The Orioles and Boston Red Sox play the third and deciding game of their series tonight at Camden Yards. The Orioles won 4-1 on Monday night but allowed three homers in last night's 8-5 loss to Boston. The O's are 13-23 overall and 5-12 at home, but have won four of six at Camden Yards and are 3-3 against Boston. The O's are 9-11 against American League East teams. Boston is 18-19 and has won seven of nine and 12 of 18 games. They are 7-8 within the division. Orioles right-hander Andrew...

Before Orioles manager Brandon Hyde could begin jotting down names on tonight's lineup card, he had to more closely study the matchups and video of the opposing pitcher. Hyde is sitting first baseman Chris Davis, who hits from the left side and is 2-for-22 with nine strikeouts lifetime against Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale. Jonathan Villar is leading off despite being 2-for-12 with nine strikeouts and Joey Rickard is in right field after collecting only two hits in 16 at-bats. It isn't just...

Orioles left-hander Richard Bleier threw 14 pitches last night at Single-A Frederick, earned the win and didn't experience any discomfort or weakness in his shoulder. He didn't keep the ball, but it was an important game as Bleier started an injury rehab assignment that leads him Friday night to Double-A Bowie. "I feel pretty good," he said. "Shoulder feels pretty good yesterday and today. Just trying to get back to competitive pitching." Bleier allowed one run and two hits in the sixth...

MILWAUKEE - No matter how agonizing the losses have been up to this point, the Nationals have been able to legitimately say they played hard and walked off the field at the end of the day confident that a lack of effort was not the issue. They had to answer that question, though, after today's 7-3 loss to the Brewers, even after a last-ditch rally in which they brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. The outcome of the game was understandable, but the manner in which they came...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was left with some interesting lineup decisions today based on the Red Sox starting left-hander Chris Sale in the series finale. Chris Davis is 2-for-22 with nine strikeouts lifetime against Sale, Joey Rickard is 2-for-16 and Jonathan Villar is 2-for-12 with nine strikeouts. Hyde kept Villar in the lineup and is leading him off as usual. Rickard is batting second and playing right field. Davis is on the bench, with Trey Mancini replacing him at first base. Stevie...

MILWAUKEE - Desperate for healthy position players and more veterans on their bench, the Nationals are in discussions with outfielder Gerardo Parra and could finalize a deal in the coming days, according to a source familiar with the talks. No deal is done at this point, the source said, but the addition of Parra would make sense for a Nationals club that has been decimated by injuries to its lineup and has felt the domino effect on its bench. Parra, 32, is a career .277 hitter with a .324...

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals haven't been swept in any of the 11 series they've played to date. For all their woes, they've managed to go 8-3 in series finales and 5-0 when facing a potential sweep. So that's what's at stake this afternoon at Miller Park, where the Nats have dropped two in a row despite getting dominant starts from Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Obviously, they could use a quality start out of Jeremy Hellickson today. But as we've seen, that's not enough. They have to...

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals have been fielding a lineup lacking a host of key regulars for a while now, that's nothing new. Guys are starting to return, with Anthony Rendon coming off the injured list Monday, Juan Soto hopefully joining him Saturday and Trea Turner perhaps within two weeks of his activation off the IL. How, though, do the Nats score any runs in the meantime? They've scored 21 runs over their last eight games. But that includes a 10-run outburst in Philadelphia on Saturday...

Watching a relentless Boston offense hit three homers and take advantage of eight walks last night can make one have an even greater appreciation for John Means' outing on Monday night in the Orioles' 4-1 win. The Red Sox had scored 30 runs its previous three games before this series and was averaging 6.1 runs per game during an 11-5 run before Monday's series opener. They got back to that last night and never trailed in an 8-5 victory to even this series. The Orioles tied it 2-2 in the...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde proved yesterday that he can play the comedic and straight-man roles in the same sound bite. Told that his club was 10-11 within its division, Hyde said, "Well, we didn't play good against the Twins, right?" Laughter ensued, led by Hyde, who suddenly broke character and turned serious. "What's so funny?" he asked. Hyde knew because he started it. The Orioles won't have to face the Twins again after losing all six games by a combined score of 45-9 and being...