CHICAGO - From a personal standpoint, Ryan Zimmerman couldn't have timed his paternity leave much better. Zimmerman's wife, Heather, gave birth to the couple's second daughter Thursday (an off-day for the Nationals). Then Zimmerman missed his team's three-game series in Cincinnati while officially on the paternity leave list. Then he got to take advantage of another off-day for the Nationals before rejoining them here Tuesday night for the opener of their interleague series against the...

TORONTO - Orioles manager Buck Showalter initially said he would prefer not to comment on Manny Machado's four-game suspension until it became official and had been announced by Major League Baseball. But thanks to the ability to see an e-mail from MLB on a cell phone, reporters saw it become official today before his pregame media session ended. Another two minutes and the skipper would have gotten away. But the announcement came out and Showalter provided his reaction. MLB's announcement...

TORONTO - The Orioles have been a much better team at home than on the road this year. Beginning tonight they have a chance to improve on that. The American League East leaders begin a four-game series in Toronto tonight against the defending division champs. This trip then heads to Fenway Park for a three-game series against Boston. It is a rather important trip where the Orioles will face their closest pursuers in the AL East. At 35-23, the Orioles are a season-high 12 games over .500. They...

CHICAGO - The good news: It's warmer today than it was either of the previous two days, when temperatures never got out of the 60s. The bad news: It's raining. And it's not supposed to stop all night. What that means for the series finale between the Nationals and White Sox: This could be dicey. The problem is that the Nats don't return to Chicago again this season. So a postponement would require a special trip back here at some point. Which nobody ever wants to do. But the Nats also...

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has received a four-game suspension for charging the mound and throwing a punch at Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura during the fifth inning of Tuesday night's game at Camden Yards, according to an industry source. Machado also was fined for the incident. Multiple reports place the figure at $2,500. Machado is appealing the suspension and his name appears in tonight's lineup against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. No word yet on the length of Ventura's...

Having gone 7-3 on their homestand and expanding their division lead, the Orioles are back on the road for a four-game series in Toronto and a three-game set in Boston. The Orioles are 19-36 against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre since 2010. They lost six of nine games last season. The teams played a three-game series back in April at Camden Yards, with the Orioles taking the last two after dropping the opener. Marcus Stroman, on the mound again tonight, held them to three runs over seven...

Orioles fans will be able to enjoy a week filled with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities at the team's 2017 Dream Week, open to adults, regardless of ability. Fans will have the opportunity to play at the Orioles' two-site complex in Sarasota, Fla. (Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex and Ed Smith Stadium) from January 22-28, 2017. Dream Week offers participants the full major league treatment -- playing daily doubleheader intrasquad games and receiving instruction from Orioles Legend Jim Palmer, and...

The Nationals offense is hot coming into the summer months! After their third straight 10-run game and victory, the Nats are looking to close out this 11-day road trip with a sweep of the White Sox before returning home. It's an exciting and eventful time in the baseball calendar with the First-Year Player Draft starting tonight. The Nationals hold the 28th, 29th and 58th overall picks in the first two rounds, so Byron Kerr and I give you a brief preview of the possible areas general manager...

Unlike years past, and by now I mean years passed, the Washington Nationals do not hold the first overall pick in tonight's MLB First-Year Player Draft. They don't even have a top-10 pick. They do, however, have two picks in the first round, but will have to be a little patient. The Nationals currently hold the 28th and 29th overall selections in this year's draft. But despite the lack of an "early pick" in the sport's yearly mid-season opportunity to improve an organization, the...

Back in November, Matt Wieters and the Baltimore Orioles made baseball history. The Birds catcher became one of the first players to accept a team's qualifying offer when he agreed to sign back with the O's on a one-year, $15.8 million deal. Prior to last offseason, all 34 players who were extended a qualifying offer turned it down in favor of hitting the open market. Sometimes it worked in their favor, sometimes it didn't. Looking at you, Nelson Cruz. Wieters, along with Brett Anderson and...