Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson is turning into one of the most consistent Nationals starters. He did it again Wednesday in the Nats' 9-6 win over the Giants. Hellickson (2-0) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with four walks and no strikeouts. He had to throw only 79 pitches, 51 for strikes. Hellickson's first two starts of the season have come seven days apart, but the 32-year-old now has allowed only two runs in 11 2/3 innings to drop his ERA to 2.63. "Hellickson was...

The Orioles have a bonus pool of $13,821,300 with which to sign their picks in the first 10 rounds of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft in June. That according to figures published by Baseball America. The Orioles have the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second time in team history. They selected LSU right-hander Ben McDonald with the overall top pick in 1989. The slot amount available to sign the top pick is just over $8.4 million dollars. The Orioles may wind up signing that player for an...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde checked on Alex Cobb yesterday, received the information he wanted and proceeded with his pitching plans for the weekend and beyond. Cobb's back is fine. The spasms are gone. And he's coming off the injured list Friday to start against the Twins at Camden Yards. The rotation lines up as Cobb, Dan Straily and Dylan Bundy for the weekend series, followed by David Hess and Andrew Cashner for the first two games against the White Sox in...

With a late seven-run lead, Nationals manager Davey Martinez was certainly hoping that he wouldn't have to go to his closer to finish out the game. But when the bullpen unraveled yet again, he had no choice but to call on Sean Doolittle. The Nats were feeling good up 9-2 heading to the ninth, thanks to four homers, highlighted by a three-run shot from Matt Adams and two-run homers by Juan Soto and Kurt Suzuki. However, reliever Austen Williams was unable to record an out in the ninth, allowing...

Let's ignore, tough as it may be, the Nationals bullpen for just one night. Yes, this remains the biggest topic of discussion on a team that too often is seeing the good work of others overshadowed by ineffective work in the late innings by the majors' worst relief corps. Tonight's 9-6 victory over the Giants was that close only because of a near ninth-inning collapse, rescued only by Sean Doolittle's hurried appearance to record the final two outs with the tying run at the plate. But the...

Davey Martinez spent most of the evening sweating in the dugout, this despite the heavy coat he was wearing on a deceptively chilly mid-April evening on South Capitol Street. His Nationals had opened up an early lead on the Giants but couldn't add on, and so now the second-year manager had to figure out how he was going to get the requisite outs necessary from his beleaguered bullpen while protecting only a two-run lead. Then Matt Adams and Kurt Suzuki made life a whole lot easier on Martinez...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - If David Hess had any shot at getting deeper into his start tonight against the Rays, he needed to soften the contact against him. Think pillow instead of pillar. Everything that Hess threw was tattooed, with exit velocities in the first inning of 115.4, 102.3, 105.6 and 108.9 mph - the latter resulting in a three-run homer by the University of Maryland's Brandon Lowe on a ball that traveled 409 feet, according to Statcast. Hess allowed another run in the second and...

The Nationals produced a couple of loud at-bats versus Giants starter Jeff Samardzija in the first inning to break out to a big early advantage. Following an Adam Eaton walk, Juan Soto slammed a two-run shot to right field. It was the third homer of the season for Soto and came on a first pitch. One batter later, Howie Kendrick launched a no-doubter over the left field wall for his third homer of the season. The Nationals led the Giants 3-0 after one inning. In the second inning, Wilmer Difo...

Right-hander David Hess (1-2, 3.32 ERA) gets the start tonight as the Orioles play the second game of their three-game set at Tropicana Field. The Tampa Bay Rays won 4-2 last night to improve to 13-4, while the Orioles are now 7-11 on the year, 6-5 on the road and 2-3 on the current road trip. The Rays have the best record in the majors and their plus-40 run differential also tops all teams. Tampa Bay leads the American League East by 5 1/2 games. The total division lead in the sport's other...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A short bench for the Orioles has reached its tiniest stage with Chris Davis unable to play due a stomach virus. Manager Brandon Hyde needs length from his starters. He won't get it from his bench, which is down to infielder Hanser Alberto and backup catcher Pedro Severino. It's risky to use the second catcher, leaving Hyde with Alberto and fingers crossed. "Options are a little short," Hyde said. "It's part of it. This happens a lot throughout the year where things...