CHICAGO - Matt Wieters, by his own admission, isn't the type to argue with umpires very much. Certainly not to the extent he risks ejection. But every once in a while, the Nationals catcher feels like he needs to make a point. Usually when it comes to balls and strikes. And so when he felt it was necessary in the bottom of the sixth Saturday afternoon, he let plate umpire Chad Whitson know it. And then was forced to watch the rest of the Nationals' 7-4 loss to the Cubs from the clubhouse. It...

After losing the first two games of the series with the Tigers and losing a one-run lead in the eighth inning on Friday, it felt like a big game for the Orioles last night. It was a big one to win, as they beat the Tigers 5-2 at Oriole Park. Coming into this series, they wanted more than a four-game split, but if they get that today, they will head to the West Coast later this afternoon with some momentum. Wade Miley needed 113 pitches to get through five innings. But at least he put up four...

Wade Miley reached his magic number of innings again tonight, leaving the game after the fifth. He's done it 10 times in 23 starts. It's a wall of sorts that can have good or bad on the other side. Sometimes, there's the improbable. The pitch count got out of control again, climbing to 30 after the first inning and 113 after the fifth. But Miley retired the last seven batters he faced and settled for the no-decision. The Orioles gladly took the win, their power and bullpen leading the...

CHICAGO - That the Nationals "had action" - as Dusty Baker likes to call it - several times late in today's 7-4 loss to the Cubs speaks to their ability to rarely be out of a ballgame, even one that felt like an uphill climb from the outset. Then again, with a couple of well-placed pitches in a couple of key situations earlier, the Nationals might not have found themselves trying to finish off a comeback but instead a wire-to-wire victory. In the end, the Nats' attempted rallies against the...

Exactly one month has passed since the Orioles made a roster move to bring up a reliever from the minors. They recalled left-hander Jayson Aquino from Triple-A Norfolk on July 5 and optioned him after the game. Stefan Crichton and Mike Wright were reinstated from the 10-day disabled list and optioned. Jeremy Hellickson was acquired from the Phillies. Yefry Ramirez was acquired from the Yankees and assigned to Double-A Bowie. That's it for pitching transactions. The shuttle has stalled. The...

A five-game win streak has been followed by back-to-back losses to the Detroit Tigers for the Orioles. They host the Tigers tonight in the third game of a four-game series. The Orioles (53-56) are 33-23 at home for the season. They have won five of seven games and are 11-7 in the last 18. Detroit (51-57) is 4-1 versus Baltimore in 2017 and 24-32 in road games. The Tigers are 14-11 in games against American League East opponents. On the mound tonight for the Orioles is lefty Wade Miley (5-9,...

CHICAGO - A disastrous first inning from Edwin Jackson left the Nationals trying to climb their way out of a significant hole nearly from the get-go this afternoon at Wrigley Field. But every time they made some progress and nearly got their heads back up to ground level, the Cubs pushed them back down the hole and made them start all over again. The end result: a 7-4 loss on a long and often frustrating afternoon at the Friendly Confines, setting up a rubber match Sunday afternoon, not only to...

Following another start that fell significantly short of his typical output in previous years, Chris Tillman is being moved to the Orioles bullpen for an undetermined period of time. Manager Buck Showalter said Tillman will be available for Sunday's series finale against the Tigers and won't start next week while the Orioles are on the West Coast. Tillman is 1-7 with an 8.10 ERA and 2.040 WHIP in 15 starts over 66 2/3 innings. He was charged with five earned runs and seven total Thursday...

Orioles rookie Trey Mancini is in tonight's lineup after missing last night's game with a bruised left knee. X-rays were negative and Mancini is in left field. Seth Smith is the designated hitter and Joey Rickard is in right field. Welington Castillo is catching, which would have happened no matter how Caleb Joseph's hand was feeling. Joseph was hit last night and X-rays were negative. Tim Beckham is 11-for-16 with the Orioles, the first player in franchise history to collect 11 hits in his...

CHICAGO - As the Nationals cobble together their rotation for the rest of the weekend, they can take solace knowing they should head into next week with the situation much more stable. Max Scherzer, who hasn't pitched since departing with neck spasms before the second inning Tuesday night in Miami, threw off the bullpen mound at Wrigley Field this morning and is preparing to start Monday against the Marlins in Washington. Gio González, who officially was placed on the paternity leave list...