Left-hander T.J. McFarland has left Triple-A Norfolk and is headed to Baltimore. No word on whether he's going to be recalled tonight or a corresponding move, but I've got confirmation that he's joining the Orioles. McFarland was 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA in eight relief appearances with the Orioles. He allowed seven runs and 12 hits in 13 1/3 innings. McFarland threw two scoreless innings on Monday after coming off Norfolk's disabled list. He's also made three starts with the Tides. In 16...

PHILADELPHIA - The first round of National League All-Star voting was released this afternoon, and for the first time the Nationals have a legitimate shot of having two starters in the game. Bryce Harper leads all NL outfielders early on, with 838,599 votes. Daniel Murphy, meanwhile, ranks second at second base with 488,468 votes. Wilson Ramos, who is fifth among catchers with 209,949 votes, is the only other Nationals player to rank in the top five at his position so far. Harper is a...

The Nationals have hit 14 homers in the last six games. The four homers, including Stephen Drew's inside-the-park roundtripper, were the most hit in a game by the Nationals since five homers on May 24 against the Mets. They also hit four homers on April 19 at Miami. Last season, the Nationals hit four or more home runs on May 8, May 19, June 16 and September 14. The Nationals have made it a habit of scoring late in their last four games. Since Saturday's game, the Nationals have plated 14...

I asked earlier this week whether a series at the end of May could be construed as "big" because it involved the top two teams in their division. I'm wondering now whether it's too early to label tonight's game a "must-win" for the Orioles, who have dropped the first two in the series and are three back in the American League East. The Red Sox are handling the Orioles with too much ease. They hit three home runs off Kevin Gausman last night in a span of 10 batters. Mike Wright takes the...

After posting a 14-9 record in April to start the season, the Orioles followed up with a rocky month of May, going 14-13 during that span. Prior to the series in Houston last week, the O's were 12-7 in May, which means they went just 2-6 to cap off the month. If you're an O's fan, I'm sure you've been pretty frustrated over the past week or so. Both the pitching and offense seem so flat. In the past two weeks, the Orioles' pitching staff has a 4.50 ERA (5.08 FIP). A few weeks ago, my...

It looked like one of their biggest weaknesses coming in to the 2016 season, and yet, almost a third of the way through the year, the Nationals bullpen has been a strength. Among National League bullpens, it ranks first in ERA, second in OPS against and first in K/BB ratio. Yet, only Shawn Kelley (eighth), Sammy Solis (15th) and Yusmeiro Petit (37th) rank in the top 40 in ERA among NL relievers. In terms of WPA (Win Probability Added), Felipe Rivero is 14th in the NL, Petit is 26th and the rest...

Captain Obvious believes the Boston Red Sox have badly outplayed the Orioles the last two games. In two days, the Orioles have seen firsthand they will have a battle on their hands for a division title this year. Boston is the better team right now and the Orioles have only, well, 112 games now to prove that is not so. Boston has seen some of its young talent really take off, while at the same time, some of its senior citizens are playing better than expected. It's been a great combination to...

The surface stats are quite favorable for Orioles reliever Mychal Givens. A 3-0 record and 2.35 ERA in 20 appearances. Thirty-three strikeouts in 23 innings. Nothing to be alarmed about, a lot to praise and appreciate. The 1.565 WHIP in 23 innings may raise an eyebrow. He's surrendered 24 hits and walked 12 batters. But dig deeper and one specific concern is raised, too. Left-handers are 14-for-30 against Givens, a .467 average that makes him an exception in the bullpen. Left-handers are...

PHILADELPHIA - Is it really June already? How did that happen? Tonight the Nationals play their 54th game of the season, officially the one-third point of the 162-game marathon, and it certainly feels like things have flown by so far. There has been a lot of good for this team so far (Bryce Harper's April, Daniel Murphy's April and May, Stephen Strasburg's perfect record, stellar defense from everyone, a much-improved bullpen). And there has been some bad (Harper's May, just about everyone...

PHILADELPHIA - Joe Ross understood the situation. The tying run was on base in a one-run game. The go-ahead run was at the plate. There were two outs in the seventh. His pitch count was about to reach triple digits. Sammy Solis was warming in the Nationals bullpen. "It's like, if this guy gets on base," Ross said, "I doubt I'll get another chance to get the next guy." So the young right-hander threw everything he had at that final Phillies batter he would face on this night. It happened...