Orioles manager Brandon Hyde this morning handled the painful task of calling Mike Wright into his office with news that the right-hander had been designated for assignment. The club selected reliever Gabriel Ynoa's contract from Triple-A Norfolk. "It's been a tough morning," Hyde said. "We needed innings and we needed a fresh arm in here, and that was the decision we came up with. But it was hard to give Mike the news this morning. We're hoping that he clears, we're hoping that he stays...

An Orioles pitching staff that sports a 6.40 team ERA to rank last in the American League got a reinforcement today. The Orioles selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Gabriel Ynoa, and he joined the team from Triple-A Norfolk. Right-hander Mike Wright was designated for assignment after pitching to an ERA of 9.45 in 10 games. Ynoa will wear No. 64. "I feel very happy. Excited to be here. And happy to be here to help the team," the 25-year-old Ynoa said, through team interpreter...

The Orioles made a roster move today to bring up a fresh bullpen arm, and it included the decision to cut ties with Mike Wright. Wright has been designated for assignment prior to this afternoon's series finale against the Twins at Camden Yards. The Orioles selected Gabriel Ynoa's contract from Triple-A Norfolk and he'll be in uniform today. Wright worked 3 1/3 innings last night, surrendering three-run homers to C.J. Cron and former Oriole Jonathan Schoop. Wright was charged with four runs...

Joey Rickard is starting in center field today as the Orioles close out their series against the Twins at Camden Yards. Cedric Mullins and Rule 5 shortstop Richie Martin are on the bench. Jonathan Villar is playing shortstop and Hanser Alberto is at second base. Jesús Sucre is catching Dylan Bundy. Chris Davis is playing first base and Trey Mancini is in right field. The Orioles have slipped into last place in the American League East at 8-14. They're 1-8 at home. For the Orioles Jonathan...

MIAMI - Well, this certainly is not what the Nationals expected. Arriving Thursday night, the Nats were above .500 again after a series win at home against the Giants. As of today they have lost two in a row to the last-place Marlins and now look to veteran right-hander Stephen Strasburg (1-1, 5.56 ERA) to be the stopper and avoid the sweep. I wrote this morning about how Strasburg has used a matured mental approach to get better with each start. Strasburg needs two innings to become the...

MIAMI - Right-hander Stephen Strasburg gets the ball today in the Nationals' series finale against the Marlins at Marlins Park. With one inning pitched today, Strasburg will match left-hander Gio Gonzalez for most innings twirled in Nationals history. That is 1,252 1/3 innings since 2010. Strasburg is five wins away from 100 for his career. He has 210 starts with the Nationals, three away from Gonzalez's franchise mark of 213. At 30, Strasburg pointed out during spring training that he is the...

Former Oriole Jonathan Schoop has played on the field at Camden Yards often. But he came out of the visiting dugout to play at the Yard for the first time yesterday. After 635 Orioles games between 2013 and 2018, Schoop was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers last July 31. Then, as a free agent, he signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins in December worth $7.5 million plus incentives. So some memories came rushing back before Saturday's doubleheader when Schoop talked to a group of...

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde admits that he knew very little about Rio Ruiz before spring training. Watched him play a few times for the Braves. Noticed a nice swing. That's pretty much the extent of his early scouting report on a player who's become the Orioles regular third baseman. Ruiz went 2-for-3 with his team-leading 11th walk yesterday in Game 1 of a doubleheader, the 16th time in 17 starts that he reached base. His on-base percentage increased to .356. Executive vice president and...

The Orioles' chances to gain a doubleheader split today, win their second home game of the year or have a game without allowing homers went south quickly tonight. Right-hander Alex Cobb returned from the injured list, but allowed a pair of homers in the first inning as Minnesota went on to crush the Orioles 16-7 at Oriole Park. Coupled with their 6-5 win in the opener, Minnesota completed a twinbill sweep to improve to 11-7. The Orioles fall to 8-14 overall and to 1-8 at home. Chris Davis made...

The patience that Alex Cobb required to get him through his two stints on the disabled list, the groin injury late in spring training and the back spasms that cropped up after his first start, will be needed to guide him through another difficult period in his professional life. Cobb's return to the active roster and rotation couldn't have gone much worse tonight. He allowed three home runs as the Orioles blew past the major league record. The nine runs charged to him tied his career...