A team that's 30 games below .500 in the third week of June, with pending free agents spread across the clubhouse and some dramatic changes on the horizon, should be geared toward getting younger and filtering prospects onto the major league roster. It makes sense on paper. It's a little more difficult in reality. The pounding noise that you hear is probably due to the migraine that's developed from 51 losses. No one in the system is beating down the door for a promotion. You may love the...

Juan Soto reached the big leagues in near-record time because of his supremely advanced offensive skills. The Nationals knew his defensive skills in the outfield weren't on par at this point, but they figured that would come with time. Now that Soto appears to be here to stay, though, the Nats are trying to give him a crash course in some fundamentals in left field. It hasn't necessarily paid off yet, but they hope it does soon. Wednesday afternoon, long before the rest of the team took the...

Aberdeen, MD. - Before last night's Orioles game in Washington, manager Buck Showalter was asked about right-hander Chris Tillman. At the moment of Showalter's pregame interview at Nationals Park, Tillman was less than two hours away from pitching for short-season Single-A Aberdeen at Ripken Stadium to begin an injury-rehab assignment. "I want to see him get people out and pitch well," Showalter said of Tillman, who last pitched for the Orioles on May 10. "Really, that sounds simple, but I...

WASHINGTON - Manny Machado inadvertently became tonight's symbol for the Orioles' 2018 season while planted face-down in the infield dirt at Nationals Park. Anthony Rendon accidently delivered an elbow squarely to Machado's nose while coming out of his slide on a 3-6 double play that ended the first inning. Machado slowly rose to his feet, concerned teammates gathering around him, and stayed in the game. But it was a painful blow, a direct hit that the club figuratively has taken on a...

The diehard few who decided to wait out a 2-hour, 43-minute rain delay tonight at Nationals Park were rewarded for their patience with an offer from the club to move down to the best seats in the house for the final five innings of this game. By night's end, you couldn't help but wonder if those fans would happily have remained in their original nosebleed seats in exchange for a more inspiring offensive performance from the home team. Alas, that's a lot to ask for right now out of a...

With a major line of storms approaching from the west, the Nationals and Orioles got underway on time tonight, both clubs fully aware the odds of nine innings being played before the rain hit were dubious. And so this may have become a race to get five innings in, ensuring this would be an official game in the event it could not be continued. Which made Mark Trumbo's second-inning blast all the more significant for the Orioles. Trumbo's two-run homer off Gio Gonzalez gave Baltimore a quick...

Aberdeen, MD. - Pitching in a game for the first time in nearly six weeks, Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman allowed three runs in two innings pitching tonight for short-season Single-A Aberdeen against the Tri-City ValleyCats, a Houston Astros affiliate. To say the least, the game did not start well for the right-hander, who walked the leadoff batter on five pitches and gave up a ground single to right to 2018 first-round draft pick Seth Beer. With No. 3 hitter Emmanual Valdez batting, a...

WASHINGTON - The Orioles created a roster spot for starter Andrew Cashner by optioning infielder Corban Joseph to Double-A Bowie. The Joseph brothers are separated again after Corban went 1-for-9 in four games. He picked up an RBI last night on a fielder's choice grounder. Other moves are coming within the next few days. And the Orioles are waiting for Pedro Álvarez to decide whether he's going to report to Triple-A Norfolk after the Orioles designated him for assignment...

There has been no more productive hitter on the Nationals roster over the last two weeks than Michael A. Taylor. Since June 6, he's sporting a monstrous .545/.600/.636 offensive slash line, tops on the roster in each of those categories. So why has the hottest hitter on the team started only six of the team's 12 games during this stretch, none of the last three? The answer involves a combination of recent matchups with opposing pitchers, the emergence of Juan Soto as an offensive force in his...

The Orioles and Washington Nationals have played every year since 2006, and that is 12 season series through 2017. The Orioles have won more games head-to-head seven times, the clubs tied four times and the Nationals won the season series just one time, in 2007. That is until this year. The Nationals are 4-0 against the Orioles with two games to go in the season series. So they have their second season series win over Baltimore after last night's 9-7 win in Washington. The Orioles had an early...