If it happened to anybody else, it would’ve been notable. Because it happened to James Wood, it was downright shocking. A prolonged slump? By one of the most consistent offensive players in Nationals history, one of the most consistent 22-year-olds the sport has ever seen? “It’s just baseball,” Wood insisted. “It can’t all be rainbows and sunshine

TAMPA – Tony Mansolino is willing to talk about the weather and how miserably hot it gets in Florida. He loves to share stories about his two young sons, learning the sport through his father, Doug, and pretty much any topic that isn’t a guarded club secret. But just like his predecessor, Mansolino knows that most of the media sessions begin with i

TAMPA – The Orioles took a quick lead again this afternoon with Jackson Holliday’s leadoff home run. They built on it in the third inning with Alex Jackson’s first homer since last July. They keep playing to win, as reflected by the lineups, but there’s no escaping the reality of their situation. Today’s 5-3 victory over the Rays at George M. Stein

Having already seen MacKenzie Gore and Nick Pivetta engage in a 1-0 pitchers’ duel last month in San Diego, Miguel Cairo sounded confident about what would be in store in this afternoon’s rematch at Nationals Park. "It’s going to be another good game today," the interim manager said. "Pivetta’s an ace. We’ve got an ace on our side, too. And whoever

Mike DeBartolo’s first week on the job as the Nationals’ interim general manager was consumed with the Major League Baseball Draft. His second and third weeks on the job are now focused on MLB’s upcoming trade deadline, and a critical question he must confront: How committed is the organization to its current group of young players? The Nats will b

TAMPA – Kyle Bradish will begin his injury rehab assignment Thursday with High-A Aberdeen, staying on track for a second-half return to the Orioles’ rotation. Bradish had two ups yesterday during live batting practice in Sarasota. Adley Rutschman (oblique) will start his rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Norfolk. He’s getting at-bats today aga

The Nationals have found themselves in this position plenty of times over the last month-plus, having lost the first game of a series before bouncing back to win the next night, leaving the finale as the decisive rubber game. And in five of the last seven such instances, they’ve lost the finale and thus lost the series. One of those series came las

TAMPA – Tony Mansolino is new to this whole managing thing, carrying his interim tag into every major league ballpark and a few of the minor league fill-ins, but he’s a quick study and knows that he can’t control the narrative. The media’s gonna media. The pressure of the approaching trade deadline could be impacting the Orioles, who are predicted

Kyle Finnegan said he couldn’t wait to get back on the mound tonight and erase the sting of Friday night’s disastrous ninth inning. The Nationals closer got his wish. And made the most of the opportunity. Handed a two-run lead in the top of the ninth, Finnegan shut down the Padres and finished off a 4-2 victory before a boisterous Saturday night cr

TAMPA – A fast start tonight by the Orioles would have to set a pace that didn’t let the Rays pass them. It was a dangerous little game that was destined to cause a crash. Three of the first four batters reached and the Orioles scored twice before the bats were tamed again, with no runs over the next seven innings. None were surrendered by Dean Kre