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LOS ANGELES - The sun is shining, the mountains in the distance aren't being obscured by smog and Max Scherzer is facing Clayton Kershaw tonight at Dodger Stadium. Yep, this is about as good as it gets.
The Nationals and Dodgers open up a big weekend series at Chavez Ravine, and they're starting it off in style with as good a pitching showdown as you can get. Scherzer versus Kershaw represents only the 13th head-to-head matchup in major league history (postseason included) between pitchers...
LOS ANGELES - Needing a fresh arm in their bullpen after a taxing series at Citi Field, the Nationals promoted veteran right-hander Carlos Torres from Triple-A Syracuse and made the decision to cut ties with A.J. Cole.
Cole, who was out of options, was designated for assignment and now is available to any other club to claim off waivers over the next week. If he clears waivers, the Nationals could then either outright Cole to the minors or release him.
General manager Mike Rizzo had been...
The Orioles keep receiving positive news on closer Zach Britton, who threw off a half-mound today for the first time since undergoing surgery on his right Achilles tendon.
Twenty four-seam fastballs and not a single regret.
"Felt really good," he said. "It was the first bullpen, so I had to think about that, too. My arm felt really good and really just thinking about getting over that foot, no hesitation whatsoever, especially as we got going. Maybe the first couple of throws. But once we...
The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Carlos Torres and designated right-handed pitcher A.J. Cole for assignment on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Torres, 35, joins the Nationals after making four scoreless appearances for Triple-A Syracuse. He did not allow a hit, walked one and struck out three batters along the way.
A veteran of eight Major League seasons, Torres spent the previous...
The Orioles are back home after their winless road trip and tonight they open their longest homestand of the season. They'll play 10 games over the next 10 days. The homestand begins with four games vs. Cleveland and then three each against Tampa Bay and Detroit.
Tonight the Orioles look to end a six-game losing streak. They are 2-4 at home and have lost five of six series' thus far, getting swept three straight times by Houston, Boston and Detroit.
Cleveland, which led the American League...
The Orioles added a second left-hander to their bullpen this afternoon by recalling Tanner Scott from Triple-A Norfolk and optioning infielder Engelb Vielma to the Tides.
Vielma went 0-for-3 Wednesday afternoon against the Tigers in his only major league start. He appeared in three games.
Manager Buck Showalter complimented Vielma for his work ethic, good hands and intelligence.
"His ball security has gotten real good," Showalter said. "He kind of knows what we're looking for. I think he's...
Luis Sardiñas gets another start at second base tonight and Pedro Ãlvarez is batting second as the designated hitter while the Orioles open their 10-game homestand against the Indians.
Anthony Santander is in right field and Chance Sisco is catching.
No roster move has been announced.
Manny Machado is a career .333 (37-for-111) hitter in 28 games against the Indians, including 10 doubles, seven home runs and 18 RBIs. In 163 games against teams from the American League Central, Machado is...
LOS ANGELES - The Nationals left Washington five days ago, reeling from a 3-7 homestand, heading to New York to face a red-hot Mets club that had opened up a six-game lead in the National League East division, all the while knowing they still had to head out west to face the Dodgers and Giants to conclude this long road trip.
Well, the East Coast portion of the trip is now complete, the West Coast portion is set to begin, and the Nationals find themselves in much better shape than they were in...
On Wednesday evening, the weary Nationals bullpen suffered a collapse and got smoked like a Willie Nelson cigarette, to the tune of nine runs in the eighth inning. The dagger came when A.J Cole, now pitching in relief after losing the fifth starter role to Jeremy Hellickson, served up a mammoth grand slam home run to Yoenis Céspedes. This elevated Cole's ERA this season to 13.06 and left many Nationals fans, myself included, wondering what the next step is for Cole's career in...
The Orioles are in a rut and are watching the losses pile up as they slide down the standings in the American League East. You can only keep telling yourself, "It's early," for so long. Here on April 20, it is still true, but the hole keeps getting deeper and deeper and digging out of it only gets more difficult as time goes on. There have been some gut-wrenching losses, like Wednesday's 6-5 defeat in Detroit, and other times the Orioles just have been outplayed by their opponents, like...