The Orioles begin their three-game series in Cleveland tonight with Craig Gentry replacing Adam Jones on the 25-man roster while the latter goes on the bereavement list. Gentry is out of minor league options, however, which brings uncertainty to the length of his stay. Jones will miss the entire series because he's required to be gone for a minimum of three days. He'll rejoin the club in Toronto. Paternity leave enables a player to return in fewer than three days. I'm not clear on why Major...

Manager: Don Mattingly (3rd season) Record: 48-75 Last 10 games: 2-8 Who to watch: C J.T. Realmuto (.293), 2B Starlin Castro (.281), RF Brian Anderson (54 RBIs), SS Miguel Rojas (9 HR, 44 RBIs), RHP Drew Steckenrider (1 save) Season series vs. Nationals: 3-8 Pitching probables: Aug. 17: RHP Dan Straily (4-5) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (15-5), 7:05 p.m., MASN2Aug. 18: LHP Wei-Yin Chen (4-9) vs. LHP Tommy Milone (1-1), 7:05 p.m., MASN2Aug. 19: LHP Pablo López (2-3) vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez (7-9), 1:35...

ST. LOUIS - It may come too late to have much impact on their fortunes this season, but Joe Ross is on track to return from Tommy John surgery and pitch for the Nationals in September. Ross, who had elbow ligament replacement surgery on July 19, 2017, made a rehab start for Single-A Potomac this afternoon, throwing 63 pitches of scoreless ball over 3 2/3 innings. "He threw well," manager Davey Martinez said. "They said he had good action on his fastball, which is good, cause that's who he...

The Orioles will do a little more tweaking with their 25-man roster before Friday night's series opener in Cleveland. They need another reliever after optioning Evan Phillips following Wednesday night's 16-5 loss to the Mets. There isn't an obvious choice, especially with left-hander Donnie Hart ineligible after the Orioles optioned him on Saturday. He'd have to replace an injured player to return in fewer than 10 days. Also, the bullpen already is carrying three left-handers - Tanner...

ST. LOUIS - Jeremy Hellickson may not be able to make his next scheduled start for the Nationals, but Stephen Strasburg appears on track to return himself and perhaps mitigate the loss of Hellickson to a wrist injury suffered during Wednesday's loss. Hellickson, who hurt himself bracing for impact after he jumped over the Cardinals' Harrison Bader sliding across the plate on a wild pitch, had his right wrist wrapped in a protective sleeve today. He didn't attempt to play catch, as pitchers...

ST. LOUIS - There may be no bigger house of horrors for the Nationals than Busch Stadium. Either version of the ballpark. Did you know that in the 14 seasons since this franchise arrived in D.C., it owns an 11-31 record on the road against the Cardinals? That's 11 wins in 14 seasons. That's really not good. And three of those wins came during a stunning sweep in May 2016. Given that backdrop, it's perhaps not all that surprising that the Nationals tonight are trying to avoid a four-game...

Manager: Terry Francona (6th season) Record: 69-51 Last 10 games: 8-2 Who to watch: 3B José Ramírez (36 HR, 89 RBIs, 27 SB), SS Francisco Lindor (29 HR, 75 RBIs, 19 SB), LF Michael Brantley (29 2B), 1B Yonder Alonso (20 HR, 70 RBIs), RHP Mike Clevinger (3.38 ERA), RHP Cody Allen (23 saves) Season series vs. Orioles: 3-1 Pitching probables: Aug. 17: RHP David Hess (2-6) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (14-6), 7:10 p.m., MASNAug. 18: RHP Alex Cobb (3-15) vs. RHP Adam Plutko (4-2), 4:05 p.m.,...

ST. LOUIS - At 10:03 p.m. CDT Sunday, as Ryan Madson prepared to deliver his 2-2 pitch to David Bote at Wrigley Field, the Nationals were one strike away from moving to within 4 1/2 games of first place in the National League East. By 10:21 p.m. CDT Wednesday, as Trea Turner's fly ball to center field at Busch Stadium settled into Harrison Bader's glove, the Nationals were nine games back in the division. Yes, in the span of 72 hours, 18 minutes, this team lost 4 1/2 games in the standings....

In a year in which a few Orioles pitchers have excelled on the farm there are more than a few contenders for the Jim Palmer award, which goes to the minor league Pitcher of the Year in the O's system. Just to name several in no particular order, there are Keegan Akin, DL Hall, Michael Baumann, Brenan Hanifee, Cameron Bishop, John Means and even the defending winner from 2017, Alex Wells, who pitched in the All-Star Futures Game. Those pitchers have been solid. But 22-year-old lefty Zac...

A few random questions and thoughts as the Orioles enjoy another off-day before beginning a three-game series in Cleveland: * Is Joey Rickard's stock on the rise? He's making it hard for the Orioles to put him back on the Triple-A shuttle, collecting six hits in 20 at-bats this month - he was robbed of a hit to end last night's game - with a double, triple and home run. Rickard closed out July with six hits in 16 at-bats, including three doubles and a home run, and also had eight RBIs. The...