Nationals center fielder Michael A. Taylor has yet to get into a nice groove early in 2018, but he showed some signs of consistency in a couple of at-bats in Sunday night's 6-5 loss to the Mets. After starting the game 0-for-2, Taylor singled in the fifth and then added an RBI single in the seventh that tied the game at 5-5. Unfortunately, he struck out in the ninth with the bases loaded and one out. The pitches that got him off of Mets reliever Seth Lugo were a slider, a curveball and then a...

The Orioles didn't announce today's roster move until the media was out of the clubhouse, but there were rumblings about Hunter Harvey being at Camden Yards. And a fresh arm certainly made sense after another extra-inning game yesterday in New York. It just happened to be attached to the top pitching prospect in the organization. Harvey turned 23 in December and he hasn't pitched beyond the low Single-A South Atlantic League, where he made 17 starts with Delmarva in 2014 and three last year....

It would be one thing for the Orioles to win a big game in Yankee Stadium with the middle of their order doing most of the damage and/or Dylan Bundy or Zach Britton on the mound, but it was quite another on Sunday in the Bronx. The Orioles pulled out the 12-inning, 8-7 win with two Rule picks 5 contributing big in outfielder Anthony Santander and pitcher Pedro Araujo. Backup outfielder Craig Gentry made a game-saving catch in the 10th and later produced the winning single. And there were so...

Alex Cobb will make his Orioles debut on Saturday against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Cobb is flying out of Florida later today and will have a work day at Double-A Bowie. He went six innings today in an extended spring training game against the Twins. Mark Trumbo also is leaving Florida and will play in Bowie the next two nights. The Orioles will decide whether he remains on his injury rehab assignment through the weekend. Trumbo played first base today in Sarasota, going 2-for-3 with a home...

Chris Davis is back in the Orioles lineup tonight for the series opener against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Davis sat out yesterday's game in New York due to an illness. Danny Valencia is the designated hitter against Jays left-hander J.A. Happ and Anthony Santander stays in right field. Caleb Joseph is behind the plate. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 1-2-5 double play executed yesterday in the 12th inning was the first in Orioles history and the first in the majors since...

MASNsports.com's very own Steve Melewski was kind enough to join Paul Mancano and myself for this week's Orioles episode of the "MASN All Access" podcast. After a five-game losing streak that included a sweep at the hands of the Astros in Houston, the Orioles started the season 1-5 and looked at a daunting four-game series against the Yankees in New York. While some fans may have already been crying for mercy to start the season, wouldn't you know it, the Orioles went out and won three of...

It's one thing to lose five in a row. It's another thing to lose five in a row to the two division rivals that currently sit above you in the standings. That has added a bit of significance to the Nationals' current slide, which leaves them at 4-5 overall and 3 1/2 games behind the Mets, two games behind the Braves (the two teams they've faced the last five games, it just so happens). Well, after losing two of three at SunTrust Field last week, the Nats get another crack at Atlanta the next...

I will always love the Nationals, but I'm still waiting for something that will make me fall in love with this year's team - something momentous to convince me that this year's edition of the Nats is capable of doing great things. In 2005, their first year in Washington, it took just two games for a star to emerge and prove this team was doing more than just taking up residence, but was capable of winning our hearts. Washington was hungry for baseball after going without since Senators owner...

When Buck Showalter announced at Orioles FanFest in late January that Manny Machado would be moving to shortstop full-time, pushing Tim Beckham to third base, I didn't really blink at the move. It seemed inevitable, really, despite my own personal apprehensions. Machado is, as everyone knows, in his walk year. The move to short was conceivably to increase his value to potential trade suitors. From a personal standpoint for Machado, it would also increase his value as a free agent. Despite the...

In some respects, Tanner Roark was thrilled with the way he pitched Sunday night. Why wouldn't the right-hander be happy with nine strikeouts in five innings? And yet, there was that fateful stretch of four batters in the top of the third that ultimately defined his start and made everything else secondary. Roark had recorded two quick outs to begin the inning. Then came the nitpicking. He walked Jay Bruce. He walked Todd Frazier. He walked Asdrúbal Cabrera. "They were close," Roark said...