The Washington Nationals selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Tim Collins from Triple-A Syracuse and transferred infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick to the 60-day disabled list. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Collins, 28, joins the Nationals after appearing in 17 games with Triple-A Syracuse where he recorded 10.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (20 SO/17.1 IP) and held opposing batters to a .190 batting average (11-for-58)....

CHICAGO - The Orioles begin a four-game series tonight at Gauranteed Rate Field versus the Chicago White Sox. The O's went 1-3 in Boston, the first stop on a three-city, 11-game road trip. It rained steadily earlier this afternoon in Chicago, but there was almost no rain as game time approaches and they should get the game in with an on-time start. The Orioles lost 5-0 on Sunday at Boston when they got 13 hits but no runs, setting a club record for most hits without scoring in a nine-inning...

The Nationals said Juan Soto would play. And play he will. The 19-year-old slugging sensation is making his first MLB start this evening, batting sixth and playing left field even against Padres left-hander Robbie Erlin. Davey Martinez held the kid out of Sunday's lineup against another lefty, Alex Wood, but the book on Soto is that he can handle left-handed pitching, so he's about to get his first taste of it tonight. Soto slots into a Nationals lineup ravaged by injuries, batting behind...

The newest National, Juan Soto, got a nice ovation Sunday when he came to bat in the eighth inning as the youngest player currently in the major leagues at 19. He struck out in his debut, but with the Nationals lineup currently decimated by injuries, there will be plenty of opportunities for Soto to make an impact at the big league level after playing just 39 games in the minor leagues this season and 122 overall. Soto joins dozens of players who broke into the majors as teenagers, including...

Injuries continue to pile up for the Nationals. Big ones like outfielders Rafael Bautista (knee) and Howie Kendrick (Achilles) out for the year. Small ones (hopefully) like Ryan Madson's chest strain. Injuries that seemingly looked like they wouldn't take as long to recover from as they have, like Brian Goodwin's wrist, have lingered into a second month without any big improvements. Starting second baseman Daniel Murphy has not recovered fully from microfracture surgery on his knee and has...

The long-running baseball standard of seeing starting pitchers go deep into games is falling by the wayside. This is not news, as it's been happening for years. Starting pitchers are throwing fewer innings. It used to be that starters would pitch complete games regularly. In fact, the last three full seasons have seen the lowest number of complete games in major league history. There were 104 thrown in 2015, 83 in 2016 and just 59 times did a pitcher go the distance last season. Long gone are...

The Orioles can't be accused of becoming monotonous. Not when they managed to find a unique way to lose yesterday while closing out the Boston portion of their three-city road trip. It wasn't a wasted quality start or the typical offense malaise where baserunners are scarce and the opposing pitcher settles into cruise control. It wasn't a late defensive miscue, whether a botched grounder or popup, or the failure to turn a double play. It wasn't a close call going against them, where...

He may have allowed five runs and three homers in 4 2/3 innings Sunday at Fenway Park, but here is one vote for right-hander David Hess to stay in the Orioles' rotation. He has gotten two big challenges to start his career. The first was making his MLB debut on three days' rest and overcoming allowing a three-run homer in the first. The second was facing Boston on the road on seven days' rest. Now maybe the Orioles will let the kid settle into an every five-day schedule, give him at least...

The Nationals were swept in their two-day, three-game series against the Dodgers that wrapped up Sunday, losing the finale 7-2. Yasmani Grandal and Kiké Hernández crushed homers off of Stephen Strasburg and Yasiel Puig smacked a late two-run shot to put the game away. Strasburg kept his team in the game with 6 2/3 innings, but four walks and those two big hits were enough for the Dodgers to get the win. Strasburg threw 115 pitches, but the four walks were his most all season and most...

Manager: Rick Renteria (2nd season) Record: 13-30 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: 1B José Abreu (.299 with 8 HR, 25 RBIs); DH Matt Davidson (.239 with 11 HR, 28 RBIs); 2B Yoán Moncada (.263 with 36 hits, 10 2B); RHP Reynaldo López (0-3, 3.50 ERA); RHP James Shields (1-4, 4.88 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: First meeting (3-4 in 2017) Pitching probables: May 21: RHP Andrew Cashner (1-5) vs. LHP Héctor Santiago (0-1); 8:10 p.m., MASN2May 22: RHP Kevin Gausman (3-3) vs. RHP James...