NEW YORK - Davey Martinez was thinking about sitting one of his left-handed-hitting star outfielders for today's series finale at Citi Field. But not necessarily the one who actually is on the bench this afternoon against the Mets. Despite consideration to giving Juan Soto his first day off since July 4, Martinez instead sat Bryce Harper, who has been dealing with an illness over the weekend. Harper also is 0 for his last 11 at the plate, putting at least a temporary halt to his second-half...

NEW YORK - Will the Nationals score a run today? That it has come to this is quite a statement on where things currently stand for this ballclub. Since Ryan Zimmerman's dramatic, walk-off homer Wednesday night against the Phillies, the Nats have come up to bat 27 times. And 27 times they have failed to score a run. As you know, this is the first time in club history they've been shut out three straight games. So that's the task facing today's lineup, which doesn't include Bryce Harper (not...

Maybe the New York Yankees just got tired of hearing about the Orioles beating them six out of 12 times when this series began. They stormed back to beat the Orioles in 10 innings Friday night and then bashed five homers in two wins on Saturday. The Yankees have won the first three in this series by 7-5 (10), 10-3 and 5-1 scores. Before we lament the fact that New York has scored 22 runs and bashed eight homers in this series, the Orioles scored just four runs in two games yesterday. Their...

NEW YORK - Adam Eaton had not been in the Nationals' starting lineup against the Mets since Aug. 1, the day he slid hard into second base and wound up injuring Phillip Evans. (Evans suffered a non-displaced plateau fracture of the left tibia and remains on the disabled list 3 1/2 weeks later.) And given Mets manager Mickey Callaway's reaction to the play a day later - "I think the guy slid in late, and I think his hand actually came off the bag," Callaway said, adding: "We have an injured...

The curious case of Dylan Bundy gets reexamined today as he readies for his latest start to close out the four-game series against the Yankees at Camden Yards. Bundy went 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 0.988 WHIP in four June starts. Opponents batted .186/.255/.289. He surrendered only two home runs compared to 13 in his six May outings. Bundy found his stride and built his case for being the staff ace. And then July and August happened. Bundy has lost five of six decisions and allowed 40 earned runs...

It was a night where Orioles right-hander Andrew Cashner was getting in a lot of trouble, but he was minimizing the damage. But against struggling right-hander Sonny Gray, the Orioles didn't do any damage. The Orioles were nearly shut out for the 13th time as they lost 5-1 to New York, which sweeps the day-night doubleheader. The Yankees can sweep a four-game series here on Sunday night. The Yankees scored in the first inning in both games today. Tonight, Brett Gardner smoked the first pitch...

The Orioles are prepared to activate right-hander Jhan Mariñez from the disabled list Sunday as a fresh bullpen arm for their series finale against the Yankees at Camden Yards. Mariñez was on the DL retroactive to Aug. 3 with a strained right hamstring. He's been pitching at Triple-A Norfolk, working a scoreless inning Friday night against Durham. Mariñez has registered a 2.72 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 39 games with the Tides. However, he's allowed five earned runs (six total) and nine...

NEW YORK - The Nationals have played 2,234 games in nearly 14 seasons since arriving in the District. And most of the first 1,000 or so of those games were played by losing teams, many of them with lineups severely lacking in talent. Never before, however, had this team failed to score a run in three consecutive games. Not during the Lastings Milledge Era. Not during the days of Cleanup Hitter Austin Kearns. Not during meaningless late-September days when Jeff Kobernus led off, Scott Hairston...

The Orioles lineup for Game 2 of today's doubleheader doesn't include Adam Jones and Tim Beckham. Craig Gentry is in right field and Jonathan Villar moves over to shortstop. Jace Peterson gets the start at second base. Trey Mancini is playing first base while Chris Davis serves as the designated hitter and bats cleanup. John Andreoli remains in left field and Renato Núñez stays at third base. Andrew Cashner has made three starts against the Yankees this season and allowed nine runs and...

Orioles pitchers have allowed 17 runs and 21 hits, including seven homers, in the first two games of this series against the New York Yankees, losing 7-5 in 10 innings and 10-3. Tonight, the Orioles host New York in the third game of a four-game series. The Yankees hit four homers off four different pitchers to win the day portion of this day-night doubleheader, 10-3, in front of 32,445 at Camden Yards. The Orioles (37-92) have lost six in a row and fall to 6-8 against New York and to 21-42 at...