The celebration of the 25th anniversary of Camden Yards carries a sad note due to the absence of former manager Johnny Oates, who died on Christmas Eve 2004 at 58, more than three years after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. Doctors had given him about a year to live. Various players have expressed their love and admiration for him. "I owe my career to him," Anderson said. "I was struggling at Memorial Stadium the first four years and he was a great manager, a great man. I'm...

The Orioles haven't revealed their starter for Sunday's series finale against the Angels. However, it's likely to be Chris Tillman if he doesn't pitch tonight in relief. Manager Buck Showalter hinted that it was fair to speculate on Tillman, who hasn't started since Aug. 3 against the Tigers. Tillman came out of the rotation after allowing five earned runs (seven total) in two innings to raise his ERA to 8.10. Working out of the bullpen for the first time in the majors, Tillman has tossed...

SAN DIEGO - When Stephen Strasburg departed his July 23 start in Arizona after two innings with a nerve impingement in his elbow and subsequently was placed on the disabled list, the Nationals said they expected the right-hander to miss only one start before returning to the mound in what was deemed a precautionary move. Tonight, 27 days removed from that start, Strasburg finally takes the mound again. Strasburg himself has suggested throughout the last four weeks that he could've returned...

With their win last night over the Los Angeles Angels on Manny Machado's walk-off grand slam in the ninth, the Orioles now have five wins this year when trailing after eight innings. That is tied for the American League lead. Such wins are rare. The Orioles are 5-57 when trailing after eight, while the New York Yankees are 5-52 and Tampa Bay is 5-56. Division-leading Boston is 3-48 and seven American League teams have two or fewer such wins. Machado's slam was his third homer of the night and...

The Washington Nationals returned from rehab assignment and reinstated right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg on Saturday. Prior to Friday night's game, the Nationals placed right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer on the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 15) with left neck inflammation. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Strasburg, 29, returns to the Nationals after missing 23 games with a right elbow nerve impingement....

Catcher Welington Castillo made it through batting practice and will start tonight. Castillo, who missed last night's game due to illness, replaces Caleb Joseph in the Orioles lineup. He's batting eighth. Rule 5 pick Anthony Santander moves down to ninth. First baseman Chris Davis remains out of the lineup, but he might stop by the ballpark later today. He's also been sick and the Orioles kept him home. However, manager Buck Showalter said Davis could return to the lineup on Sunday. For the...

First baseman Chris Davis and catcher Welington Castillo remain out of the lineup for tonight's game against the Angels. They didn't play last night due to illness. Rule 5 pick Anthony Santander is back in right field. Seth Smith is in left. Kevin Gausman has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts. His ERA has dropped from 6.39 on July 14 to 5.08. The exception came on Aug. 9 in Anaheim, when Gausman permitted four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 5-1 loss. He has a...

It was a remarkable performance by Orioles' third baseman Manny Machado. He hit a two-run homer in the third inning, a solo homer in the fifth and a walk-off grand slam in the ninth. The Orioles hit four homers before Machado batted in the ninth and yet they were on their way to a homestand-opening 7-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. But Machado's blast to center won the game and turned the night into a stunning 9-7 win. Here is a list of the 10 players that have hit three grand slams in...

SAN DIEGO - The task - getting nine innings out of a menagerie of relievers after Max Scherzer had to be scratched from Friday night's start - was daunting enough. Dusty Baker simply hoped he could get through this game without burning up his entire pitching staff, let alone actually beat the Padres. But when emergency starter Matt Grace was able to go 4 1/3 innings without surrendering a run, a task that felt awfully daunting at the beginning of the night suddenly felt doable. And thanks to...

SAN DIEGO - Max Scherzer has been through this before. Only two weeks ago, as a matter of fact. Which is why the right-hander was massively annoyed but also confident that his inability to start tonight at Petco Park due to inflammation in his neck isn't cause for major concern. "It's just frustrating," he said following the Nationals' 7-1 win over the Padres, made possible by nine innings from six relievers. "I can sit here and laugh at it, because I know what the cause of this is and I...