Grayson Rodriguez had a hunch that he’d be starting Tuesday night. The four scoreless innings to close out his major league debut in Texas. How he remained on the active roster, with option rules prohibiting a call-up unless replacing an injured player. No off-days that might cause him to be skipped. The T-shirt giveaway in his honor. So many clues

DENVER – It’s hard to call a six-run offensive performance unsatisfactory, especially for a lineup that hasn’t exactly been great at scoring runs so far this season. The usual standards of offensive success, though, don’t always apply 5,280 feet above sea level. The Nationals, sorry to say, needed more than that this afternoon during a 7-6 loss to

One fly ball should have been caught. Two others were destined to make a safe landing from the moment they left the bat. Tyler Wells was burned three times this afternoon at various degrees in his first start of the season, which resulted in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees at Camden Yards. Adley Rutschman had four hits, including his second home run, but

DENVER – As he mapped out his bullpen plan for Saturday night’s game, Nationals manager Davey Martinez knew he wanted to use Hunter Harvey to get out of a jam (which proved to come in the sixth inning). He knew he wanted Kyle Finnegan to face the top of the Rockies lineup (which happened to come in the eighth). And he knew he wanted Anthony Banda t

The Orioles (4-4) host the New York Yankees (5-3) today in the third and deciding game of this series before welcoming Oakland to town on Monday to start a four-game series as this homestand continues. The Orioles posted a 7-6 win on Opening Day in Baltimore on Friday, but New York held the Orioles to just four singles last night as they went 4-for

Catcher James McCann didn’t make it to Baltimore for Opening Day, his injury rehab stint beginning that night at High-A Aberdeen. He needed only two games to convince the Orioles that he was ready to join their active roster. Better to be a little late than spend most of the summer away from Camden Yards. “I was watching on TV when I was in Aberdee

DENVER – Would you believe the Nationals have pitched much better at Coors Field than they did at Nationals Park? That’s certainly been the case for their starters, who have allowed a grand total of five runs in 17 1/3 innings through the first three games of this series, good for a 2.60 ERA. The only reason they’re 2-1 instead of 3-0 is a complete

James McCann is behind the plate this afternoon for the series finale against the Yankees, on the day that he was activated from the injured list. Adley Rutschman is serving as the designated hitter. Jorge Mateo returns to the lineup after sitting out last night’s 4-1 loss. He’s been getting treatment on a sore ankle. Gunnar Henderson is the third

The Orioles have decided to carry three catchers on their 26-man roster. Veteran James McCann was activated this morning from the 10-day injured list after two injury rehab games at High-A Aberdeen. As the corresponding move, outfielder Kyle Stowers was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Anthony Bemboom remains in the majors, providing a second backup t

For a pitcher that once was trying to make it to the majors while starting out in independent league baseball, making an Opening Day roster was special. And there was O's bullpen right-hander Logan Gillaspie, 25, running down the orange carpet with the rest of the Orioles on Friday afternoon. He made his MLB debut last May 17 with two scoreless inn