mix if we went in that direction, but he's also pitching his way into higher-leverage situations and being somebody...

The recent uptick the Orioles have seen in their pitching didn't hold tonight. Two struggling pitchers continued to struggle as the Los Angeles Angels took the opener of a three-game series 8-3 at Oriole Park. The game was delayed by rain for 1 hour, 49 minutes before the start of the seventh inning. It ended just after midnight. The Orioles fall to 13-25 overall, 2-4 on this homestand and 5-14 at home for the year. Los Angeles is 18-20 and has won nine of 13 after going 1-9 over a 10-game...

Stevie Wilkerson kept trying. And all he had to show for his airborne attempts to catch a baseball were a few bruises. A diving try in left-center field that resulted in a run-scoring triple. A leap at the fence in front of the bullpen that netted only more frustration and influenced the outcome of the game. Mike Trout's two-run shot off Dan Straily in the third inning broke a tie, he doubled in the fifth to pad the lead and the Angels stayed in front to defeat the Orioles 8-3 before an...

LOS ANGELES - It looked like normal pregame preparation for left fielder Juan Soto on Friday night, prior to the second game of the Nationals' series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. That is a very good sign for Nationals manager Davey Martinez and Soto. The slugger is on course to be activated Saturday. He has been on the injured list since May 1 with back spasms. "He's doing good," Martinez said. "He's going to do full activity today. Ground balls, fly balls, hit, on...