CHICAGO - "Welcome to Chicago," said a local reporter to Orioles shortstop Manny Machado this afternoon. As Machado walked outside the clubhouse and into a hallway, he saw a group of more than 20 reporters waiting for him. It was time for another round of questions about rumors and where he might play next year - or even later this year. He faced just a few reporters when the Orioles were in Anaheim. He faced a few dozen today. Machado was asked how he handles the rumors that he could be...

Davey Martinez wanted to give a heads-up to Juan Soto about his plans for tonight's game, so the first-year manager texted the 19-year-old slugger this morning and told him he would be in the Nationals' lineup for the first time, starting in left field and batting sixth against the Padres. A few hours later, when Martinez arrived in the clubhouse at Nationals Park, Soto immediately greeted him with a smile. "He was the first guy I saw when I came in," Martinez said. "He shook my hand, gave...

Chris Davis has returned to the Orioles lineup tonight against White Sox left-hander Héctor Santiago. He's batting seventh. Danny Valencia is batting fifth, followed by designated hitter Mark Trumbo. Andrew Cashner is 0-2 with a 4.61 ERA and 2.049 WHIP in four career games (two starts) against the White Sox. He's allowed seven earned runs (eight total) and 18 hits in 13 2/3 innings, with 10 walks and eight strikeouts. Tonight marks Cashner's first career start at Guaranteed Rate Field...

The Washington Nationals selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Tim Collins from Triple-A Syracuse and transferred infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick to the 60-day disabled list. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Collins, 28, joins the Nationals after appearing in 17 games with Triple-A Syracuse where he recorded 10.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (20 SO/17.1 IP) and held opposing batters to a .190 batting average (11-for-58)....

CHICAGO - The Orioles begin a four-game series tonight at Gauranteed Rate Field versus the Chicago White Sox. The O's went 1-3 in Boston, the first stop on a three-city, 11-game road trip. It rained steadily earlier this afternoon in Chicago, but there was almost no rain as game time approaches and they should get the game in with an on-time start. The Orioles lost 5-0 on Sunday at Boston when they got 13 hits but no runs, setting a club record for most hits without scoring in a nine-inning...

The Nationals said Juan Soto would play. And play he will. The 19-year-old slugging sensation is making his first MLB start this evening, batting sixth and playing left field even against Padres left-hander Robbie Erlin. Davey Martinez held the kid out of Sunday's lineup against another lefty, Alex Wood, but the book on Soto is that he can handle left-handed pitching, so he's about to get his first taste of it tonight. Soto slots into a Nationals lineup ravaged by injuries, batting behind...

The newest National, Juan Soto, got a nice ovation Sunday when he came to bat in the eighth inning as the youngest player currently in the major leagues at 19. He struck out in his debut, but with the Nationals lineup currently decimated by injuries, there will be plenty of opportunities for Soto to make an impact at the big league level after playing just 39 games in the minor leagues this season and 122 overall. Soto joins dozens of players who broke into the majors as teenagers, including...

Injuries continue to pile up for the Nationals. Big ones like outfielders Rafael Bautista (knee) and Howie Kendrick (Achilles) out for the year. Small ones (hopefully) like Ryan Madson's chest strain. Injuries that seemingly looked like they wouldn't take as long to recover from as they have, like Brian Goodwin's wrist, have lingered into a second month without any big improvements. Starting second baseman Daniel Murphy has not recovered fully from microfracture surgery on his knee and has...

The long-running baseball standard of seeing starting pitchers go deep into games is falling by the wayside. This is not news, as it's been happening for years. Starting pitchers are throwing fewer innings. It used to be that starters would pitch complete games regularly. In fact, the last three full seasons have seen the lowest number of complete games in major league history. There were 104 thrown in 2015, 83 in 2016 and just 59 times did a pitcher go the distance last season. Long gone are...

The Orioles can't be accused of becoming monotonous. Not when they managed to find a unique way to lose yesterday while closing out the Boston portion of their three-city road trip. It wasn't a wasted quality start or the typical offense malaise where baserunners are scarce and the opposing pitcher settles into cruise control. It wasn't a late defensive miscue, whether a botched grounder or popup, or the failure to turn a double play. It wasn't a close call going against them, where...