PHILADELPHIA - Right-hander Stephen Strasburg, making his 200th major league start, labored early on against the Phillies in the series opener. But on this hot and humid night, the temperature at 90 degrees at first pitch, Strasburg seemed to gain strength as the night wore on, and his team responded in the Nationals' 5-3 victory at Citizens Bank Park. The best example of Strasburg's resiliency came in the fifth, when he faced the top of the Phillies order for the third time - Roman Quinn,...

The Orioles will announce their minor league award winners next month, and the top pitcher, while expected to be Double-A Bowie left-hander Keegan Akin based on his run toward the Eastern League's "Triple Crown," won't be an easy choice. That's tremendously good news for an organization that absolutely must develop its own pitching, especially through the rebuilding process. Stock the rotation with homegrown arms or stockpile them in order to consummate trades, as so many contenders are...

The Orioles have optioned reliever Cody Carroll to Triple-A Norfolk and announced that left-hander Josh Rogers, as reported earlier today, will make his major league debut by starting Tuesday night against the Blue Jays. Rogers arrived in Baltimore tonight and will be the first left-hander to start for the club this season. The roster moves are a swap of players obtained from the Yankees for closer Zach Britton. Carroll has allowed seven runs and eight hits with nine walks and six strikeouts in...

In might be a little early to be calling him a stopper, but in a rematch with the Toronto Blue Jays tonight, right-hander David Hess handled them again and in the process the Orioles ended an eight-game losing streak. Hess had a co-star tonight as Trey Mancini produced a five-RBI night with a three-run homer and two-run double. It matches his career high of June 7, 2017 versus Pittsburgh. Hess threw six scoreless in his latest strong outing as the Orioles blanked Toronto 7-0 in the series...

One way for the Orioles to learn more about David Hess tonight was to observe whether the Blue Jays figured out the rookie starter. Hess was facing the Jays for the third time this season, but in back-to-back outings following last week's series at Rogers Centre. Can't sneak up on a team under these circumstances. Familiarity didn't breed a beating for Hess, who tossed six scoreless innings and watched Trey Mancini drive in five runs in the Orioles' 7-0 win over the Blue Jays before an...

The last time right-hander David Hess (2-8, 5.50 ERA) took the mound he pitched well in a loss at Toronto's Rogers Centre. That was on Wednesday afternoon. Now, five days later, Hess goes back to the mound and the Blue Jays are once again the opponent. In that game last week, Hess went a career-high seven innings and threw a career-high seven strikeouts. He gave up just three hits and one run, and left trailing 1-0 in a game the Orioles would lose 6-0. Hess had a four-start stretch in June...

PHILADELPHIA - Manager Davey Martinez said No. 5 starter Jeremy Hellickson is steadily working back from the right wrist sprain that landed him on the disabled list Aug. 16. But he noticed one important segment of pitches Hellickson throws that are not yet pain-free. So that will be the biggest hurdle to get over next in his recovery. "Yeah, he's been throwing. He's been throwing quite a bit," Martinez said. "He's coming along and he feels a lot better every day. He's still a little...

The Orioles were able to get Cedric Mullins back into their lineup tonight for the series opener against the Blue Jays. However, manager Buck Showalter can't be certain that Mullins' hip flexor won't become an issue again. Roll out the rookie and keep a close eye on him. There's only the assumption right now that Mullins is healthy again. "You're familiarizing yourself with players," Showalter said. "Brian (Ebel) and him were out there running and hitting and moving around. We think,...

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals have reinstated right-hander Ryan Madson and placed right-hander Kelvin Herrera back on the 10-day disabled list with a Lisfranc torn ligament in his left foot. Normal recovery time for a Lisfranc torn ligament is six to eight weeks, and that is just in the walking boot. Manager Davey Martinez believes the injury is season-ending. "Yeah, I would assume so," Martinez said. "Like I said, he did tear a ligament in his foot. We have no timetable. Unfortunately, he's...

As the Orioles continue to look at a series of younger pitchers in their remodeled bullpen, right-hander Ryan Meisinger returned to the team Aug. 17 for his second stint this year in the majors. An 11th-round pick out of Radford University in Virginia in 2015, Meisinger was with the Orioles from June 29 to July 10. He allowed two runs and four hits over six innings. The 24-year-old Meisinger first made it to Double-A Bowie in 2017. This year he's played at three levels, starting with Bowie...