DENVER – The runs would come, the Nationals insisted. As would the power, so long as they continued to have good at-bats. They just needed to start hitting the ball in the air and hitting the ball with authority in the right moments. And then Alex Call and Jeimer Candelario backed up the sentiment with back-to-back homers to open tonight’s game at

DENVER – In this, their eighth game of the season, the Nationals will use their third different leadoff hitter. Alex Call gets the call tonight against the Rockies, batting first after Lane Thomas (five games) and Luis García (two games) previously handled the responsibility. Why Call, particularly against José Ureña, a right-handed starter? His

Pitcher Cole Irvin was the first, followed by infielder Terrin Vavra. Players jogging down the orange carpet, a Baltimore tradition for the home opener. No one suffering the embarrassment of tripping over it.   The Orioles hoped to have the same solid footing in their game against the Yankees. The crowd erupted for Grayson Rodriguez, and later for

DENVER – The Nationals have won one game so far through the first week of the 2023 season. That one win came with MacKenzie Gore on the mound. So even though there hasn’t been a lot to get excited about since Opening Day, the presence of the young lefty on the mound should be enough to get excited about tonight’s game at Coors Field. Gore was outst

After playing series in Boston and Texas, the Orioles will finally reunite with their home fans today for Opening Day in Baltimore. The Orioles (3-3) host the New York Yankees (4-2) to start a three-game series and seven-game homestand. The Orioles have gone 45-24 in home openers in club history, including 21-10 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The

The impact of home Opening Day in Baltimore and the renewed enthusiasm for the club really hit catcher Adley Rutschman as he was driving. Passengers in the car next to him wore his No. 35 jersey and began waving to him. “Got me excited,” he said. “I’m ready to go today. I think everyone’s excited.” Rutschman paused, turned in a circle and soaked up

Among the first challenge of the day for the Orioles, even before they try to beat the New York Yankees, is to navigate that long run down the orange carpet. Every year O’s players joke about not tripping on that jog in. But in reality, it’s just a very special moment for each and every player. They bask in the cheers of over 40,000 fans and soak i

Kyle Bradish is playing catch today to test a right foot and ankle that he said is showing “a lot of improvement.” Bradish was nailed by a Jonah Heim line drive in the second inning of Monday night’s game in Texas. He’s on the 15-day injured list with a contusion on his foot after X-rays and further testing didn’t reveal a fracture. “I have no doub

DENVER – Well aware of their offensive deficiencies entering the season, the Nationals insisted they were going to find other ways to assist in the production of scoring runs. They were going to need to do a better job of moving runners once they got on base. They were going to need to be able to bring them home from third base with fewer than two

When it comes to facing left-handed pitchers, O’s center fielder Cedric Mullins, no longer a switch-hitter, has had success in the past batting left-on-left. But the hits were not coming to him very often against lefty pitchers last year, when he hit .209/.265/.313/.578 against left-handers. That was very different from his solid numbers of 2021, w