Catcher Jose Lobaton does not get many chances to start. Usually, it is only on the fifth day as left-hander Gio Gonzalez's personal backstop. So when Lobaton gets his shot to play, he likes to make the most of it. Friday night, he was a key component in an 8-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. In addition to calling a good game for Gonzalez, Lobaton smacked two hits, including a spectacular triple that highlighted a three-run fourth, giving the Nationals a commanding 7-0 lead. Lobaton smiled...

KANSAS CITY - The Toronto Blue Jays went just 1-for-23 to end last night's game against Orioles pitchers. The Kansas City Royals went 3-for-3, including a homer, to start tonight's game against Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo, who began tonight 1-0 with a ERA of 5.63, allowed three runs and four hits in the last of the first as Kansas City went ahead 3-0. Before tonight, Gallardo had an ERA of 12.00 and a batting average against of .462 in the first inning this year. Then the Royals went 4-for-7...

KANSAS CITY - It is a matchup tonight of two American League division leaders and the two clubs with the current best records in the AL. The Orioles (10-4) play at Kauffman Stadium against Kansas City (10-5) in the opener of a three-game series. The defending World Series champion Royals are 6-2 at home and are 13-2 in their last 15 home games dating to the 2015 playoffs. They went 51-30 at Kauffman Stadium last year for the third-best home record in the AL. On the mound tonight, Yovani...

KANSAS CITY - It has been a while, but some roster and rotation shuffling is about to begin for the Orioles. They have not had an in-season roster move through the season's first 14 games, but that will likely change tomorrow. So will the rotation. We know now which pitchers will be starting tomorrow and Monday. As expected, right-hander Kevin Gausman will come off the disabled list and start on Monday at Tampa Bay. Right-hander Tyler Wilson will come out of the bullpen and make the start for...

Last Friday night in Philadelphia, the Nationals set the tone for the weekend series with five runs on six hits in the first inning. They went on to roll past the Phillies 9-1. Back home in D.C. tonight, the Nationals took it to Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson in the bottom of the first. Daniel Murphy smacked an RBI single and Danny Espinosa was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Jose Lobaton then slapped a two-run single to make it 4-0 Nationals. Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez started...

KANSAS CITY - Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman has made three injury rehab starts, one each with Single-A Frederick, Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. After his most recent outing for Norfolk on Wednesday, it appears his next start could come for the Orioles on Monday or Tuesday on the road against Tampa Bay. But in the Orioles clubhouse earlier here this afternoon, Gausman said he still had not been told whether he will start against the Rays yet. Update: Manager Buck Showalter announced...

Michael A. Taylor and Danny Espinosa have been very good on defense for the Nationals as the team has raced out to an 11-4 start. Taylor is leading off and playing center field for the injured Ben Revere, while Espinosa has shown exceptional glove work at shortstop, as expected. But through the first two weeks of the season, Taylor is hitting .175 and Espinosa is at .163. Manager Dusty Baker is not concerned about these two players overall play, even with the scuffling at the plate. He shows...

Center fielder Ben Revere is making progress as he looks to come back from a right oblique strain that has kept him on the disabled list since April 5. Nationals manager Dusty Baker said Revere is continuing basic baseball related activities and will slowly start implementing swings from the left side for the first time during his recovery. "He was hitting right-handed off the tee," Baker said. "He sprinted yesterday, which was a positive sign. I think he threw some. Today he might be...

The Orioles are going with a mostly predictable lineup tonight in Kansas City, with Joey Rickard leading off and playing left field, Mark Trumbo in right field and Pedro Alvarez back as the designated hitter after sitting out last night's game. Caleb Joseph is catching instead of Matt Wieters. That's the component that isn't predictable. For the Orioles Joey Rickard LF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Mark Trumbo RF J.J. Hardy SS Jonathan Schoop 2B Pedro Alvarez DH Caleb Joseph...

The Orioles announced today that their makeup game against the Rangers on June 20 in Arlington, Texas, will start at 8:05 p.m. ET. The game was supposed to be played last Sunday, but heavy rain early in the morning caused an early postponement. The weather improved by first pitch and the teams actually could have taken the field. The Orioles are squeezing in one game between home series against the Blue Jays and Padres. Hardly an ideal setup, but they otherwise don't return to Globe Life...