Orioles reliever Darren O'Day has been selected as one of the six recipients of the 2017 Bob Feller Act of Valor Award. O'Day is joined by Tom Seaver, Chief Petty Officer Edmundo Brantes, Training Support Center Great Lakes, Unmanned Patrol Squadron ONE NINE (VUP-19) and Staff Sergeant Adam Plambeck. The award is given each year to a player who reflects the values, integrity and dedication to serving our country that Bob Feller possessed. Other nominees included the Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia,...

You will find few players to provide a stronger endorsement for the job done by the Orioles minor league staff and coaches than Trey Mancini. After all Mancini is a one-time unheralded eighth-round draft pick that was one of the top rookies in the majors this year. He hit .293/.338/.488 with 26 doubles, four triples, 24 homers, 78 RBIs and an .826 OPS. This is a player that was never ranked in anyone's top 100 prospects list. But he just worked very hard during four seasons on the O's farm to...

The Orioles will head into the offseason with seven confirmed free agents, two players with 2018 team options in their contracts that likely will be turned into buyouts and a catcher who holds a player option. There's a significant amount of payroll that can be shed while the Orioles attempt to reload, as executive vice president Dan Duqeutte termed it before the final game. "We're going to have to go out and find some pitching," he said. "We do have a number of players that have played...

After losing three National League Division Series - to the Cardinals, Giants and Dodgers - the Nationals are in the postseason for the fourth time in six seasons. The Nationals, who finished with 97 wins and start the NLDS on Friday at home against the Cubs, have the deepest rotation, a rebuilt bullpen, depth, and a versatile offense that has power, speed and a blend of left-right hitters. They are the favorite to win the NL pennant and bring a World Series to Washington for the first time...

A dominant September by both Stephen Strasburg and Sean Doolittle has earned each Nationals pitcher recognition for their efforts. Strasburg today was named National League Pitcher of the Month, with Doolittle named NL Reliever of the Month, further confirmation of the lights-out work put forth by each staff member during the final stretch of the regular season. Strasburg was nearly impossible to score off of in September, going 4-0 with an 0.83 ERA in five starts. The right-hander did not...

The Nationals' season is far from over. If anything, the last six months were nothing but a big tease for what is still to come over at least the next week, possibly more. But the regular season has concluded, and that means it's time to revisit all those predictions all of us on the Nats beat made way back on opening day. This always leads to embarrassment for us (though traditionally some more than others) but I have to say the crew did a pretty good job overall this year, with a couple of...

The game times for the National League Division Series games against the Chicago Cubs are locked in. Game 1 Friday will begin at 7:31 p.m. Eastern time and Game 2 is set for first pitch Saturday at 5:38 p.m. Eastern time in D.C. The games will be broadcast nationally by TBS. MASN will broadcast exclusive one-hour pregame and postgame shows during each game of the playoffs. The Nationals will have workouts Tuesday and Wednesday at Nats Park. Manager Dusty Baker will meet with the media Tuesday...

It looked like it had been set in stone for weeks. The Nationals' postseason rotation? That was simple: Max Scherzer in Game 1, with Stephen Strasburg in Game 2 and then Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark taking the mound after that. But then Strasburg dominated in September. And then Gonzalez and Roark had ragged regular season finales. And then - and this was the biggest development of all - Scherzer tweaked his right hamstring throwing a pitch in the top of the fourth Saturday night against the...

Finishing in last place is not what the Orioles organization or their fans had in mind. Not for the 2017 season. Not after leading the league in wins from 2012-2016. Not after the Orioles began the year 22-10. On May 9 they had the best record in the majors, playing .688 ball. That was better than three teams that would go on to win 101 or more games. Also not after where the Orioles stood heading into September. On the night of Aug. 30, the Orioles won their seventh straight game. They were 1...

The Cubs are the biggest national television draw in baseball right now, so it stood to reason the Nationals would find themselves playing in primetime throughout their first-round postseason showdown with the defending World Series champs. That will be true for Game 1 of the National League Division Series, but the presence of the West Coast's biggest draw in the other half of the bracket is going to lead to an early-evening start on South Capitol Street for Game 2. Major League Baseball...