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...

It has at times been easy to overlook, because the group collectively continues to produce, but the Nationals do miss their injured position players. How could any lineup not miss Jayson Werth, Trea Turner and Michael A. Taylor, who progressively have gone on the disabled list over the last six weeks? "Do you want all your guys healthy? I think, of course," first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said after Tuesday night's 8-0 drubbing at the hands of the Brewers. "You look at the teams at the end of...

When the Nationals suddenly found themselves in need of a No. 5 starter during the All-Star break, they turned to an old friend. Edwin Jackson, who had recently returned to the organization for which he pitched five years earlier, was performing well at Triple-A Syracuse and was a logical replacement for the injured Joe Ross. And when Jackson proceeded to dominate the Angels over seven sparkling innings last week in Anaheim, the Nationals might have tempted to believe their back-of-the-rotation...

Offensively, it just wasn't the Nationals' night in an 8-0 setback to the visiting Brewers. The Nats went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and managed only five hits. They left eight men on base. Only one of their three doubles came with a runner on base. Bryce Harper's double with two outs and Stephen Drew on first in the eighth was their best chance to put multiple runs on the board. A Ryan Zimmerman grounder ended that threat. Drew reached second base in the first and Anthony...

Camus was a French philosopher, author and journalist who lived from 1913 to 1960. His search was for a meaning to life, which in many ways he found to be absurd. Thus, he is sometimes referred to as the father of absurdism. The problem of defining Camus is he constantly would seemingly support two sides of a position in the same work or discussion. He found life absurd, but said there were still reasons to live, still matters of value. That seems to be the gravamen for this work. Rather than...

Dusty Baker mentioned this afternoon he wanted to see the Nationals start playing better at home, noting in particular his team's struggles when it returns from the West Coast. Tonight's performance in an 8-0 loss to the Brewers didn't do anything to allay Baker's fears. It only underscored his point. Some sloppy defense, some poor hitting with runners in scoring position and a ragged start from Edwin Jackson all contributed to a lopsided loss to open this six-game homestand against teams...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Wade Miley retired the side in order in the first inning tonight on only nine pitches. He made two-out walks insignificant in the third and fourth, and did the same with a one-out walk and hit batter in the fifth. No one reached in the sixth. No hits were surrendered, and most important, no runs. There are no do-overs or mulligans, however, and Miley is stuck with the second inning. It ruined his night and again slowed the Orioles' momentum. Miley allowed five runs, the...