The Nationals' No. 3 prospect, outfielder Juan Soto, has been out recently because he had the hamate bone removed from his right hand, according to Nationals director of player development Mark Scialabba. Soto will be able to return to the lineup in a few weeks. Soto fractured his ankle back in early May with low Single-A Hagerstown and returned for several rehab games at the end of June and into July with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals. Baseball America has updated its top 10...

The Nationals will try to even their series with the Brewers tonight, and right fielder Bryce Harper will try to extend his 17-game hitting streak, which is already a career high. He's 28-for-64 (.426) with six doubles, one triple, seven homers, 17 RBIs, 12 walks and 23 runs scored during the streak. Harper is also in the midst of a 25-game on-base streak, the second-longest of his career. During that span, he is slashing .398/.496/.724. The Nats send left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the mound...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - This one can't be laid entirely on Ubaldo Jiménez's shoulders. The home run was costly, but Jiménez offered quality. He was the good version of himself. But the offense didn't reach the same level. Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer off Jiménez with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and the Orioles were rationed to Jonathan Schoop's solo homer in a 5-1 loss to the Rays before an announced crowd of 18,430 at Tropicana Field. The Orioles drop the series...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles are starting Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman and Wade Miley in the three-game series against the Rangers that begins on Friday at Globe Life Park. The Rangers are listing Andrew Cashner for Friday and left-hander Martin Perez for Sunday. They haven't announced Saturday's starter. Manager Buck Showalter also confirmed that Dylan Bundy will be pushed back to Tuesday night against the Royals at Camden Yards. That would leave Ubaldo Jiménez for Monday night if...

After winning 5-0 on Monday and losing 5-4 last night, the Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays play a third and deciding game of their series this afternoon. The Orioles have split the first two games of a three-game series seven times this year, and they have gone 6-1 in the decisive third game, including winning four straight such games. The Orioles are 27-21 in American League East games and 12-12 in AL East road games. They have won three, lost two and tied two road AL East series. The Orioles...

We've seen the script play out a few too many times in the 2017 season. O's fall behind by a lot of runs early. O's battle back. But the rally comes up short. It did again last night when Tampa Bay scored five runs off left-hander Wade Miley in the second inning and got nothing after that. The Orioles rallied, and when Welington Castillo singled in two runs with two outs in the eighth they were down by just 5-4. But the Orioles left two runners on in the eighth and two on in the ninth, and...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - First baseman Chris Davis has returned to the Orioles lineup after missing the last two games with a stomach virus. Seth Smith is in right field. Caleb Joseph is behind the plate as the Orioles try to win the series against the Rays. The Orioles are 4 1/2 games back for the second wild card and six games behind the first-place Red Sox. For the Orioles Adam Jones CF Manny Machado 3B Jonathan Schoop 2B Chris Davis 1B Mark Trumbo DH Trey Mancini LF Seth Smith RF Caleb Joseph...

Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has a mixed reputation among the fan base. Some applaud him for his acquisitions of productive players like Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel, Nelson Cruz and Mark Trumbo, among others. Another large sum show their disapproval of Duquette for letting players like Cruz and Andrew Miller walk, for trading away young pitching and for acquiring players who performed below expectations, like Ubaldo Jiménez, Travis Snider and Yovani...

Manager Dusty Baker, prior to facing the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, talked about the Nationals' home and away records and how they do in day games. The club was coming off another long road trip of nine or more games. In those three long trips, the Nationals have been outstanding, going 23-5 (.821). The Nationals have the National League's best road record at 33-19 (.635). Why are they so good on the road? "Well, number one, we get the first at-bat," Baker said during Tusday's pregame....

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles have one game remaining today against the Rays before flying to Dallas and inching closer to the non-waiver trade deadline that arrives on Monday. They're not conceding the 2017 season or the one that follows. They're not going to do a full teardown of the club like the great roster purge of 2000. They remain in the market for a starting pitcher, believing that an upgrade to the rotation could push them into the playoffs. There's enough room for two labels...