PHILADELPHIA - Appointment baseball tonight as a pair of Cy Young candidates go head-to-head for the second time in five days: It's Max Scherzer vs. Aaron Nola Part II. The pair has combined for 31 wins this season. Scherzer is six strikeouts shy of reaching the 250-strikeout plateau for the fifth straight season. Scherzer is currently tied with Ferguson Jenkins and Pedro Martinez with four straight seasons of 250 strikeouts. Randy Johnson owns the major league record with six straight seasons...

The Orioles announced two more international signings today following yesterday's trade of bonus slots to the Phillies. They're working both sides of the international street. The club has agreed to terms with Dominican infielder Moises Ramirez, 16, and right-hander Carlos del Rosario, 19, to bring the number of their confirmed signings to three players. "Today's signings are part of a coordinated plan for the Orioles to reestablish the club in the international recruiting arena,"...

PHILADELPHIA - Tonight the Nationals go for their second consecutive series win over the Phillies in a rematch of last week's Max Scherzer vs. Aaron Nola heavyweight bout. In that one, Nola was just a little bit better in a 2-0 win, going eight innings and allowing only five hits. The Nats managed three doubles in the game, but were unable to score a run. "He's really good," Nats manager Davey Martinez said. "We hit some balls pretty good against him. He throws a lot of strikes, so we just...

If the Toronto Blue Jays were going to break through last night versus Orioles right-hander David Hess, the middle innings provided them with plenty of chances. A leadoff double in the fourth. Runners on first and second with one out in the fifth. Runners on the corners with two outs in the sixth. I guess we could say Hess bent but didn't break. Toronto went scoreless in six innings against him last night and the Blue Jays went 0-for-6 against him with runners in scoring in those middle...

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...