MILWAUKEE - The prospect of a game against a starter restricted to three innings and then a parade of relievers should have been enticing for the Nationals. Instead it led to even more frustration for a lineup that seems to have lost its way. Left-hander Brent Suter and four Brewers relievers combined to toss a three-hitter and hand the Nationals a 7-2 loss at Miller Park to cap a rough weekend for Washington. The Nationals lost three of four in this series and thus lost the season series to...

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has been named the American League Player of the Month for August. In 29 games during the month, Machado hit .341/.348/.690 with six doubles, one triple, 12 homers, 35 RBIs and an OPS of 1.039. His 35 RBIs led the American League and ranked second in the majors. Machado's 12 home runs were tied with the Blue Jays' Josh Donaldson and the Yankees' Gary Sánchez for the league lead during the month. His slugging percentage ranked fourth in the AL. Machado...

MILWAUKEE - Matt Wieters is out of the Nationals lineup for the third straight day, though the veteran catcher said it's not because of the foul ball he took off his right knee Thursday night but rather a tight back that has been bothering him for a little while. "The knee's fine," Wieters said. "Just bruises. No problem coming into play. I've been having a little bit of a tight back to go with it, so it's kind of more just trying to get it completely freed up and loosened up before we...

Right-hander Chris Tillman (1-7, 7.91 ERA), who has had a season's worth of struggles in 2017, will try to pitch the Orioles to a four-game split with Toronto this afternoon. The Blue Jays had lost 10 of 12 games when this series began, but they've held the Orioles to three runs over the last two games and have taken two of three in this series. The Orioles have gone 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position in the past two nights. The Orioles (69-67) have now fallen 2 1/2 games back for the...

The Orioles have recalled pitcher Gabriel Ynoa from Triple-A Norfolk and are putting him in the bullpen for today's series finale against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Pitcher Alec Asher was optioned to Double-A Bowie, with the Baysox's season extending into the Eastern League playoffs. Ynoa appeared in four games with the Orioles this season and was 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 12 2/3 innings. He tossed six scoreless innings against the White Sox after replacing Wade Miley on May 5...

MILWAUKEE - On the heels of a come-from-behind win Saturday night, the Nationals now try to salvage a four-game split with the Brewers this afternoon, and in the process win the rubber game of the season series between the two clubs. (It currently stands at 3-3.) In order to pull that off, the Nats will need another strong outing from Edwin Jackson, who took one of his three losses to the Brewers in July in D.C., giving up seven runs (three earned) in five innings. That remains one of only two...

Right-hander Gabriel Ynoa has joined the Orioles at Camden Yards. Outfielder Craig Gentry confirmed that he's seeing a hand specialist later today. Gentry fractured the middle finger on his right hand Friday night while attempting to bunt, but he hopes to come off the disabled list later this month as a pinch-runner. Gentry probably would have been in the lineup today against Blue Jays left-hander Brett Anderson. Joey Rickard is in right field. For the Orioles Tim Beckham SS Manny Machado 3B...

MILWAUKEE - Sean Doolittle threw the pitch - a thigh-high, 97 mph fastball - and saw Manny Piña make good contact. But he didn't spin around to watch the play. Instead, the Nationals closer's eyes remained fixated on the Brewers batter, even after contact, trying to gauge whether he had just recorded the game's final out ... or a served up a walk-off homer. "In the dome, a lot of times everything sounds loud, so it's tough to really get a read on how good he got it," Doolittle said....

About two weeks ago in this space, I wrote about the big year Orioles minor league outfielder Austin Hays is having, and that he may be underrated by national analysts. There may be another O's minor leaguer who fits that bill in Double-A Bowie third baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Like Hays, Mountcastle has some stats that compare favorably to other prospects who are rated much higher. While Hays moved up from Single-A Frederick to Bowie and continued to rake, Mountcastle moved up also, but did not...

Major League Baseball may announce its monthly awards for August later today, and Manny Machado and Tim Beckham figure to have generated plenty of votes. Do you prefer power or the higher batting average? Machado crafted a .341/.348/.690 slash line. His 35 RBIs led the American League and his 12 home runs were tied with the Blue Jays' Josh Donaldson and the Yankees' Gary Sánchez. Donaldson batted .289/.421/.711 with 27 RBIs. Sánchez batted .287/.347/.648 with 26 RBIs. The lower averages...