MILWAUKEE - The Nationals successfully made it to Milwaukee, albeit 16 hours later than originally scheduled. After landing at the airport shortly after 11:30 a.m., they decided to push back their pregame routine and give guys more time to rest up at the hotel. So there's no formal batting practice today, and the clubhouse doesn't even open until two hours before first pitch. (It typically opens 3 1/2 hours before first pitch.) So the team that takes the field for tonight's series opener...

Joey Rickard is out of the Orioles lineup for tonight's series opener against the Red Sox, but Richie Martin has returned to shortstop. Stevie Wilkerson is in center field. Pedro Severino is catching left-hander John Means. Hanser Alberto is on the bench tonight, with Rio Ruiz at third base and Jonathan Villar at second. Means made an April 14 start against the Red Sox at Fenway Park and allowed one run in five innings in a 4-0 loss. J.D. Martinez is 2-for-2 with a double and home run against...

After Sunday's rainout, the Orioles get back on the field tonight. The homestand, now down to eight games, continues as they open a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox. The Orioles (12-22) beat Tampa Bay 3-0 Saturday night behind Dylan Bundy's 7 1/3 innings. He threw 96 pitches in getting his first win of the year and first since Sept. 18. He snapped a career-long six-game losing streak. Boston (17-18) scored 30 runs in winning the last three games of a series in Chicago against the...

MILWAUKEE - How banged up are the Nationals right now? Even the team's charter plane was physically unable to perform Sunday night. A mechanical issue on the club's Delta charter left the entire team sitting on the tarmac in Philadelphia nearly eight hours late Sunday night and early Monday morning. After all that, the entire traveling party went back to its downtown hotel to get a little bit of sleep before returning to the airport this morning. The Nationals finally took off from...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde appreciates the value of having an extra pitcher in his bullpen. He also covets a fourth bench player. The math doesn't work and Hyde knows it. No calculator required. A 26th man is permissible only for the second game of a traditional doubleheader scheduled the day after a postponement. Rosters won't expand until September. What's a manager to do? He concedes that having starters who are laboring to get beyond the fifth inning requires a 13-man pitching staff,...

Right fielder Rhett Wiseman is continuing his amazing run for Double-A Harrisburg. If Juan Soto is out more than 10 days with back spasms, the Nationals might consider finding a way to elevate the former Vanderbilt star. The 24-year-old Wiseman has hit in seven straight games. He is slashing .333/.383/.729 with eight doubles, 10 homers and 24 RBIs. The 10 homers leads the Eastern League by three over Chris Gittens of Trenton and Hunter Owen of Altoona. Wiseman's eight doubles are tied for...

A few Orioles thoughts and takes after Sunday's rainout at home with Tampa Bay. The Orioles are 12-22 and the homestand continues tonight with Boston in town for three games. Let's see more of Stevie Wilkerson in center field: He's made just four starts out there in pro ball, two this year in Triple-A with Norfolk and Friday and Saturday for the Orioles. He held his own out there and made a nice catch in deep center on Friday night and a nice throw home as well. Not nearly enough of a sample...

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals are in a real bind right now. That's not some kind of major revelation, but it's the truth. When you lose the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 hitters from your opening day lineup, plus the guy who took over as cleanup hitter because of one of those injuries, plus the No. 4 outfielder who had been thrust into the daily lineup, you're going to struggle to score runs. Few teams could overcome that many injuries to that many important hitters. (And before anyone asks about the...

PHILADELPHIA - They might not have ever admitted it publicly, but the Nationals knew the deck was stacked against them when they took the field for today's series finale against the Phillies. On a gray, windy, rainy Sunday afternoon, the Nats fielded a lineup with only three regulars who started on opening day. Their usual leadoff hitter was batting third. Their backup catcher was batting cleanup. Their fourth-string first baseman had just flown in on a red eye from Las Vegas. And yet for five...

Today's game between the Orioles and Rays has been postponed due to inclement weather. The teams will play a split-admission doubleheader on July 13, with the first game starting at 1:05 p.m. The nightcap will begin at 7:05 p.m. This is the third postponement for the Orioles this season. They also were rained out April 19 against the Twins at Camden Yards, swept in a doubleheader the next day, and Tuesday in Chicago, where they split a twinbill the following day. The July 13 game is part of a...