DENVER - Some injury updates for you before the Nationals and Rockies wrap up their three-game series ... * Anthony Rendon is out of the lineup for the fourth straight game with a bruised left elbow, but the Nationals remain optimistic about their third baseman and believe he's on the verge of returning to action. Rendon, who hasn't played since he was struck by a pitch Saturday night in Miami, has taken swings in the batting tunnel each of the last two days. He had seen enough improvement...

Mike Wright won't be staying in the Orioles organization. The club announced today that Wright has been traded to the Mariners for infielder Ryne Ogren, who is headed to low Single-A Delmarva. Wright was designated for assignment on Sunday while the Orioles selected Gabriel Ynoa's contract from Triple-A Norfolk. Wright, a third-round pick in 2011 out of East Carolina University, was carrying a 9.45 ERA and 2.025 WHIP in 10 appearances covering 13 1/3 innings. He also was out of minor league...

DENVER - The Nationals are 1-7 in series openers so far this season, and that's a bad thing. But they're 6-1 in series finales, and that's a good thing. Despite digging themselves into a hole every time they open new set against a new opponent, they've found a way to climb out of it and emerge still in one piece. They'll try to do that again today and pull off a series victory at Coors Field after dropping the opener but winning a tense affair last night. They'll ask Aníbal Sánchez...

DENVER - The day began with Davey Martinez mentioning he felt like it was time to start putting Joe Ross on the mound for significant situations. "We're going to have to use him as more than a long man," the Nationals manager said Tuesday afternoon. So when the bottom of the seventh arrived a few hours later, the Nats clinging to a 4-3 lead over the Rockies, who did Martinez summon from the bullpen but the young right-hander who came up as a starter and only now is trying to learn how to...

One night after they played arguably their worst game of the year, the Orioles played perhaps their best. They got pitching, hitting and defense in a 9-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. They snapped a four-game losing streak and a seven-game losing streak at Oriole Park. Some strong early defense with great plays from shortstop Richie Martin and left fielder Dwight Smith Jr. set an early tone. Then the Orioles bashed four homers over the third and fourth innings. Then starter Andrew Cashner...

DENVER - The Nationals seemed determined to make the four early runs they scored tonight hold up through an entire ballgame. At Coors Field. With the majors' least effective bullpen. A bold strategy, to say the least. And yet somehow they pulled it off. (With a little help from two long-awaited insurance runs via ineffective relief from the opposition.) Behind three scoreless innings from four relievers - some of them used in unfamiliar fashion - the Nationals survived the harrowing late...

The Orioles used their 34th and 35th players Monday night when Stevie Wilkerson started in left field and Gabriel Ynoa worked a scoreless inning, their contracts selected from Triple-A Norfolk a day apart. Ynoa replaced Mike Wright, who was designated for assignment. Wilkerson returned to the club after Cedric Mullins was optioned. The roll call of Orioles appearing in games this season includes 24 names listed under the pitching column. However, three are position players sent to the mound to...

It might sound a bit strange to praise the Orioles defense tonight, on a night they hit four homers, got fine starting pitching and won 9-1 over the Chicago White Sox. But coming off last night's 12-2 loss, there were several big plays early on by the Orioles defense that helped keep Chicago off the board and build some momentum for starting pitcher Andrew Cashner. Two plays in the first two innings saved three runs and kept the game 0-0 in the first two innings before the O's homer barrage...

Brandon Hyde can live with the losses because he has no choice and understands they're part of the rebuilding process. He knows the deal. They're a necessary evil. It's sloppy play in the field and on the basepaths that can irk the Orioles manager and test his patience, with last night's ugly loss to the White Sox a prime example. Hyde keeps pushing for improvements, looking for the incremental steps that lead to better days. Within the first three innings tonight, he saw Rule 5 shortstop...

DENVER - Though he's out of the Nationals lineup for the third straight day, Anthony Rendon is showing signs of progress in his recovery from a bruised left elbow. Rendon, who was struck by a pitch Saturday night in Miami, was able to take swings in the batting tunnel today at Coors Field and the results were encouraging. "He swung today, so he feels pretty good," manager Davey Martinez said. "He's still a little tight in there, but he got some swings in and we'll see where he's during...