The vast majority of Brandon Kintzler's appearances this season should come with the Nationals leading, or perhaps tied, late in games. But the right-hander hadn't pitched in a week, and with the club off Friday, manager Davey Martinez wanted to make sure he and fellow bullpen stalwarts Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle got some work in Thursday regardless of the score. So it was that Kintzler found himself on the mound for the top of the seventh, the Nationals trailing the Mets 4-2, the...

Three of the Orioles' four full-season minor league affiliates began a new season last night, and Triple-A Norfolk starts its season tonight. The Tides will host the Gwinnett Stripers at 7:05 p.m. Norfolk starts the year with a six-game homestand at Harbor Park. Here is the Tides final opening day roster, which was announced today: Pitchers: Jayson Aquino, Josh Edgin, Andrew Faulkner, Donnie Hart, David Hess, Jhan Mariñez, Tim Melville, Yefry Ramirez, Joely Rodriguez, Tanner Scott, Asher...

The Nationals have announced the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs roster for the 2018 season. It will be the Nats' final season in Syracuse, though it is not known where their Triple-A affiliate will be located next season. Syracuse opens its season tonight at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Randy Knorr is the manager. The pitching coach is Brad Holman and the hitting coach is Brian Daubach. Top prospect Victor Robles is in the outfield. Erick Fedde and Austin L. Adams, who are on the Nats' 40-man roster, are...

Recently, an entertainer in World Wrestling Entertainment named Buddy Murphy began calling himself "professional wrestling's best-kept secret." With all due respect to his creative catchphrase, I believe we should start calling Nationals reliever Matt Grace "D.C. baseball's best-kept secret." Last season, Grace was quietly effective for the Nationals, producing a 4.32 ERA, 1.360 WHIP and 31 strikeouts against 18 walks over 50 innings pitched. An eighth-round pick by Washington in the 2010...

It was hard to stay positive after a 1-5 start to the season. Our outlook after opening day was so promising, with Adam Jones walking it off in the 11th inning in front of a sold-out crowd at Camden Yards. But after the Gatorade shower and celebration at home plate, the Orioles went the next week without another win and came to the Bronx looking for their second victory of the 2018 season. Despite their their struggles entering the series against the Yankees, there were some encouraging signs...

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg was pretty satisfied with his work in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Mets, but would want back two pitches and a misstep. Strasburg gave his team a chance. The Nationals were down only 4-2 when he departed. Yoenis Cespédes hit a solo shot in the fourth on a low four-seam fastball. Michael Conforto gave the Mets a 4-2 lead on a two-run shot in the fifth. That pitch was a 97 mph four-seam fastball on a 1-2 count. "I thought my stuff was pretty good," Strasburg...

For the third day in a row, the game hung in the balance versus a 2017 playoff team in the seventh inning. This time, the Orioles got the biggest hits and they beat the New York Yankees 5-2 in the Bronx to start a four-game series. It is probably not overstating it to call that win huge. The offense came to life in the seventh inning and the pitchers held the potent Yankees lineup in check. Considering that last year the Yankees, as a team, batted .337 and hit 32 homers in 10 home games versus...

NEW YORK - The Triple-A Norfolk Tides open their season tonight after unveiling their official roster, which currently includes outfielders Joey Rickard, Alex Presley, Jaycob Brugman and DJ Stewart. Rickard is the only right-handed hitter in the group. The Orioles signed Michael Saunders to a minor league deal earlier this week to round out their lefty quartet. They won't contemplate a roster move this early in the season, but Colby Rasmus certainly needs to heat up in these frigid...

So I sense a little bit of angst out there among the Nationals faithful. Is that a fair reading of public opinion following three straight losses, including Thursday's 8-2 dud against the Mets in the home opener? The Nationals looked great for four games; they've looked far-from-great in three games since. The top of the order is hitting, the rest of the lineup, not so much. The two aces got battered around a bit the last two days. And the bullpen remains a work in progress. And now we've...

NEW YORK - Give the Orioles a Thursday game and they're liable to win it. Adam Jones hit his third home run - and his second on a Thursday, including his opening day walk-off - and the Orioles defeated the Yankees 5-2 in the Bronx. Jones has accounted for half of the Orioles' home runs, with all of them coming in the sixth inning or later, including tonight's two-run shot in the seventh that erased a 1-0 deficit against Masahiro Tanaka. Tonight marked Jones' first homer with a runner on...