When the non-waiver trade deadline passed Monday and closer Zach Britton was still an Oriole, his teammates were certainly pleased that he was still among them. But not just because he is one of the best late-inning pitchers in the game. For 27-year-old right-hander Mychal Givens, Britton has been a mentor and a friend. Someone to help him with whatever he might need - on or off the field. "He's helped me deal with my transition (from position player to pitcher)," Givens said. "He had to...

MIAMI - Let's see, on Monday night Gio Gonzalez carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Last night, Max Scherzer homered in the top of the second and then departed after one warmup pitch in the bottom of the second with neck spasms. What does A.J. Cole have in store for us tonight? Cole gets the ball for only the second time this season in the big leagues, with the Nationals needing a one-time start in the wake of Sunday's doubleheader. Cole had a 5.66 ERA in 16 starts for Triple-A...

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher A.J. Cole from Triple-A Syracuse and activated newly-acquired right-hander Brandon Kintzler on Wednesday. Right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde and left-handed pitcher Sammy Solis were optioned to Syracuse. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Cole, 25, joins the Nationals for his second Major League assignment of the season. In his previous call-up, Cole made one start, going 1-0...

The Orioles are trying tonight to complete their second three-game sweep of the Royals at home in the past two seasons. Tim Beckham gets another start at shortstop, continuing to bat sixth against Royals left-hander Jason Vargas. Joey Rickard is in right field, Craig Gentry is in left and Caleb Joseph is behind the plate. Seth Smith is 6-for-18 with three doubles, a home run and four RBIs against left-handers this season, but he's out of the lineup tonight. He's a career .207 hitters versus...

The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is behind us, and instead of selling, the Orioles decided to be small buyers, acquiring right-hander Jeremy Hellickson and infielder Tim Beckham. The Birds tried making a seller's deal to trade away All-Star closer Zach Britton for a package of prospects, but no deal could be reached. It's up for debate whether or not the moves the club made were wise ones, but what's done is done and the O's plan to make a run for the playoffs. They're off to a hot...

The Orioles rotation, much maligned this year for obvious and deserved reasons, is making a brief resurgence. Now we await the next few games and weeks to find out if it is merely a small sample of good pitching or a bigger turnaround. The Orioles have won four straight games. Over that stretch we've seen Kevin Gausman throw 8 2/3 scoreless innings. Then Wade Miley allowed two runs over five innings. Then Ubaldo Jiménez allowed one run over seven innings and last night Dylan Bundy gave up...

MIAMI - Howie Kendrick joined the Nationals last weekend saying he simply wanted to fit in with a first-place club that already boasted no shortage of star power and big personalities. It took five games, but Kendrick ensured Tuesday night he'll fit in just fine here. Because after a 5-for-5 night at the plate, he looks very much like any other member of the National League's most productive lineup. On a night when - aside from Max Scherzer's surprise three-run homer - the Nationals didn't...

The Jeremy Hellickson era officially begins tonight at Camden Yards. Hellickson is making his first start since the Orioles acquired him from the Phillies late Friday night. He hasn't pitched since July 22, when he faced the Brewers in Philadelphia and allowed six runs in five innings. It was the second consecutive start with Hellickson lasting five innings. He had worked seven, six, 6 1/3 and six in his previous four outings. Hellickson was at his best in the first month of the season, when...

MIAMI - Max Scherzer spent a good portion of his postgame session with reporters laughing and bragging about the three-run homer he launched in the top of the second inning tonight at Marlins Park. The fact he was able to do that should tell you how little he's worried about the reason he had to remove himself from the game in the bottom of the second: neck spasms. "I slept on it wrong," the Nationals ace said in the verbal equivalent of a shoulder shrug. "Sometimes you wake up in the...

The Orioles have not had a pitcher throw a complete game since Ubaldo Jiménez against the Rays on Sept. 5, 2016. Dylan Bundy had a real chance tonight. He was rolling with 93 pitches and with a big lead through eight innings. But manager Buck Showalter has to think long-term and went to Brad Brach to pitch the ninth to complete the Orioles' 7-2 win over the Royals. Bundy, as you would expect, would have liked the chance to finish the game. "Yeah, I did," he said. "But I understood. That...