ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles return to Tropicana Field tonight only 3 1/2 games out of the second wild card spot. They're starting both of their catchers against Rays left-hander Blake Snell, with Welington Castillo serving as designated hitter. Mark Trumbo is playing first base and Chris Davis is on the bench. Snell is 0-5 with a 4.98 ERA and 1.625 WHIP in 11 starts over 56 innings. He's averaging 5.9 walks per nine innings. Left-handers are batting .212 against Snell and right-handers...

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending July 23rd. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network. Schoop batted .433 (13-for-30) with eight runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI over seven games played to earn his first career AL Player of the Week Award. Among AL leaders, Jonathan finished the period first in RBI; tied for first in hits, home runs and total bases (24); second in runs...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The hot bat of second baseman Jonathan Schoop earned him recognition beyond the Orioles. Schoop has been named the American League's Player of the Week after batting .433 in seven games. Schoop went 13-for-30 with two doubles, three home runs, 16 RBIs and eight runs scored, as the Orioles try to at least stay in the wild card hunt. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Schoop, who currently leads the Orioles with a .307 average, .353 on-base percentage, .552...

Manager: Craig Counsell (3rd season) Record: 53-48 Last 10 games: 3-7 Who to watch: C Manny Piña (.294), 1B Eric Thames (23 HR), 3B Travis Shaw (70 RBIs, 22 HR, 24 doubles), 2B Jonathan Villar (19 SB), LF Ryan Braun (.272/.356/.562), RHP Corey Knebel (1.75 ERA, 17 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (4-2 in 2016) Pitching probables: July 25: RHP Edwin Jackson vs. RHP Zach Davies, 7:05 p.m., MASN2 July 26: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. RHP Jimmy Nelson, 7:05 p.m., MASN July 27: RHP Max...

If you've ever been to an amusement park and taken a ride on the biggest roller coasters, you know exactly what an Orioles fan feels like over the last few weeks. The ups and downs, the twists and turns, and the subtle feeling that you might need to vomit all go hand in hand. Whether you are a fan that is more focused on the prospects of the 2017 O's, or are more concerned with Baltimore's chances beyond this season, there has been enough double-talk and mystery to go around for both...

How are you feeling about the Nationals season so far? Are you one of those glass-half-empty types who believe that the 59-38 Nats have underachieved this season and should be competing with the Dodgers for baseball's best record, if not for so many wasted scoring opportunities and blown leads? Or is your glass half-full, thankful that the team is 21 games over .500 with the biggest division lead in the National League - 12 games approaching the end of July - despite what has been baseball's...

Pitching a no-hitter in baseball is unique and rare. Pitching two no-hitters in back-to-back games of a doubleheader on the same day is like winning the lottery. Four pitchers for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nats pulled off the nearly impossible Sunday by doing just that: combining to throw two seven-inning no-hitters. In the opener, Joan Baez, down from high Single-A Potomac to work on some of his mechanics, twirled six no-hit innings in a 4-0 win over the GCL Marlins. He struck out...

It's a beautiful morning for a cross-country flight. (At least, I assume it is. I actually typed this last night.) After an eventful week out west, the Nationals are headed home and so is your trusty beat writer. No charter flight for me, though. No, it's Seat 27A on United Flight 236, departing Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport at (gulp!) 6:25 a.m. MST and scheduled to arrive at Washington-Dulles International Airport at 1:43 p.m. EDT. And what better way to pass the time than to...

It was a strange homestand for the Orioles. They won five. They lost five. There were two sweeps. Orioles pitching gave up 27 runs in getting swept three straight by the Cubs. Then they allowed just four runs in a three-game stretch versus Texas. But then they allowed 30 runs the last four games of the homestand. Yet they won two of those last four games thanks to a resurgent offense that has produce 51 runs the past six games with a .333 average and 13 home runs. "What did we end up, 5-5?"...

Caleb Joseph has a tendency to choke up at the plate and he doesn't care who notices. He's secure in his masculinity. There are no tears from the Orioles catcher, though his injury last summer would make anyone's eyes water. Joseph suffered through a miserable 2016 season, and not just the foul ball that put him on the disabled list for a month. He crafted a .174/.216/.197 slash line and didn't drive in a run in 49 games. He lost an arbitration hearing that chafed a few members of the...