Stephen Strasburg set the tone last night with a dominant start to open the season's second half. Does Tanner Roark have one in himself tonight against the Pirates? Roark was given this assignment in part to keep him as close to on-schedule as possible. He hasn't started a game since July 6, but he did pitch 2 1/3 perfect innings in relief Sunday afternoon in New York, not a bad tune-up at all. The Nationals lineup faces a challenge tonight in Gerrit Cole, the Pittsburgh ace who returns from...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Outfielder Hyun Soo Kim remains out of the Orioles lineup tonight, whether it's due to a strained right hamstring or the Rays starting left-hander Matt Moore. The Orioles will check Kim's condition again on Sunday before deciding whether to place him on the disabled list. Nolan Reimold is in left field and Joey Rickard is in right. Mark Trumbo is serving as the designated hitter. Jonathan Schoop is batting .341 (14-for-41) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Chris Tillman is trying to become the first Orioles pitcher to record a 20-win season since Mike Boddicker in 1984. This is a crop-destroying drought. Can Tillman be the one to end it? He's 12-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 19 starts going into tonight's game against the Rays at Tropicana Field. In two July starts, Tillman has allowed two runs and eight hits over 14 innings. This is a notable improvement after Tillman posted a 5.19 ERA in June that likely cost him a spot on the...

Michael A. Taylor was supposed to bat seventh, not second. Clint Robinson wasn't supposed to be batting anything, unless the situation called for a pinch-hitter late in last night's game. Funny how these things work sometimes, because wouldn't you know the two biggest offensive stars of the Nationals' 5-1 victory over the Pirates happened to be named Michael A. Taylor and Clint Robinson? Robinson recorded two hits against left-hander Francisco Liriano and drove in the Nationals' first run...

In explaining why he was choosing not to pitch in the only All-Star Game that will take place in his hometown during his active career, Stephen Strasburg emphasized how it was more important for him to pitch not in an exhibition game in San Diego but in as many big games as possible for the Nationals the remainder of this season. "In my head, I want to make up for the two starts I missed (while on the disabled list)," the right-hander said last weekend in New York. "So hopefully I'll start...

In one game to start the Orioles' second half we saw a microcosm of many of the 87 games that took place in the first half. The Orioles hit homers. The O's bullpen and defense was outstanding. Their starting rotation was not. They won. We saw that a lot in the first half. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop didn't make the All-Star team this year, but surely he will in future years. Schoop provided the latest reason why last night when his clutch homer in the eighth off Chris Archer broke the 3-3...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Let's begin today's blog entry with a very important question, perhaps the biggest of the 2016 season. Should we use the hashtag #BundySunday or #SundayBundy for Dylan Bundy's upcoming start? I suggested the former yesterday on Twitter, but I see the logic in the latter if you're playing off "Sunday Funday." Let me know what you think. Closer Zach Britton no longer has Bundy sitting with him in the bullpen. Bundy is moving into the rotation for the first time in the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles received another five-inning start tonight from right-hander Yovani Gallardo. They also had another comeback, scoring the tying run in the sixth, and hit another home run, with Jonathan Schoop muscling up in the eighth. Schoop led off with his 15th home run and the Orioles rallied to beat the Rays 4-3 before an announced crowd of 17,672 at Tropicana Field. The bullpen didn't allow a run over the last four innings. Chaz Roe handled the sixth, Mychal Givens the...

Nationals first baseman Daniel Murphy was in the original lineup a few hours prior to Friday's opener against the Pirates. But about an hour before first pitch, the veteran was scratched due to "general leg soreness." Clint Robinson was inserted in the lineup, batting eighth and replacing Murphy. "Murph told me before BP, 'Stay ready, might be in there,' " Robinson said. "(Bench coach) Chris Speier told me during BP that I was in there. That's really all there was to it." The...

The Orioles got another shaky performance from a starting pitcher. They fell behind 3-1 after three innings. Chris Archer looked sharp early on. Zach Britton saw the tie run reach third with one out in the ninth. But the Orioles won. Maybe it was a case of a first-place team finding a way to win and a last-place team finding a way to lose. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop hit a solo homer off Archer in the eighth to break a 3-3 tie as the Orioles beat Tampa Bay 4-3 at Tropicana Field. The O's...