Kyle Finnegan smiles when the subject comes up. He knows he’s one of the slowest-working pitchers in the majors. And he knows people assume that will become a major problem once he’s subject to a pitch clock next season. Here’s what the Nationals closer wants you to know about that: He spent two seasons in the minor leagues with a pitch clock enfor

Austin Hays won’t remember the 2022 season from a personal standpoint as one of his healthiest as a professional. He played through the pain. In his hand, wrist and oblique. But what’s important here is that he played. Hays appeared in his 132nd game Wednesday night, the most in his major league career. An achievement that didn’t draw much attentio

Kyle Bradish must not be the sentimental type. Not on the nights that he’s pitching. The Orioles welcomed back Trey Mancini, who returned to Baltimore for the first time since his trade, but Bradish made himself the center of attention. He didn’t allow an Astros batter to reach base until Mauricio Dubón lined a first-pitch slider into left field wi

Fresh off their 8-1 win Wednesday night over the Detroit Tigers, the Orioles host the Houston Astros tonight at Oriole Park. In late August, the O’s won two of three at Houston, in what may have been one of their most impressive series wins of the year. Houston (99-51) has already clinched the American League West and comes to Baltimore as a team o

The newness struck Trey Mancini before he stepped inside Camden Yards. The bus ride to the ballpark. A different mode of transportation and route. And, of course, the walk to the visiting clubhouse with his Houston Astros teammates. Mancini described it as “wild,” and that was in a calm moment. “I didn’t really know where anything was in the locker

The Orioles task tonight does not sound easy. Just beat a red-hot Houston team with potential AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander (17-3, 1.78 ERA) on the mound. The Astros are 19-6 in Verlander’s starts this year and his ERA is 1.21 since June 24. Piece of cake, right? Houston is 99-51, best record in the AL and have won four in a row, 10 of 11 and

The Orioles stay outside of their division tonight as a new opponent arrives in Baltimore, but the Astros are sitting on 99 wins while owning the best record in the American League. The teams will play four games. Houston has won four in a row, 10 of 11 and 12 of 14. Manager Brandon Hyde hit big with last night’s lineup, and he’s keeping Adley Ruts

ABERDEEN, Md. – After they had scored 13 runs on 13 hits Tuesday night in a huge win, High-A Aberdeen loaded the bases in the last of the first last night. It looked like they might pick up where they left off the previous game. But the IronBirds would leave the bases loaded. A big chance ended with no runs. We didn’t know it then, but that would b

It wasn’t the most graceful of slides. A catcher barreling headfirst into first base, a Velcro strap careening off of his elbow guard.  But he was safe. Anything for Tres Barrera to get his first big league hit in over a month. “First, I was trying to run so fast to get to first base,” Barrera said, smiling. “I saw (Braves second baseman Vaughn Gri

The Orioles’ 2022 schedule is much lighter with only 14 games remaining. My mailbag, however, is gaining weight. Can’t keep blaming the pandemic. Mix in a salad. I could set up a buffet with all the questions sent to me. Maybe I should rename it “Around the Horn & Horn”. I’ll table that idea for now. Here’s the latest sequel to the original mai