BOSTON - If anyone has figured out the Orioles this summer, please step to the front of the class and start explaining. They struggle with the last-place Athletics and bulldoze the first-place Red Sox. They've been so-so at home in the second half and so good at Fenway Park. A win today would produce their first three-game sweep in Boston since September 2014. The wild card race that they had seemed to ditch is back in play, with the Orioles trailing the Twins by two games for the second...

The Orioles top two picks in the 2016 draft, pitchers Cody Sedlock and Keegan Akin, will end the minor league season on the disabled list with Single-A Frederick. But the Orioles will bring both players to their instructional league next month in hopes they head into the offseason healthy. Sedlock, the 27th overall pick in round one, has been on the disabled list twice with elbow issues. He spent July 1-22 on the DL with a right elbow flexor strain and went back on it Friday. "He'll go to...

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez continued to pitch well and the Nationals held on after a quick start for a 9-4 victory over the Mets. But the story of the game was second baseman Adrián Sanchez, who came up big on offense and also took a fastball to the chest in a scary moment late in the game. Sanchez had a two-run single to highlight the Nats' four-run first frame. In the eighth inning, squaring to bunt, he was hit in the chest by a 97 mph fastball from Mets right-hander Jeurys Familia. Sanchez...

BOSTON - Eduardo Rodriguez must have believed, with every fiber of his being, that a ninth consecutive four-seam fastball would elude Tim Beckham's bat. He took a stance from the stretch. Rodriguez kept delivering them today in the top of the second inning, and Beckham fouled off five in a row before launching No. 9 over the Green Monster in left field, the ball slamming off the National Car Rental sign to keep it from bouncing along Lansdowne St. Beckham chose to get the insurance runs. The...

The Nationals took control of today's game against the Mets in the first inning. In the top of the first with two outs, Gio Gonzalez walked Asdrúbal Cabrera. He went to second on a wild pitch. Travis Taijeron singled up the middle and Michael A. Taylor threw home to Matt Wieters. Wieters tagged out a sliding Cabrera to end the inning. In the bottom of the first with one out, Wilmer Difo reached on a catching error by right-hander Robert Gsellman. Anthony Rendon doubled to put two men in...

After their sixth straight win in a series-opening game, the Orioles play the second game of a three-game set today at Fenway Park. The Orioles' 16-3 win on Friday improved their overall record to 63-65, their road record to 25-39 and their record against the American League East to 28-22. The Orioles set a season-high for runs last night, and tied their season high with 20 hits. The Orioles have scored 67 runs over their last 10 games. They hit two homers Friday, with Mark Trumbo connecting...

Second baseman Daniel Murphy has been able to improve his batting average and power numbers each season since signing a free agent deal with the Nationals in January 2016. The escalating hitting numbers are very impressive. His slugging percentage with the Nationals was .595 in 2016 and is .549 in 115 games this season. His best slugging percentage as a regular starter for the Mets was .449 in 2015. His batting average with the Nats was .347 in 2016 and is currently .320 in 2017. Murphy has hit...

BOSTON - The fuss over Players Weekend has died down today, including the obsession with uniforms, spikes and nicknames. No roster moves by the Orioles, no intrigue over the rotation or the closer's health. Feels like a normal day at Fenway Park, except the Orioles are still wearing bright orange caps that look yellowish in most photos. (And by "most," I mean all of mine.) Shortstop J.J. Hardy remains with Triple-A Norfolk and will play again tonight. Manager Buck Showalter checked again...

For the first six seasons in D.C., Sept. 1 meant one thing for fans of the Washington Nationals: Let's see if any of these minor leaguers might make the team next spring. Like, for example, Ian Desmond in 2009, Wilson Ramos in 2010, and the trio of Steve Lombardozzi, Tommy Milone and Brad Peacock in 2011 (yes, it counts because Milone and Peacock were key pieces in the trade for Gio Gonzalez). But this season, like the last five, the Nats are playoff contenders and the expectations for the...

First baseman Ryan Zimmerman confirmed it was not his left shoulder that he felt discomfort in Thursday in Houston. The biggest update today was that Zimmerman said it was his left triceps instead. "It wasn't really inside the shoulder, so that was good," Zimmerman said. "I was swung yesterday. It was just a little sore." Zimmerman even had discussions during Friday's game against the Mets with manager Dusty Baker about possibly pinch-hitting. "I told him (I could), but he had (Anthony...