For weeks, Davey Martinez insisted he preferred to keep Victor Robles at the bottom of his daily lineup, believing the rookie outfielder was benefitting from the lower-pressure position in his batting order. Circumstances - injuries, plus Robles' success - left Martinez with no choice but to move the 21-year-old up in the lineup. But three weeks later, it's becoming clearer why Martinez felt the way he did all along. Though he homered Tuesday night during the Nationals' 5-2 loss to the Mets,...

NEW YORK - Dwight Smith Jr. is the Orioles' designated hitter for the nightcap of today's doubleheader, with Joey Rickard moving from center field to left and Trey Mancini staying in right. Stevie Wilkerson is in center field. Jonathan Villar is the shortstop and Hanser Alberto is playing second base. Chris Davis is the cleanup hitter after batting seventh in the opening game. For the Orioles Jonathan Villar SS Dwight Smith Jr. DH Trey Mancini RF Chris Davis 1B Stevie Wilkerson CF Rio Ruiz 3B...

Reliever Trevor Rosenthal and shortstop Trea Turner were both in the clubhouse pregame. But both are headed back out to continue their rehab assignments. Rosenthal has returned to full health from a viral infection but continues to rehab as the Nationals focus on his mechanics. Turner has been out since April 3 with a broken right index finger. Turner headed back to Woodbridge, Va., to play for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals today. They face Down East tonight at Pfitzner Stadium as the...

NEW YORK - David Hess had to wait two days to make his start against the Yankees. The sun came out, the field dried and he was able to pitch in ideal conditions. Little else seemed to go right for Hess. Mostly the weather. Hess surrendered a career-high four home runs while taking over the major league lead, and the Orioles lost the first game of the doubleheader 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. The 14 home runs off Hess are one more than the Angels' Trevor Cahill has allowed this season. The Yankees...

Patrick Corbin has already faced the Mets twice this season, and he pitched well enough both times to emerge with a win. The left-hander, alas, did not get credited with a win after either of those starts. So he'll try to get over that hump tonight when he faces New York for the third time in 2019. The Nationals, in a recurring theme, haven't taken full advantage of the performances of their top three starters. Corbin, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg have combined for a 3.50 ERA in 26...

NEW YORK - The Orioles' pitching plans have become clearer as the rain moves out of the Bronx. David Hess and Andrew Cashner are starting in today's single-admission doubleheader. Dan Straily flew to Cleveland today and is starting Thursday night in the series opener against the Indians, followed by Dylan Bundy on Friday and left-hander John Means on Saturday. The starter for Sunday is TBD based on today's doubleheader. Manager Brandon Hyde won't let anyone work on short rest and he'll...

Right-hander Andrew Cashner (4-1, 4.25 ERA) gets the ball in the second game tonight as the Orioles and Yankees complete this doubleheader. Cashner faced the Yankees on opening day and gave up six runs and six hits over four innings. Last season he went 1-2 with a 4.26 ERA in four starts against the Yankees. In his career over eight starts, he is 2-4 with a 4.01 ERA. He has an opponent slash line of .258/.313/.376 versus the Yankees. Tonight he is making his ninth start of the season. Cashner...

The Orioles have not lost since Saturday. They are 1-0 since then, beating the Los Angeles Angels Sunday behind John Means and now they've been rained out twice in New York. Today the Orioles and Yankees will play a straight doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. In Game 1, right-hander David Hess (1-4, 5.50 ERA) gets the start. Hess got off to a strong start to the 2019 season but has struggled lately. He threw 6 1/3 no-hit innings on April 1 at Toronto, his first start of the year. He had a 3.32...

NEW YORK - The sky is blue and the Orioles are set up to play two games today at Yankee Stadium. Field conditions and the forecast are giving them the green light. Reliever Evan Phillips has joined the team as the 26th man for the doubleheader. I heard his name mentioned yesterday as the likely choice, but assumed that Josh Rogers was coming up after the left-hander had been scratched from his start with Triple-A Norfolk. You know what happens when you assume. Phillips was optioned Saturday...

On May 2, Paul Menhart took over for Derek Lilliquist as the Nationals pitching coach. He started his new position with a 10-game road trip from Philadelphia through Milwaukee to Los Angeles. In the midst of the Nationals' four-game set at Dodger Stadium, I had a chance to sit down with Menhart, who has been a coach in the Nationals system for 14 seasons, to see how his first two weeks on the job were going. Menhart spoke about what he wants to accomplish as the pitching coach and what he has...