Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon had to leave Friday's 2-1 loss to the Rockies after fouling a pitch off his left big toe. He was replaced by Wilmer Difo. Rendon tried to stay in the game but eventually came out after the sixth inning. "It just hit the toe, it didn't hit the foot or the ankle or the shin guard. It hit the toe," Rendon said of the play. Manager Davey Martinez reported that X-Rays came back negative. Rendon will let Martinez know how he feels in the morning. The toe was...

BOSTON - If the antiquated ballpark in Boston couldn't fix Chris Tillman, what's left for the Orioles to do? A 2.39 ERA in nine career starts at Fenway Park meant nothing tonight. It didn't enable Tillman to locate the plate, to lower his pitches into the strike zone, to gain velocity on his fastball, to properly defend himself. Tillman faced three batters in the third inning without recording an out and was charged with six runs in the Red Sox's 7-3 victory over the Orioles. His ERA rose...

Davey Martinez began the day with a message for his slumping hitters. "Just because you don't hit doesn't mean you can't help us by defense, by running the bases, a walk, whatever," the Nationals manager said. "But do something to help us win every day." Several hours later, Martinez found himself watching his team slog through another slow night at the plate, then surrender the decisive run in a 2-1 loss to the Rockies as a direct result of a defensive mistake. When it rains, it pours....

On a spectacular Friday night for baseball, one of the best night's of the year to date weather wise in the D.C. area, the starting pitchers dominated early on. Rockies left-handed Kyle Freeland allowed a single by Ryan Zimmerman with two outs in the first. But then he struck out four batters in a row. Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced. The only blemish was a walk to Nolan Arenado in the first. He has two strikeouts. In the third, the Nats got...

BOSTON - Alex Cobb will make his Orioles debut on Saturday while also experiencing a homecoming of sorts. Cobb was born in Boston and moved to Florida at age 2. A Red Sox fan growing up, he still has family in the area who will filter into Fenway Park this weekend. "Sadly, I was," he said with a grin. "I regret that." Don't even bring up his excursions to Patriots games. The Orioles signed Cobb to a four-year, $57 million deal on March 21 and mapped out a gradual progression for him that...

BOSTON - On a relatively slow news day so far, here are a few injury updates related to the Orioles: * Pitcher Gabriel Ynoa, on the disabled list with a right shin stress reaction, is undergoing an MRI today on his right shoulder. His condition hasn't spread. This is something unrelated. "The shin seems to be doing well," said manager Buck Showalter, "but he's had some shoulder issues." * Left-hander Chris Lee, who sustained an oblique injury while facing his only batter in spring...

If you want a firsthand take on the perils of freaking out over April offensive numbers, look no farther than Davey Martinez, whose own career was a textbook example of the disparity many big leaguers face between early season stats and rest-of-the-season stats. "You don't want to look up my April," the Nationals manager said. "They were awful." Martinez wasn't kidding. During a career that spanned 16 big league seasons and concluded with a .276 batting average, .341 on-base percentage...

Manager Davey Martinez gave an update on Jeremy Hellickson's progress in extended spring training, saying the veteran right-hander is getting very close to being ready. "He threw a side actually (on Wednesday)," Martinez said. "I guess he threw well. Now we'll just have to wait and see. He's getting to the point now where he feels like he's ready. I know he's got another side coming up so we'll see where we're at." The Nats current fifth starter, right-hander A.J. Cole, made a vast...

BOSTON - Mark Trumbo sat at his usual locker this afternoon inside the cramped visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park, ready to work out but unsure when his right quadriceps muscle will heal to the point where he can play gain. The Orioles removed Trumbo from his injury rehab assignment after one game at Double-A Bowie. Manager Buck Showalter said it wasn't a setback that led to the decision and Trumbo confirmed it today. "I think it's accurate," he said. "The timeline that kind of roughly was...

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman remains confident he is a different and better pitcher than he was last year. But so far, the stat sheet doesn't provide much support of that. When the Orioles begin a four-game series in Boston tonight, Tillman (0-2, 8.68 ERA) will make his third start. In his first outing of 2018 he gave up four runs over four innings in Houston. Then he allowed five in 5 1/3 at New York. Over 9 1/3 innings he has yielded 15 hits and nine runs with eight walks to three...