In a season like the 2018 Nationals have been having, it's important to focus on individual accomplishments. Not a lot of the guys have been necessarily bad, per se, and many of them are actually having fantastic seasons. Nothing is clicking all on the same cylinders at the same time. While their record isn't what you want it to be, a number of guys can be proud of how their seasons turned out individually, and some of these players reside in the bullpen. A lot of people can get up in arms...

PHILADELPHIA - Through a set of circumstances none of them would ever want to endure again, the Nationals found themselves taking the field in the ninth inning tonight having not lost a baseball game since Thursday. Their winning streak was only three games, but add three postponements to the mix and you've got a team that hadn't known what a loss felt like in a while. Down three runs and having shown few signs of life at the plate since the early innings, there was reason to believe the Nats...

DJ Stewart sat next to Cedric Mullins in the Orioles' clubhouse yesterday, two guys who have to keep reminding their critics how it's unwise to judge a book by its cover. Or a player by his measurements. They're on opposite ends of the size spectrum, with Mullins listed at 5 foot 8 and 175 pounds - some gamblers might take the under on his height - and Stewart built like a fullback at a listed 6 feet and 230 pounds. As the media peeled away from Stewart's locker yesterday, shortly after the...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter noticed tonight how Alex Cobb was checking a finger on his right hand with two outs in the top of the second inning and knew instantly that pitching plans would have to be adjusted. That what appeared to be the makings of another solid start for Cobb would deteriorate into a bullpen game. Cobb had to be replaced in the third inning because the blister on his middle finger broke open again, and the Athletics scored three runs off Mike Wright Jr. and held on for a...

This being the 2018 Orioles, right-hander Alex Cobb retired the Oakland A's through two innings tonight and looked good doing so. And then he retired from this game. Presumably once again dealing with a blister on his right middle finger, Cobb pitched out of a two-out jam in the first and retired Oakland 1-2-3 on just nine pitches in the second. But Mike Wright Jr. took to the mound to start the third. Oakland scored three runs off him and beat the Orioles 3-2 at Camden Yards in the opener of...

PHILADELPHIA - Juan Soto keeps climbing up the Major League Baseball teenage ladder. Soto launched a two-run homer off Jake Arrieta in the top of the fourth tonight, his 17th home run of the season, which leaves him in some exclusive company. The Nationals rookie outfielder, who won't turn 20 until October 25, is now fourth all-time in major league homers by a teenager, having passed Ken Griffey Jr. tonight. The only players ahead of him: Tony Conigliaro (24 in 1964), teammate Bryce Harper (22...

Alex Cobb lasted only two innings tonight, his shortest start with the Orioles, and it wasn't due to ineffectiveness or a soaring pitch count. Cobb has been receiving treatment for a blister on his right middle finger and the cut must have opened up again. Mike Wright Jr. began to warm in the Orioles bullpen after Cobb retired the side in order in the second inning on only nine pitches. Wright started the third inning and fell into immediate trouble, surrendering the game's first three...

PHILADELPHIA - We're back for the nightcap of today's doubleheader. The field has held up, and most importantly the rain has held off all day. Now the Nationals look to sweep their second doubleheader in four days and move to within 1 1/2 games of the second-place Phillies, who are in serious trouble right now. The challenge for the Nats will be tougher tonight, with Jake Arrieta getting the start. Davey Martinez is using the same top five guys in his lineup, with changes only to the bottom...

The Orioles begin a three-game series with Oakland tonight at Camden Yards. It is the start of a nine-game homestand that will see the Orioles play host to the Athletics, White Sox and Blue Jays. The Orioles (41-102) have 19 games remaining - 13 at home and six on the road. They have been better at home, going 24-44 (.353), than on the road, going 17-58 (.227) and losing 12 of the last 13. Oakland (87-57) is playing outstanding baseball and is the leader for the second American League wild card...

PHILADELPHIA - The infield was playable. The rain held off. Gabe Kapler used 23 of his 39 available players. Erick Fedde put forth the best start of his young career. Spencer Kieboom lost a tooth and then hit his first career home run. And there's still another game to be played tonight at Citizens Bank Park. Who knows what the nightcap of this doubleheader has in store, but the Nationals certainly can't complain about what took place during their 3-1 victory over the Phillies in the...