As they gathered at Nationals Park on Sunday morning, Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle did a quick analysis of their respective statuses for the upcoming series finale against the Diamondbacks. All three relievers have been getting plenty of work through the season's first month, but given the state of things only one of them could reasonably be given the day off. So who was it going to be? Kintzler had thrown 12 pitches Saturday, but none the previous three days. Madson had...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter benched first baseman Chris Davis for a second straight game yesterday, giving him time to clear his head and work on some adjustments at the plate. Hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh was providing instruction this weekend for Davis, who is off to perhaps the worst start of his career. The 32-year-old is hitting just .167/.257/.256 with two home runs, 33 strikeouts and 10 walks. He's carrying around an OPS+ of 44 with 25 games under his belt. Any way you slice it, he...

Orioles closer Zach Britton has thrown three full-mound bullpen sessions at Camden Yards and he's going to have a bigger audience this week while he's in Anaheim. Dr. Kenneth Jung, who performed the surgery in December to repair Britton's ruptured Achilles, will watch him throw on Wednesday with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and give his final "blessing," as the left-hander worded it with a chuckle. One of Jung's offices overlooks center field at Angel Stadium, so it's a short walk to...

Manager: Clint Hurdle (8th season) Record: 17-11 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: LF Corey Dickerson (.316 with 30 hits, 15 RBIs); CF Starling Marte (.288 with 3 HR, 8 SB); 1B Josh Bell (.241 with 26 hits, 16 RBIs); RHP Jameson Taillon (2-2, 4.91 ERA); RHP Ivan Nova (2-1, 3.32 ERA) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (4-3 in 2017) Pitching probables: April 30: RHP Chad Kuhl (2-2) vs. RHP Tanner Roark (1-2), 7:05 p.m., MASNMay 1: RHP Jameson Taillon (2-2)vs. RHP Max Scherzer (5-1), 7:05...

It probably gets somewhat lost amidst what else happened in Sunday's win by the Orioles, but righty reliever Mychal Givens recorded another scoreless inning. He rolled through a 1-2-3 top of the eighth on just eight pitches, all fastballs. Givens had an ERA of 7.04 after his first six games of the 2018 season. But he has now allowed just one run over his past six innings. In his last four games he's pitched four scoreless innings on two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. This has...

It was as animated as Gio Gonzalez had been during a postgame interview in several years. After getting pulled by new manager Davey Martinez following a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth on Monday night in San Francisco, the veteran left-hander didn't hide his true feelings about the matter. "It sucks, because I want to be out there," said Gonzalez, who had thrown 94 pitches at the time of his exit. "Apparently, I've just got to some way, somehow convince (Martinez and pitching coach...

A surprise last-minute starter at third base today, Pedro Álvarez hit two more homers to back Kevin Gausman and the bullpen. He helped lead the Orioles (8-20) to a 5-3 win over Detroit to take two of three in the series. The late notice was OK with Álvarez as he replaced Danny Valencia, who sat out with a tight hamstring, in the lineup. So Álvarez wound up getting a start against a lefty starter and playing in the field, as well. "It was fine," Álvarez said. "You have to be ready...

The familiar elements were there. An early lead but missed opportunities to add on. A starter getting into trouble late in his outing, leaving the manager to decide whether to stick with him or turn to his struggling bullpen. And then some tense moments late as they tried to hang on for a much-needed win. The setup was familiar. The end result was not. The Nationals flipped the script for a change and hung on for a 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks this afternoon, avoiding a weekend sweep and...

It hasn't been often this year when an Orioles starting pitcher got an early lead to work with. Right-hander Kevin Gausman got one today and made it stand up with help from the bullpen. Gausman's ERA continued to tumble as the Orioles beat Detroit 5-3 at Camden Yards. The Orioles took two of three from the Tigers, improving to 8-20. They won a series for just the second time in nine tries and won their first home series after losing four in a row to start 2018. It was just their third win in...

Pedro Álvarez wasn't supposed to be in the Orioles lineup this afternoon, and they appeared to be fed another dose of rotten luck with Danny Valencia a late scratch. This wasn't a spoonful of sugar. Just the latest situation to make them bitter. Luis Sardiñas is out with a sore lower back. The Tigers started left-hander Daniel Norris. A normal four-man bench, down to only two healthy players including catcher Chance Sisco, limited the options for manager Buck Showalter. Enter Álvarez...