Right-hander Stephen Strasburg was pretty satisfied with his work in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Mets, but would want back two pitches and a misstep. Strasburg gave his team a chance. The Nationals were down only 4-2 when he departed. Yoenis Cespédes hit a solo shot in the fourth on a low four-seam fastball. Michael Conforto gave the Mets a 4-2 lead on a two-run shot in the fifth. That pitch was a 97 mph four-seam fastball on a 1-2 count. "I thought my stuff was pretty good," Strasburg...

For the third day in a row, the game hung in the balance versus a 2017 playoff team in the seventh inning. This time, the Orioles got the biggest hits and they beat the New York Yankees 5-2 in the Bronx to start a four-game series. It is probably not overstating it to call that win huge. The offense came to life in the seventh inning and the pitchers held the potent Yankees lineup in check. Considering that last year the Yankees, as a team, batted .337 and hit 32 homers in 10 home games versus...

NEW YORK - The Triple-A Norfolk Tides open their season tonight after unveiling their official roster, which currently includes outfielders Joey Rickard, Alex Presley, Jaycob Brugman and DJ Stewart. Rickard is the only right-handed hitter in the group. The Orioles signed Michael Saunders to a minor league deal earlier this week to round out their lefty quartet. They won't contemplate a roster move this early in the season, but Colby Rasmus certainly needs to heat up in these frigid...

So I sense a little bit of angst out there among the Nationals faithful. Is that a fair reading of public opinion following three straight losses, including Thursday's 8-2 dud against the Mets in the home opener? The Nationals looked great for four games; they've looked far-from-great in three games since. The top of the order is hitting, the rest of the lineup, not so much. The two aces got battered around a bit the last two days. And the bullpen remains a work in progress. And now we've...

NEW YORK - Give the Orioles a Thursday game and they're liable to win it. Adam Jones hit his third home run - and his second on a Thursday, including his opening day walk-off - and the Orioles defeated the Yankees 5-2 in the Bronx. Jones has accounted for half of the Orioles' home runs, with all of them coming in the sixth inning or later, including tonight's two-run shot in the seventh that erased a 1-0 deficit against Masahiro Tanaka. Tonight marked Jones' first homer with a runner on...

NEW YORK - Andrew Cashner was working on a one-hit shutout tonight with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Aaron Judge strolled to the plate and launched a home run to right-center field to break a scoreless tie. Masahiro Tanaka was working on a three-hit shutout in the top of the seventh when Jonathan Schoop led off with a single and Adam Jones lifted a fly ball to left field that eluded Giancarlo Stanton's leaping attempt for a two-run homer and a 2-1 lead. Pitching lines and a...

The Orioles are about to begin the second leg of their two-city road trip. They got swept three straight at Houston and take a 1-5 record into tonight's series opener in Yankee Stadium. The clubs will play a four-game series through Sunday. The Yankees, who open with 13 straight within the AL East, are 4-2. They split four with Toronto and just swept two from Tampa Bay scoring 18 runs. From 2014-16, the Orioles won the season series three straight years from the Yankees, going 13-6, 10-9 and...

NEW YORK - The Orioles still haven't committed to a date for Alex Cobb's debut, waiting again for his upcoming work day and input from the right-hander before plotting the next move. Cobb went five innings yesterday in a simulated game in Sarasota. He could go six next week at extended spring training or join the Orioles. Manager Buck Showalter said Cobb will throw in the bullpen Friday or Saturday, "depending how he feels." Showalter suggested that Cobb could pitch Monday or Tuesday in...

It was both a wonderful sight to behold while simultaneously leaving 42,477 people inside Nationals Park holding their collective breaths. Adam Eaton being waved around third base on a double into the left field corner? How long has everyone been waiting for that moment since that fateful night nearly one year ago when the Nationals outfielder tore his left ACL tripping over first base against this same Mets ballclub? The good news: Eaton was safe, thanks to José Reyes' wide relay throw to...

The Nationals' best chance to put a big inning together in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Mets came in the sixth inning. Having seen Mets starter Jacob deGrom two times through the lineup, the Nats found themselves down 4-2. The top of the lineup was the only part of the Nationals offense that clicked all day. In the sixth, Adam Eaton led off with a single and Anthony Rendon and Bryce Harper walked. Suddenly, the Nats had the bases loaded and the sellout crowd of 42,477 sensed this was the home...