Right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis has been scratched from tonight's start at Triple-A Norfolk and replaced by reliever Joely Rodriguez. Yacabonis is in play to start Thursday for the Orioles. It would be his first rotation assignment in the majors after 16 relief appearances. The Orioles are converting Yacabonis to a starter this year, and he's gone 3-2 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 13 games with the Tides. Opponents are batting .205 against him. Yacabonis had a stretch of six starts when he...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Nationals scoreless streak reached 18 innings after 11-0 and 1-0 shutouts against the Rays at Tropicana Field. The offense has struggled in June, having been shut out seven times in 22 games. It was the second time this month the Nats had been whitewashed in back-to-back games. It happened on June 10 against the Giants (2-0) and June 12 against the Yankees (3-0). The Nats found themselves in a similar rut earlier in the season, and now must find a way to get out of it...

The Orioles are placing starter Dylan Bundy on the 10-day disabled list with a left ankle injury and recalling left-hander Donnie Hart from Triple-A Norfolk. The move will be announced later today. Bundy rolled the ankle Saturday afternoon while rounding third base at SunTrust Park. He tried to throw off flat ground this afternoon and was limping. Manager Buck Showalter is hoping that Bundy returns on July 6 in Minnesota. He doesn't want Bundy pitching on July 4 in Philadelphia with no...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Even facing two pitchers that were on target, it would be hard to ignore the Nationals struggles on offense against the Rays. The Nats fell 1-0 Tuesday afternoon, just 17 hours after an 11-0 shutout. The offense mustered five hits in the two-game series. Sure Blake Snell was good, and so was Nathan Eovaldi, but the Nats went just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and struck out a whopping 23 times in the series. They went three-up and three-down 11 times in 18...

Danny Valencia is starting in right field tonight to give the Orioles an extra right-handed bat against Mariners left-hander James Paxton. This is Valencia's 43rd career start in right. Trey Mancini is leading off and playing left field. Chris Davis moves down to seventh as the only left-handed hitter in the lineup. Tim Beckham is batting eighth and Caleb Joseph continues to catch. Manny Machado has hit safely in 28 of 34 home games this season, batting .360 (45-for-125). He's a career .317...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Surprisingly, the Rays connected with base hits in their first two at-bats against the Nationals ace right-hander Max Scherzer. Kevin Keiermaier, who already has a grand slam in the series, went after Scherzer's first pitch and singled over Wilmer Difo's head into right field. Matt Duffy put together a 10-pitch at-bat and singled to put runners on the corners. Jake Bauers grounded out to second base, but his fielder's choice scored Keiermaier. Right-hander Nathan...

Manny Machado remains the only Orioles player to appear in the latest update in All-Star Game balloting in the American League. Machado ranks first among shortstops with 960,628 votes, putting him ahead of the Astros' Carlos Correa (793,087). The Yankees' Didi Gregorius is third with 639,630. Eight different teams are represented among the nine leaders. The group includes two players from the Red Sox and one each from the Orioles, White Sox, Indians, Astros, Angels, Yankees and Rays. This...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is not on this trip but he is closer to a return from his right oblique strain that has kept him sidelined since May 10. He has now missed 39 games. Manager Davey Martinez said he will speak to Zimmerman about rehab games possibly for next week, even though the veteran may not be too excited about warming up in the minor leagues. "As soon as he's ready to play, I'll have to sit down and talk to him," Martinez said. "I'd like...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Nationals look to rebound after a very difficult 11-0 loss to open their series against the Rays. The game was dominated by Tampa Bay. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez struggled in facing only 11 batters, allowing six runs. The offense did not fare any better against left-hander Blake Snell, getting only one hit in the seventh inning. So, the club turns to their ace again, right-hander Max Scherzer (10-3, 2.09 ERA), who is seeking his 11th win of the season. His last victory...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Nationals' youngest player, Juan Soto, has demonstrated in his first couple of months in the big leagues that he has a knowledge and maturity for hitting that is certainly beyond his years. At 19 years of age, Soto has hit the ball to the opposite field for power, and has the awareness to take a walk in high leverage situations when a pitcher is struggling to throw strikes. Instead of just swinging away, like most young players might do, Soto has the presence of mind...