Manager Davey Martinez gave an update on Jeremy Hellickson's progress in extended spring training, saying the veteran right-hander is getting very close to being ready. "He threw a side actually (on Wednesday)," Martinez said. "I guess he threw well. Now we'll just have to wait and see. He's getting to the point now where he feels like he's ready. I know he's got another side coming up so we'll see where we're at." The Nats current fifth starter, right-hander A.J. Cole, made a vast...

BOSTON - Mark Trumbo sat at his usual locker this afternoon inside the cramped visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park, ready to work out but unsure when his right quadriceps muscle will heal to the point where he can play gain. The Orioles removed Trumbo from his injury rehab assignment after one game at Double-A Bowie. Manager Buck Showalter said it wasn't a setback that led to the decision and Trumbo confirmed it today. "I think it's accurate," he said. "The timeline that kind of roughly was...

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman remains confident he is a different and better pitcher than he was last year. But so far, the stat sheet doesn't provide much support of that. When the Orioles begin a four-game series in Boston tonight, Tillman (0-2, 8.68 ERA) will make his third start. In his first outing of 2018 he gave up four runs over four innings in Houston. Then he allowed five in 5 1/3 at New York. Over 9 1/3 innings he has yielded 15 hits and nine runs with eight walks to three...

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...