There are unlikely stories, and "Color Blind" by Tom Dunkel is one of them. During the Great Depression, in of all places, Bismarck, N.D., a car dealership owner named Neil Churchill decided to put together the best baseball team he could with players from everywhere and nowhere. This was an age of town teams and Sunday doubleheaders that were taken very seriously. Churchill wanted to expand this concept to the nth degree by making his town team a nationally recognized outfit. This was...

MIAMI - The last time the Nationals won three in a row, the opponent was the Marlins. This was three weeks ago in D.C., a streak that began with a record-breaking comeback from nine runs down. Miami's starting pitcher that evening: Pablo López, who is starting tonight's game as well. The Nats actually didn't get off to a good start that evening against López, who faced the minimum through his first three innings. Then they finally got to the young right-hander in the fourth and fifth,...

Danny Valencia gets the start at third base tonight and Joey Rickard is in right field as the Orioles continue their series against the Rays at Camden Yards. Caleb Joseph is behind the plate again. Andrew Cashner has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his last four starts, but is 0-1 with two no-decisions. He faced the Rays on May 26 and allowed five runs and 11 hits in five innings in a 5-1 loss. Cashner has registered a 2.14 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in three career starts against the Rays...

The 2018 season has been a constant struggle for the Nationals due to injuries to key performers and subpar performance from others. Presently, the Nationals have a record of 51-51 and are seven games behind Philadelphia in the National League East and 4 1/2 games back for a wild card berth. With the news of Stephen Strasburg returning to the disabled list, Washington's playoff chances are dwindling by the day. The stark reality is general manager Mike Rizzo and the Nationals should probably...

MIAMI - More from Thursday night's 10-3 victory over the Marlins ... * This wasn't the first time the Nationals needed to summon a starter from Triple-A Syracuse to fill in for a regular member of the big league rotation. They previously had called upon Erick Fedde, Jefry Rodriguez and Austin Voth for situations such as the one they faced Thursday, when Stephen Strasburg landed back on the disabled list. It took until now, though, for the Nats to call upon Tommy Milone, and that was the...

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones called it "uncommon territory." He was talking about trade rumors and his name being involved with them. After Manny Machado was traded, so was Zach Britton. Now the Orioles center fielder could be next. He's patrolled center for the Orioles since the 2008 season, when he played in a lineup that included Ramón Hernández, Kevin Millar, Brian Roberts, Luke Scott, Melvin Mora, Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff. Jones was just 22. Among active players in most...

While the Orioles are fielding calls from numerous teams on a variety of players, they still seem more intent on moving their veterans who are pending free agents, a stance they've taken since early in the process. There's been interest in second baseman Jonathan Schoop, starters Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy and reliever Mychal Givens. Only Schoop can leave via free agency after 2019. Again, executive vice president Dan Duquette will listen on anyone. His phone isn't set up to cut off...

Change is inevitable, but knowing that fact doesn't make dealing with change any easier. Over the last week, Orioles fans have witnessed two cornerstone players get moved to different contenders, while prospects come to Baltimore in hopes of building the franchise's next successful team. Manny Machado and Zach Britton contributed a lot to the success and turnaround of the club and played an integral part of the team's run to the postseason in three of five years from 2012 to 2016. On his way...

MIAMI - Their No. 2 starter back on the disabled list with a mysterious neck injury, two of their top hitters out of the lineup and their emergency starter in a three-run hole early, the Nationals had given even their most ardent supporters no legitimate reason to be optimistic after one inning of baseball tonight at Marlins Park. If this weekend series really is going to determine the front office's approach to Tuesday's trade deadline, and by extension determine whether a late-season run is...

The Orioles offense didn't get much going yet again. Right-hander Alex Cobb pitched pretty well. But the Tampa Bay Rays did just enough against him tonight to produce a 4-3 win over the Orioles in the opener of a four-game series at Oriole Park. The Orioles (29-74) are 1-5 since the All-Star break and 1-2 on this homestand. They have lost eight of 11, 15 of 20 and 22 of the last 28 games. Tampa Bay (53-50) is 10-6 over its past 16 games and 6-4 versus the Orioles for the season. In a 2-2 tie,...