The Orioles today announced the first-ever OriolesREACH Week, a week-long club program dedicated to giving back to the Baltimore community beginning August 20. Throughout the week, volunteers from the Orioles On Deck Employee Volunteer Program presented by Bank of America will assist a different locally-based nonprofit organization each day leading up to the 32nd annual OriolesREACH Food & Funds Drive, which begins Friday, August 24, at Oriole Park. On Monday, August 20, the campaign will...

Somewhat lost amid this difficult road trip for the Nationals, the team announced via press release Thursday that they will debut the WGL Energy bullpen cart during Friday's game against Miami. This bullpen cart will be at all remaining 2018 home games, with both home and visiting pitchers able to use the cart to drive them from the bullpen to their dugout. Originally introduced in 1950 by the Indians, bullpen carts were popular attractions at baseball games throughout the 1960s and 1970s....

ST. LOUIS - OK, so it's not quite the addition to the Nationals bullpen everyone is looking for at this perilous moment in a season on the brink. But if the club's new bullpen cart can bring some smiles to people's faces and maybe even help relievers save some energy before they enter to pitch, this could prove to be an important late-summer acquisition after all. The Nats are set to unveil the "WGL Energy Bullpen Cart" later today and make it available for use by relievers from both teams...

If the Nationals are serious about getting back in the National League East race, and building some momentum from last night's victory in St. Louis, they need to start beating beatable teams, beginning with the three-game series against the Marlins that begins tonight on South Capitol Street. Miami has dropped five straight and eight of nine games overall, and is 3-8 against the Nats this season. There's no better person to have on the mound than right-hander Max Scherzer, who will try to add...

Throughout winter, I was hoping that the Orioles would be the winners of the Alex Cobb sweepstakes. It's no secret that the Birds needed to improve upon their starting rotation. Orioles starters had the highest ERA in 2017 (5.70), pitched the fewest innings of any American League team (846.0) and had the AL's second-highest walks per nine (3.74). I felt that adding Cobb, a proven starter who had faced the challenges of the AL East and was able to have a 3.50 ERA over six seasons with the...

ABERDEEN, Md. - He has pitched in big-time Southeastern Conference college games on Friday nights for two years. Those are high-intensity, high-pressure games in the top college league in the country. A lot is riding on every pitch. In the college game, Friday night starters are the aces for each club, and their rabid fans expect them to win. University of Arkansas right-hander Blaine Knight seemed to thrive in that pressure cooker. He pitched well enough this year to lead Arkansas to the...

ST. LOUIS - It wasn't all that long ago that Davey Martinez had no shortage of established late-inning relievers at his disposal when he needed to try to close out a game. There was Sean Doolittle. There was Kelvin Herrera. There was Ryan Madson. There was Brandon Kintzler. When Martinez looked down to that bullpen this evening at Busch Stadium, though, none of those established guys were there. Or, at least not on the active roster. No, when he needed someone to protect a one-run lead against...

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...