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MINNEAPOLIS - Whose idea was it to stop the season?
The Orioles have closed the first half with back-to-back victories, jumping out to an early lead today and defeating the Twins 11-5 to gain a series split before an announced crowd of 25,848 at Target Field.
Adam Jones homered twice and drove in five runs, Caleb Joseph had three RBIs and Ubaldo Jiménez was scored upon in only one of his five innings.
Jiménez had allowed only nine earned runs in 44 2/3 innings at Target Field before today...
For the second straight afternoon, the Nationals lost a starting pitcher by the fourth inning. This time, they still managed to find a way to win.
Despite the early departure of Joe Ross, pulled in the top of the fourth with his velocity diminished, the Nationals rode a wave of clutch hits and solid relief work to a 10-5 victory over the Braves to close out the first half of the season on a high note.
Matt Wieters drove in three runs, Anthony Rendon drove in two, Ryan Zimmerman and Chris Heisey...
The Nationals went after Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb in the bottom of the first inning.
Newcomb had trouble finding the strike zone early as Brian Goodwin and Wilmer Difo were walked.
Bryce Harper followed with a single to left field that loaded the bases. Goodwin stopped at third base despite a wave home sign from third base coach Bobby Henley, respecting Matt Kemp's arm.
The move proved wise because Ryan Zimmerman's sacrifice fly to right field scored Goodwin.
Later, Anthony Rendon...
MINNEAPOLIS - Chris Davis took batting practice again this morning and he remains scheduled to begin a short injury rehab assignment Monday afternoon at Single-A Frederick.
Davis will get three or four at-bats with the Keys in his first game since going on the disabled list retroactive to June 13 with a strained right oblique.
"It went fine," said manager Buck Showalter. "Ready to go tomorrow at Frederick. He's had his All-Star break."
Showalter said Davis just needs to get "back in the...
The Orioles hit the All-Star break after today's game in Minnesota, which will end not only the first half but a four-game series and a seven-game road trip.
The Orioles will hit the break in a very different situation than a year ago. At the 2016 All-Star break, they were 51-36, leading the American League East by two games and sending five players to the Midsummer Classic. This year, they are 41-46 and tied for fourth in the AL East with Toronto. They are 8 1/2 games back of first place....
MINNEAPOLIS - Jonathan Schoop is back at second base today as the Orioles conclude their road trip and the first half.
Rubén Tejada is starting at shortstop. Hyun Soo Kim is in left field and Caleb Joseph is behind the plate.
For the Orioles Seth Smith RF Manny Machado 3B Jonathan Schoop 2B Adam Jones CF Mark Trumbo DH Trey Mancini 1B Hyun Soo Kim LF Caleb Joseph C Rubén Tejada SS
Ubaldo Jiménez RHP
For the Twins Brian Dozier 2B Robbie Grossman DH Max Kepler RF Miguel Sanó 3B Jason...
If you're searching for silver linings from Saturday's 13-0 drubbing at the hands of the Braves - an admittedly difficult proposition - how about Tanner Roark's relief appearance?
It may not have done anything to help put the Nationals in position to win the game, but on a personal level it was a positive development for Roark, who needed one in the worst way.
The end result - three runs allowed in five innings - wasn't especially notable, but Roark looked (and felt) like a much different...
The final day of the first half of the 2017 season has arrived, and while it may feel like this day has come quickly, it also comes at the end of a particularly difficult portion of the schedule for the Nationals. They had 37 games scheduled in the last 38 days - one of those was Wednesday night's game that was postponed - and during this time they've seen Jayson Werth, Trea Turner, Michael A. Taylor, Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley all land on the disabled list.
The Nationals' record during...
Saturday's game was already out of hand before Sammy SolÃs ever took the mound at Nationals Park. The Braves held a 9-0 lead after eight innings, so this was supposed to be nothing more than an opportunity for SolÃs to get some work in and further distance himself from a long stint on the disabled list.
And then over the course of one agonizing inning of (to be honest) meaningless baseball, SolÃs wound up creating more questions about his status and what the Nationals should do with...
MINNEAPOLIS - The Orioles understand that they can't make up all of this lost ground in one or two games. With one or two swings. With a few quality starts.
You spend that much time digging a hole, you don't climb out of it in a couple of seconds.
"One game at time, don't think about yesterday," said Jonathan Schoop, who enabled the Orioles to improve to 1-0 yesterday with him as the starting shortstop. "Today we have to win. Now don't think about today. Come back tomorrow trying to win...