He was up at 5 a.m., dealing with movers set to transport his stuff from his Arlington apartment to his offseason home in Las Vegas. He was at Nationals Park several hours later, already in full uniform at 1 p.m. for a 4:05 p.m. game, prompting wisecracks from teammates. And once he took the field for the Nats' 2018 home finale, every move Bryce Harper made was greeted with an ovation, usually a sustained one. They cheered Harper when he received his Nationals Player of the Year Award. They...

After getting blown out 19-3 earlier today, the Orioles play at Boston again tonight. It will conclude this three-game series, a day-night doubleheader and the Orioles road schedule for 2018. The Red Sox had nine doubles by nine different players and five homers from four players in winning the opener, scoring five runs in the first, three in the fourth, two each in the fifth and sixth, three runs in the seventh and four in the last of the eighth. Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D....

BOSTON - Today's 16-run defeat in Game 1 of a doubleheader is the largest for the Orioles since their 30-3 loss to the Rangers back in 2007. Also the first game of a doubleheader. Also hard to digest. Manager Buck Showalter never wants to use a position player to pitch, but he's done it twice this summer, with Danny Valencia and Jace Peterson. Peterson is the ninth player in Orioles history to do it, and he almost tossed a scoreless eighth after getting Ian Kinsler to ground back to the mound...

BOSTON - Adam Jones is the designated hitter for Game 2 of today's doubleheader, and Chris Davis stays on the bench against left-hander Chris Sale. Steve Wilkerson stays at second base and Jonathan Villar stays at shortstop. John Andreoli will patrol right field. Jimmy Yacabonis is starting for the Orioles. For the Orioles Cedric Mullins CF Jonathan Villar SS Trey Mancini 1B Adam Jones DH Renato Núñez 3B Joey Rickard LF John Andreoli RF Steve Wilkerson 2B Caleb Joseph C Jimmy Yacabonis...

Bryce Harper is the center of attention today at Nationals Park, but Kyle McGowin is trying to get everyone to notice him as well. The rookie right-hander, making his first career start, has retired the first nine Marlins batters he has faced, four via strikeout to introduce himself to a crowd that has gathered on a warm Wednesday afternoon for what could be Harper's final home game in a Nats uniform. Given the starting assignment in place of Tanner Roark, who remains at home in Atlanta with...

BOSTON - The opener of today's doubleheader became an elimination game for the Orioles. Candidates to start the nightcap were narrowed like a two-lane road winding through a construction zone. Ryan Meisinger faced only six batters in his first major league start, retiring one, and the wheels were in motion. Donnie Hart came in and let three inherited runners score. John Means entered in the third for his major league debut and Cody Carroll replaced him in the sixth and surrendered three home...

For his team's final home game of the season, and then final road series of the season, Davey Martinez doesn't envision doing anything in a different manner than he's done it all year long. In other words, the games themselves will take precedence over individual moments the rookie manager might otherwise try to create for his most popular players. Bryce Harper is, of course, in the lineup batting third and playing right field. And though this could be his final game at Nationals Park as a...

And so we have arrived at the final home game of the 2018 season. Which, of course, also means it could be the final home game of Bryce Harper's Nationals career. This isn't the manner anyone expected or wanted it to happen, on a late Wednesday afternoon against the Marlins, with nothing at stake and rain in the forecast. But this is the reality of the situation. We don't know for sure what today has in store, but there will be opportunities for fans to salute Harper, beginning at roughly...

BOSTON - Orioles manager Buck Showalter knows who's supposed to start Game 2 of today's doubleheader. However, he won't reveal the name until he's certain that the pitcher won't be needed out of the bullpen for the opener. Ryan Meisinger gets his first major league start in Game 1. "He was going to pitch anyway," Showalter said. "They're all probably going to pitch today, so what order ... There's a lot of other things that I'm not going to talk about and the reflection it might have...

The Nationals announced their minor league awards today. Infielder Carter Kieboom was named the Nats organization's 2018 Minor League Player of the Year. Left-handed pitcher Ben Braymer and right-handed pitcher Wil Crowe are the 2018 co-Minor League Pitchers of the Year. Infielder Jake Noll is the winner of the sixth-annual Bob Boone Award. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The Nationals said these players will be honored in a...