BOSTON - The Orioles made their roster move official this afternoon by recalling left-hander Donnie Hart from Triple-A Norfolk to take Yefry Ramirez's spot in the bullpen. Ramirez was optioned to Norfolk following Wednesday night's game. Trey Mancini stays in the lineup after being hit on the right hand Wednesday night and undergoing an X-ray that came back negative. Danny Valencia is the designated hitter tonight and Chris Davis is batting sixth. Craig Gentry is in right field with the Red...

The Nationals need to start hitting. There's no getting around this. Since April 4 (their series finale in Atlanta) they've scored an average of 2.5 runs per game. Only the Brewers (2.25) have scored fewer in the majors in that span. That's not good. Perhaps a matchup tonight against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland could help matters a little bit. The Nationals have a very right-handed-lineup these days, and so that could set them up for more production in this one. In fact, the guys...

In a rather quiet spring training for the Nationals, one of the biggest storylines for the team in West Palm Beach was the unique decision by Ryan Zimmerman to play only in one spring training game. Zimmerman instead preferred to get his work accomplished on the back fields, in games consisting of predominantly minor leaguers. Certainly, the fans that traveled to watch the team were disappointed to miss seeing the face of the franchise, but also were questioning the wisdom of this...

When I interviewed outfielder Austin Hays before the game Wednesday night at Double-A Bowie, his batting average was just .160 in his first six games of the year. You knew Hays would start hitting soon, but you couldn't know then that it would be just hours away. But during Bowie's win over Erie that night, Hays batted four times. He lined a single to center in the first and hit a long homer to left center in the eighth. In between, he lined out twice. Four at-bats and he squared up four...

Manager: Alex Cora (1st season) Record: 10-2 Last 10 games: 9-1 Who to watch: RF Mookie Betts (.370 with 2 HR, 9 RBIs); 1B Hanley Ramirez (.357 with 2 HR, 12 RBIs); LF Andrew Benintendi (.231 with 5 RBIs, 11 BB); LHP Chris Sale (1-0, 1.06 ERA); RHP Craig Kimbrel (0.00 ERA, 4 saves) Season series vs. Orioles: 1st meeting (9-10 in 2017) Pitching probables: April 13: RHP Chris Tillman (0-2) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (0-0), 7:10 p.m., MASNApril 14: RHP Alex Cobb (0-0) vs. TBD, 1:05 p.m., MASNApril...

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez could not solve red-hot Rockies leadoff man DJ LeMahieu. And the Nationals defense let Gonzalez down at a key moment as the Rockies took the opener of a four-game series 5-1 at Nats Park. LeMahieu is an early candidate for National League Player of the Month after going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two homers and a career-high four RBIs to lead Colorado to its fifth win on the road. Gonzalez allowed a solo shot to LeMahieu to open the game. He then walked Chris Iannetta....

The Nationals offense was clicking well in the season's first four games. In three wins at Cincinnati and then the first game at Atlanta, the bats put together 29 runs on 38 hits, racing out to a 4-0 record. Since Monday, April 2, however, the offense has slowed down. The club has won only two of their last nine games. Their two wins in the last 10 days were by scores of 2-0 and 4-1, with major contributions from Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in those two games. The 1-2 duo combined to...

The rotation is rolling. Three quality starts in a row and six in the first 13 games. Modest mileage on the surface, but noteworthy if considering how far the group pushed back the team in 2017. The Orioles will find out tonight whether Chris Tillman can maintain it and get himself moving in the right direction. Dylan Bundy and Andrew Cashner worked seven innings in consecutive outings against the Blue Jays and Kevin Gausman completed the sixth Wednesday night at Camden Yards. A total of five...

The Orioles will add left-hander Donnie Hart to their bullpen for Friday night's game against the Red Sox. Hart is meeting up with the team in Boston and will join Richard Bleier as the only southpaw relief options for manager Buck Showalter. He basically is going to replace Nestor Cortes Jr., though it took a few other moves since the Orioles designated the Rule 5 pick for assignment. The Orioles will continue to have an open spot on their 40-man roster after choosing Hart, who's allowed one...

With the offense struggling without Daniel Murphy and Adam Eaton on the disabled list, plus some regulars not hitting as well as in the past, are the Nationals looking to add another big bat with experience? Free agent first baseman Mark Reynolds has agreed to minor league deal to join the Nats, according to published reports. The Reynolds deal was first reported by Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Update: MASNSports.com has confirmed the Mark Reynolds deal. Reynolds played the last two seasons for...