Pedro Álvarez is batting fifth tonight as the designated hitter and Chris Davis moves down to sixth against Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez. Trey Mancini stays in the leadoff spot and Anthony Santander continues to start in right field. Chance Sisco is behind the plate. For the Orioles Trey Mancini LF Manny Machado SS Jonathan Schoop 2B Adam Jones CF Pedro Álvarez DH Chris Davis 1B Tim Beckham 3B Anthony Santander RF Chance Sisco C Andrew Cashner RHP

Nationals starter Max Scherzer came up big for his team in so many ways Monday night in the 2-0 shutout of the Braves. The complete game ended their five-game losing streak, helped Scherzer regain his confidence and, maybe most importantly, rested a heavily used bullpen. No fewer than six relievers toiled Sunday night in the extra-inning loss to the Mets, and without another off day before April 19, having a full day of rest is a big thing this early in the season. It was one of those things...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter sometimes says "There was a game to be won there" after an Oriole loss, and that statement was certainly true last night. Yes the game got away in the top of the ninth, but if the Orioles offense had gotten something going before that, we would not have seen Nestor Cortes Jr. try to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth. Some could second-guess the skipper for even bringing him into a situation down 2-1 in the ninth, but I get back to the offense. The...

Howie Kendrick delivered the only run-scoring hit of Monday night's game at Nationals Park. But he may not be available to his club tonight after his right leg tightened up on him late, forcing manager Davey Martinez to pull him after seven innings. "His right leg tightened up on him," Martinez said following the Nats' 2-0 win over the Braves. "That's all he told me. He didn't give specifics. Precautionary." Kendrick dealt with some leg issues late last season but seemingly had been...

The Orioles went to the ninth tonight trailing 2-1. They lost 7-1 when the Toronto Blue Jays added five runs. Up to that point, right-hander Dylan Bundy seemed headed for a tough-luck loss. Over seven innings, he allowed just two runs and both came on one swing. Former Oriole Steve Pearce got green-lighted and hit a 3-0 fastball 438 feet to left for a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. "I really wasn't thinking he'd swing 3-0 and he did," Bundy said. "I left it right down the middle for him...

Max Scherzer tries not to think about it until he gets deep into a game. No sense worrying about going the distance until it's within realistic reach. Scherzer's goal when he took the mound tonight at Nationals Park was to get through at least seven innings on 105 pitches. That would be enough to help cover for a relief corps that tossed a combined seven frames during Sunday night's marathon loss to the Mets. Anything beyond that would be gravy. But as the zeros kept piling up and his pitch...

It took a special set of circumstances to get Hunter Harvey to the majors. The Orioles needed to play games covering 14 and 12 innings over the weekend. The bullpen had to account for 20 2/3 innings. The next opponent, the Toronto Blue Jays, had to carry a roster heavy in right-handed hitters. And the list of available right-handed pitchers on the Orioles' 40-man roster had to be limited. It also helped that Harvey is a top pitching prospect who already tempted the Orioles in spring training....

Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs center fielder Victor Robles dove for a fly ball in shallow left-center field Monday night in a game at Rochester and rolled over awkwardly on his left elbow. According to a video replay from WROC-TV, Robles left the game under his own power, but his left arm hung down and it was not moving as he headed to the clubhouse. See the video below. The Chiefs did not have an update immediately after the game. A Nationals spokesman said there would be no update on Robles until...

For the third time this season, Orioles starter Dylan Bundy gave his team a strong start. For the third time, he got little run support. The Orioles went 0-for-12 tonight with runners in scoring position in a 7-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. They began a three-game series with the loss to fall to 1-3 at home and to 4-7 for the season. A very chilly but small crowd of 7,915 looked on at Camden Yards. Toronto turned a 2-1 lead into a 7-1 win, scoring five runs in the ninth. Nestor Cortes Jr....

The Orioles put the first two runners on base tonight and didn't score, with Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ striking out the next three batters. They put the first two runners on base in the second and didn't score, with Happ striking out the next three batters. Redundant and ridiculous. Two on and no outs in the fifth inning later became bases loaded and one out, but Adam Jones bounced into a double play. A two-out walk to Tim Beckham in the sixth produced nothing. Back-to-back singles with...