And now ... it's time to play out the string. Or possibly not. The Nationals take the field tonight for the first time as 2017 National League East champs, so technically nothing is at stake. Except for those wacky Dodgers, who have lost 11 in a row and now only lead the Nats by 3 1/2 games for the best record in the league. Which means there may be more at stake over these final 19 games than anyone expected. Up first, it's tonight's opener of a three-game series against the Braves, who did...

The Nationals will open the 2018 season earlier than usual, on a different day of the week than usual and in a venue they've never opened at before. Major League Baseball announced next year's schedule this afternoon, and it features the Nationals opening March 29 in Cincinnati. That opener, on a Thursday, comes as MLB moves opening day up four days across the league, a wrinkle in the new collective bargaining agreement with players to provide for more off-days over the course of the season,...

The Orioles today announced that they will open the 2018 season at Oriole Park against the Minnesota Twins as part of a three-game homestand beginning with Opening Day on Thursday, March 29. The 2018 season opener marks the first Opening Day in March since the Orioles hosted the Boston Red Sox on March 31, 2014. The Orioles will again host each American League East divisional opponent for three series throughout the season. The Toronto Blue Jays will play a total of nine games in Baltimore,...

The Washington Nationals announced their 2018 schedule on Tuesday, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, revealing an 81-game home slate that will begin on April 5 at Nationals Park. After celebrating Opening Day in Cincinnati on March 29 and kicking off the 2018 season with a six-game road trip to the Queen City and Atlanta, the Nationals will mark the 85th home opener in D.C. since 1901 with a tilt against their divisional foe, the New York Mets. Nationals Park will open its gates for...

TORONTO - The Orioles lost further touch with the American League's second wild card spot last night. While Minnesota did not play, the Orioles lost their fifth straight and they are now 3 1/2 games behind the Twins. The Orioles lost 4-3 to start a three-game series at Rogers Centre. They are 0-4 on a 10-game road trip. The last three losses have been by a total of four runs. The Orioles are also two games under .500 at 71-73. Now they are again chasing a winning record, not to mention several...

So, anything interesting happen this weekend? I have to admit, I was not looking forward to waiting out the end of the Braves-Marlins game Sunday afternoon, along with the Nationals and a few thousand fans, thinking it was either going to result in an anti-climactic division clinch or a bunch of wasted time with the magic number staying stuck on one. I was wrong, though, because the scene at Nationals Park when Lane Adams hit his walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th at SunTrust Park was one...

TORONTO - There were defensive miscues, an injury to a catcher and it was another night of not much offense for the Orioles. They lost 4-3 to the Toronto Blue Jays in the series opener in front of 28,401 at Rogers Centre. Three games behind the second wild card to start the night, they fall to 71-73. They are two games under .500 for the first time since they were 63-65 on Aug. 25. The Orioles have scored just eight runs during a five-game losing streak. They are 27-43 on the road and 3-8 since...

I'm in the process of dividing up the Orioles fan base, putting the "we're still alive" crowd on one side of the room and the "start playing prospects because the season's over" crowd on the other. No fighting, please. There's a special section for the "it's over" crowd that started up in June. I'm roping them off and tossing them snacks. At what point should the Orioles play Austin Hays every day in right field and get a head start on spring training? They put him on the 40-man...

TORONTO - The Orioles lost one catcher and made two errors in the bottom of the second inning tonight to trail 2-0 early on against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. It was a pretty brutal half inning. Catcher Welington Castillo took a foul ball to the groin area during Miguel Montero's at-bat which resulted in a strikeout to end the last of the first scoreless. Castillo was looked at by trainer Brian Ebel, but remained in the game for that at-bat. But Caleb Joseph was catching when the...

TORONTO - Convinced that his team can still make a run to get the second American League wild card, Orioles manager Buck Showalter today talked about his team's struggling offense. During a four-game losing streak, the Orioles have scored just five runs on 23 hits with two home runs. Have the Orioles just faced pitching that was real good or have they contributed to their recent team-wide slump? "It's both," Showalter said. "I'm always going to give credit to the opposition, but the...