PITTSBURGH - Shortstop Tim Beckham classifies himself as "day-to-day" after sustaining a hamstring injury Saturday night at Camden Yards. He may have to sit out the Pirates series, but he isn't conceding the rest of the week. Beckham felt the hamstring grab while running to first base in the ninth inning. J.J. Hardy started on Sunday afternoon, as planned, and Beckham remains on the bench for tonight's series opener against the Pirates. "It's feeling all right," he said. "My leg's been...

PITTSBURGH - Adam Jones is out of the Orioles lineup tonight due to soreness in his legs. Tim Beckham, who recently had a wisdom tooth extracted and suffered a hamstring injury, also is on the bench. Austin Hays is playing center field and leading off. Rule 5 pick Anthony Santander is in right field, making his first start since Aug. 19. Chance Sisco is behind the plate again. Jonathan Schoop is batting second and Manny Machado is third. Trey Mancini is batting .322 (19-for-59) with four...

PHILADELPHIA - The day has finally arrived. Bryce Harper has finally been reinstated from the 10-day disabled list and will start tonight for the Nationals. He has been out since Aug. 12 with knee and calf injuries. He missed Monday due to flu-like symptoms. He has six games to get ramped up before the team turns its attention to the National League Division Series. Harper will bat second and play right field. Anthony Rendon makes his first appearance in the series after dealing with foot...

The Washington Nationals reinstated outfielder Bryce Harper from the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Harper, 24, returns to the Nationals active roster after missing 41 games with a hyperextended left knee. The outfielder, who suffered the injury on Aug. 12 vs. San Francisco, ranked second in the National League in OPS (1.034), second in runs (92), fourth in on-base percentage (.419), fourth in...

Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman is having another strong second half. He'll try to finish off his strong pitching this half when he faces the Pirates in Pittsburgh tonight to start a two-game series. Gausman (11-10, 4.61 ERA) will make his 33rd start, which is a career-high. On Tuesday versus Boston he threw eight scoreless innings allowing just three singles on 106 pitches. He has given up one run over 15 innings his past two starts. After pitching to a 5.85 ERA before the All-Star game,...

PHILADELPHIA - The bullpen shined again Monday. Four relievers, three of them left-handers, shut out the Phillies for the final 10 outs of the game in a 3-1 Nationals win. A key battle occurred in the sixth. Starter A.J. Cole notched two outs to begin the frame. But the Phillies sandwiched a single in there by Odúbel Herrera, who had earlier crushed a solo shot. 101 pitches into Cole's start, the Nats decided to go to the bullpen to try to get out of the frame. Left-hander Oliver Pérez...

PHILADELPHIA - Right-hander A.J. Cole and center fielder Michael A. Taylor, whose paths have crossed a few times in the organization over the years, combined to lift the Nationals past the Phillies 3-1 in the opening game of a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night. Cole spun 5 2/3 solid innings, allowing only an Odubel Herrera line drive homer in the fourth, for his third win of the season. He struck out five batters, using his changeup and slider to mix up hitters. "He's...

Mark Trumbo will get deserved criticism for having a sub-par season. His power numbers fell off big time from his 2016 season. In a recent interview, Trumbo took the time to analyze his own season and look at some other aspects from his second season with the Orioles. Trumbo hit .256/.316/.533 last year with 27 doubles, a triple, 47 homers, 108 RBIs and an OPS of .850. He led the majors in homers. At the outset of free agency after the 2016 season, he declined a qualifying offer and hit free...

PHILADELPHIA - Right-hander A.J. Cole did a nice job of getting out of what could have turned into difficult situations in his first two innings tonight against the Phillies. In the first, Nick Williams singled with two outs. But Cole was able to get Rhys Hoskins to ground into a fielder's choice to third to end the inning. In the second, Aaron Altherr singled and moved to second on a sacrifice. Down 3-1 to Maikel Franco, Cole again got a groundout to third base. He walked Andrew Knapp with...

The Orioles are down to the last five games. Where's their focus? Wins still matter, no matter how the standings read. Don't try to sell them on the notion that 80-82 and 75-87 are the same in the grand scheme. That third place is insignificant if it doesn't come with an invitation to the wild card game. The latest nosedive, with only four wins in 18 games, does present an opportunity to evaluate a few of the younger players before the final goodbyes. Austin Hays stays in the lineup, of...