For all intents and purposes, the 2017 Orioles season is over. We're probably a week or two late on declaring this. Some would say we are a month or two late. Sure, there are still games left on the schedule and baseball will be played over the final few weeks, but the Orioles as a team for this year are done. They were "done" multiple times since early July, when fans and media alike started to proclaim that it wasn't in the cards. This time, they finally are done. And if by some miracle,...

As the Nationals close out the regular season and prepare for the National League Division Series, the focus of fans' attention turns away from the players on the field and into the dugout and manager Dusty Baker. The 68-year-old skipper has already taken an injury-riddled squad through the gauntlet of a major league regular season to an unprecedented second straight division title, and now must keep his players sharp, yet healthy, as he guides them through the next two weeks. But he accepts...

It was a particularly cruel way for the streak to end, with a teammate doing everything he could to make a highlight-reel play only to have the ball bounce off his glove and fall to the ground as a runner crossed the plate. Stephen Strasburg hadn't given up a run in 35 innings. And that's how an opponent finally did it to him? "Nah, it was going to happen eventually," the right-hander shrugged. "I was just trying to minimize the damage." Strasburg did minimize the damage Sunday night....

Ryan Zimmerman wanted to remind everyone that the Nationals offense is just fine. And he did it with back-to-back swings late Sunday night at Nationals Park. In the Nats' 7-1 victory over the Dodgers, Zimmerman crushed a game-changing three-run shot in the sixth and then a solo homer in his next at-bat to lead off the eighth. Those homers, numbers 32 and 33 on the season, helped to erase a 1-0 Dodgers lead. Prior to his three-run shot, the Nats had managed just two runs in 23 innings versus...

The Orioles just concluded a road trip that only felt like it lasted a month. The game count was 10 with no off-days. But it was the ultimate grind. Sausage could be made out of this trip. Players won't concede the season. They're just not wired that way. Being 5 ½ back for the second wild card and four below .500 spells October vacation, but they firmly believe that they have another run in them. Not scoring one run. Hold the jokes. No one knows whether the Orioles are done fiddling with...

When the Nationals needed big-time performances against a premier opponent to avoid what would have been a discomforting series sweep, they turned to a pair of tried-and-true veterans who desperately want to deliver for this team when it really matters. Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg delivered tonight to beat the Dodgers. And both would like nothing more than to deliver a couple weeks from now when the calendar shifts to October. Zimmerman's three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth...

The Dodgers found a way to score a run off of Stephen Strasburg in the second inning. Yasiel Puig singled and stole second base. With two outs, Logan Forsythe's drive went off the glove of Michael A. Taylor in deep center field for a double. Puig scored. The Dodgers lead 1-0. Strasburg's franchise-record 34 scoreless innings ends at 35. The Nationals managed two base hits off of left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu in the second inning to try to plate the equalizer. But Taylor struck out and Matt Wieters...

So for the Orioles, it seems the kids are all right. Catcher Chance Sisco has batted five times in the majors with a double, homer and two walks earning a nice .667 average and .800 OBP. Over his last two games in New York, outfielder Austin Hays went 4-for-7 with a homer and three RBIs. Sisco and Hays are both 22. For both, the future may be now. They are getting the opportunity to show what they can do and to also show that they might help this team next year, and maybe as soon as opening day...

The crack of the bat said it all. This wasn't a sound anyone had heard around the Nationals batting cage in five weeks. This was the sound only Bryce Harper makes when he connects with a ball during batting practice. And this being Harper's first on-field BP session since his scary-looking left leg injury on Aug. 12, it drew plenty of attention. From general manager Mike Rizzo, hitting coach Rick Schu and other team personnel standing behind the cage. From reporters and photographers watching...

Manager: John Farrell (5th season) Record: 85-64 Last 10 games: 7-3 Who to watch: RF Mookie Betts (90 RBIs, 43 doubles, 24 steals), LF Andrew Benintendi (85 RBIs, 19 steals), C Christian Vázquez (.298), 3B Rafael Devers (.826 OPS), RHP Craig Kimbrel (33 saves) Season series vs. Orioles: 6-10 Pitching probables: Sept. 18: RHP Doug Fister vs. RHP Dylan Bundy, 7:05 p.m., MASN Sept. 19: LHP Drew Pomeranz vs. RHP Kevin Gausman, 7:05 p.m., MASN Sept. 20: LHP Chris Sale vs. LHP Wade Miley, 7:05...