Tuesday night's rainout that left a game postponed between the Nationals and Miami Marlins gave a lackluster D.C. offense a night off from its recent mediocrity. No matter the combination manager Matt Williams attempts to string together this season, a list of injuries to key pieces of the Nats' offensive puzzle is plaguing this team. June is days away, the starting rotation is down a solid lefty with Gio Gonzalez on the disabled list and there's no set timeline regarding third baseman...

Brewers starter Matt Garza was working on a one-hit shutout tonight as he returned to the mound for the top of the fifth inning at Miller Park. One pitch to Nelson Cruz and Garza had to redirect his goals. Cruz pounced on a 92 mph fastball from Garza leading off the inning and drove it over the fence in right-center field to reduce Milwaukee's lead to 5-1. Cruz leads the majors with 17 home runs. His 46 RBIs rank second to Miami's Giancarlo Stanton, who has 49. As I wrote earlier today, Cruz...

Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen allowed two runs in the first inning in nine starts before tonight. Chen surrendered three in the opening frame tonight, all of them coming on one swing from Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez. Gomez took a curveball out of the strike zone and launched another curveball over the left field fence with two runners aboard to give Milwaukee a quick 3-0 lead. Left-handers are batting .383 against Chen this season, but the Brewers lineup is stacked with right-handed...

The Orioles offense is going pretty well right now. Yesterday, they got to both Kyle Lohse and Francisco Rodriguez, both whom have been having pretty good seasons. The O's scored four off Lohse to end his streak of eight consecutive quality starts. Rodriguez blew the save in the ninth for just the second time in 19 games on the season. The Orioles have had a pretty strong eight-game run of offense and that includes being shut out in that time. They are batting .311 in the stretch, with 49...

The Marlins-Nationals game for Tuesday night has been postponed due to inclement weather. No makeup date has been set. Manager Matt Williams should be available to update this week's pitching matchups, so stay tuned here. Tuesday's matchup was intended to be right-hander Blake Treinen facing Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez, and Wednesday's pitching matchup was supposed to be right-hander Jordan Zimmermann versus the Marlins Tom Koehler. Update: Williams announced that Zimmermann...

The Orioles reinstated first baseman Chris Davis from the paternity list and optioned a catcher to make room for him. That part was expected. Surprisingly, the Orioles are sending Steve Clevenger to Triple-A Norfolk. Caleb Joseph figured to be the most vulnerable because he bats right-handed, as does newly acquired Nick Hundley, and Clevenger began the season as Matt Wieters' backup. Clevenger, 28, has batted .243/.300/.378 with eight doubles, a triple and eight RBIs in 24 games with the...

Ryan Zimmerman is continuing toward his return to the Nationals lineup after being placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right thumb fracture on April 13. While there's no clear timeframe yet, the third baseman has felt good and passed the hurdles so far in his progression, according to manager Matt Williams. "Tomorrow, we've set up some early batting practice for him on the field, so that's kind of his first day of really live BP," Williams said. "We'll see how that goes too. All...

The Orioles today announced that they have reinstated infielder Chris Davis from the Paternity List and optioned catcher Steve Clevenger to Triple-A Norfolk. Davis, 28, has batted .260 with seven homers and 25 RBI in 35 games for the Orioles. Clevenger, 28, has batted .243/.300/.378 in 24 games for the Orioles this season.

Chris Davis has returned to the Orioles tonight after spending two days on paternity leave, and he's starting at first base and batting fourth against the Brewers at Miller Park. Nick Hundley gets his second start behind the plate since joining the Orioles. Jonathan Schoop remains at second base. Nick Markakis remains atop the order despite being 4-for-34 against Brewers starter Matt Garza. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Nelson Cruz LF J.J....

For the second time in three days, Matt Williams' lineup has Kevin Frandsen playing second base, with Danny Espinosa on the bench. Frandsen gets the start today as the Nationals take on Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez. The switch-hitting Espinosa would typically be a better option against a righty starter, but Espinosa is now 0-for-his-last-13 with eight strikeouts and is hitting .123 with 34 strikeouts in 74 at-bats this month. Williams pinch-hit Frandsen for Espinosa in the ninth...