The Cardinals grabbed the lead quickly with three runs in the first inning against the Nationals starter Tanner Roark. Following singles by Matt Carpenter and José Martínez, former Nats slugger Matt Adams hit a three-run homer, his 19th of the season. In the second, the Cardinals padded their lead. Carpenter connected on an RBI double and Martínez added a run-scoring single. The Cardinals' top three hitters in the lineup have five hits and all five RBIs to begin the game. The Nats got...

SEATTLE - Cedric Mullins is leading off tonight as the Orioles close out their series against the Mariners. Trey Mancini is at first base again while Chris Davis serves as the designated hitter. Tim Beckham is the starting shortstop. Joey Rickard gets the start in left field and Caleb Joseph is catching. Andrew Cashner faced the Mariners on June 25 and allowed three runs and four hits in six innings in a 5-3 loss. He's 2-4 with a 4.09 ERA and 1.382 WHIP in 10 career games against them. Denard...

That the question was asked at all is evidence of the disappointment that has been the Nationals' 2018 season. But given the events of the last five months, not to mention the organization's history of changing managers, Mike Rizzo couldn't have been surprised today when he was asked during a wide-ranging scrum on the field at Nationals Park whether Davey Martinez will return in 2019. Rizzo's reply: "I haven't considered any other scenario." Skeptics will immediately dig up Rizzo's...

Nationals manager Davey Martinez had another promising update on the progress of closer Sean Doolittle's possible return. Doolittle conducted another simulated game prior to the club's matchup with the Cardinals at Nationals Park tonight. Doolittle has missed 52 games with a toe injury, which works out to 37.4 percent of this season's games. "Good. He felt a lot better today than he did the previous game and we'll see how he feels tomorrow and hopefully ... It's his call," Martinez said....

The Orioles beat the Mariners 5-3 last night to record their first win in five games on this road trip. They also ended an eight-game road losing streak. The Orioles (41-98) scored five runs with 15 hits last night after batting just .205 as a team and scoring eight runs in the first four games of the road trip. Trey Mancini had three hits Tuesday night and he's batting .301/.328/.530 since the All-Star break. That was his ninth game with three or more hits on the season, and 19th of his...

Manager: Joe Maddon (4th season) Record: 82-57 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: 2B Javier Báez (.297 with 30 HR, 100 RBIs), 1B Anthony Rizzo (24 HR, 90 RBIs), 3B Kris Bryant (.277, 11 HR), LF Kyle Schwarber (24 HR, 57 RBIs), LHP Jon Lester (15-5, 3.53 ERA), LHP Cole Hamels (4-0, 1.00), RHP Pedro Strop (11 saves, 2.45 ERA) Season series vs. Nationals: 2-1 Pitching probables: Sept. 6: RHP Kyle Hendricks (11-10) vs. RHP Stephen Strasburg (7-7), 7:05 p.m., MASN Sept. 7: LHP Jon Lester (15-5) vs....

Can the Nationals play well enough tonight to take a three-game series from the Cardinals? Can Tanner Roark continue his second-half surge? Can the lineup continue to produce, right down to the bottom of the ninth? Shoot, can they simply play a nine-inning game in fewer than 3 1/2 hours? We'll find all of that out when the Nats wrap up their series with St. Louis with Roark on the mound. The right-hander took a bit of a step back in his last start, allowing three homers to the Brewers. But...

SEATTLE - The Orioles have released outfielder Craig Gentry after designating him for assignment over the weekend. Gentry becomes a free agent and can sign with any team. The Orioles couldn't find a trade partner and removed him from the active roster while recalling outfielder Joey Rickard from Triple-A Norfolk. Infielder Steve Wilkerson has been recalled from Norfolk after coming off the seven-day minor league disabled list and will join the Orioles in St. Petersburg, Fla., for their weekend...

In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) moving their national headquarters to Baltimore, the Orioles will host National Federation of the Blind Night at Oriole Park on Tuesday, September 18, when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:05 p.m. ET. During the game, Orioles players and coaches will wear specially-designed jerseys with Braille lettering of both "Orioles" and player last names, becoming the first team in American professional sports...

Last season, there was little to no doubt who was going to earn both the Orioles' minor league Pitcher of the Year (Alex Wells) and Player of the Year (Austin Hays) awards. This year, the races are much tighter, and despite many people giving left-hander Keegan Akin the award, I am here to tell you not to do that just yet. First, let me state that I am in no way saying that Akin isn't deserving of the Jim Palmer Award. Akin had a phenomenal season where he went 14-7 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.25 WHIP...