ATLANTA - For six innings they dueled, Stephen Strasburg and Mike Foltynewicz posting up zero after zero, neither willing to give in on a muggy Friday night at SunTrust Park. Somebody, though, had to give in at some point. That somebody was Strasburg. And that point was the bottom of the seventh, the decisive frame that turned a brilliant pitchers' duel into a 4-0 Nationals loss to a young Braves team that can only feel emboldened after taking the first two games of this big weekend...

After Thursday's rainout, the Orioles and Yankees will begin their series tonight at Camden Yards. What was to be a four-game series is down to three at this point with the rained out game set to be made up on July 9 as part of a single-admission doubleheader. On the mound tonight for the Orioles is right-hander Andrew Cashner (2-6, 5.07 ERA) who will be making his 12th start. While he pitched to a 2.50 ERA in his first three starts, he is 1-5 with a 6.17 ERA over his last eight, allowing 58...

ATLANTA - The Nationals outfield received a boost today with Brian Goodwin's return from the disabled list, and another boost is likely coming next week when Adam Eaton expects to return from his ankle surgery. All of which leaves Davey Martinez facing some questions about how he intends to divvy up playing time among, in theory, five outfielders with only three positions to fill. Goodwin was activated off the DL this afternoon, the injured left wrist that sidelined him more than seven weeks...

The Orioles optioned left-hander Donnie Hart to Triple-A Norfolk this afternoon to make room for infielder Danny Valencia's return from paternity leave. The bench is back to four players and the bullpen is down to two southpaws. Valencia is available to play tonight. "He'll take some swings, take some swings and get back in it," said manager Buck Showalter. "He's been away really for three days. Been a pretty lack of sleep three days, as some of you fathers know. You'll probably see him...

The Orioles' afternoon clubhouse had a reunion feel to it with outfielder Colby Rasmus and third baseman Tim Beckham at their respective lockers before batting practice. Rasmus was packing his oversized bag for the drive to Prince George's Stadium, where he begins his rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie. Closer Zach Britton will pitch for the Baysox tonight due to weather concerns in Norfolk. Britton will work an inning sometime after starter Hunter Harvey completes his three scheduled...

Zach Britton is heading to Double-A Bowie tonight to pitch an inning in the continuation of his injury rehab assignment. Outfielder Colby Rasmus packed his bag and also left for Bowie, where he's beginning his assignment. Baysox starter Hunter Harvey will work three innings before turning over the game to the bullpen. Third baseman Tim Beckham was in the clubhouse this afternoon. As for the Orioles' lineup, it's the same as last night before the postponement. Jace Peterson is leading off...

ATLANTA - The threat of rain halted Nationals batting practice Thursday night but didn't impact the game. We may not be as fortunate tonight, with storms all around the area threatening to cause problems not only before tonight's scheduled 7:35 p.m. game but also the early portion of the game itself. As always, stay tuned. When they do play, the Nationals will send Stephen Strasburg to the mound. Strasburg was brilliant in his previous start against the Braves this season, tossing eight...

Over a third of the way through the 2018 season, it's clear that the Orioles need some changes. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say. When you're 21 1/2 games out of first place, it isn't a stretch to say that things aren't working. These are the types of situations where the team needs to just do something different than what they've been doing everyday because clearly the routine just isn't working. This is particularly true with the Orioles offense, which scored...

The Double-A Harrisburg Senators' Twitter account last Thursday announced that Nationals players Matt Grace, Brian Goodwin and Daniel Murphy would begin rehabilitation assignments last weekend. Adam Eaton starts his rehab at Harrisburg today. The healthy return of each player is a positive for the Nationals, but could lead to some difficult roster decisions for manager Davey Martinez. According to Martinez, Goodwin is expected to return first, followed by Grace, Murphy and finally Eaton, who...

ATLANTA - The outcome of Thursday night's game wasn't going to make or break the Nationals' season. They were either going to increase their lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games or cede first place in the division back to Atlanta and fall 1/2-game behind. Either way, it was only game No. 55 out of 162. And by the end of the weekend, they'll have played only 58 out of 162. There's a tremendous amount of baseball left to be played. So the Nationals weren't going to put too much emphasis on...