CHICAGO – Nelson Cruz is out of the Nationals lineup for today’s series finale against the Cubs, less than 24 hours after the veteran designated hitter had to come out of a game with a sore right shoulder. Cruz took only two at-bats during Tuesday night’s 6-5 win over the Cubs, flying out to left in the top of the first and then striking out in the

CHICAGO – It’s another beautiful day at the Friendly Confines, where the Nationals woke up feeling good about themselves following a dramatic, 6-5 win over the Cubs on Tuesday night. Now they’ve got a shot at a series victory and some positive vibes before they head home to face Juan Soto, Josh Bell and the Padres this weekend. (And yeah, that’s no

CHICAGO – Ask the Nationals coaching staff about Keibert Ruiz’s offensive skills, and they’ll immediately rave about his bat-to-ball skills, his ability to make contact anywhere in the strike zone and frequently out of the strike zone. But they’ll also point out that Ruiz sometimes is too good at getting the bat on the ball for his own good. Someti

Baseball America has been putting out its top 100 prospects list since 1990, and only once previously has an organization had two different players ranked No. 1 in back-to-back years in their January winter rankings. Now the Orioles have a chance to match that. Last January, Adley Rutschman was No. 1 and this week infielder Gunnar Henderson moved t

Two months after Ryan Mountcastle did his usual damage to the Blue Jays in Toronto, there’s still no one who can offer any sort of explanation for his extreme dominance against them. Why he stays or gets hot. Why slumps disappear like the baseballs that he hits. Theories aren’t pulled out of thin air, or the heavy stuff that Baltimore is experienci

CHICAGO – Even in this most miserable week of a most miserable summer of a most miserable baseball season, there can be individual ballgames that feature enough back-and-forth drama to remind you why you love this silly game in the first place. There was nothing of consequence at stake tonight when the Nationals and Cubs met in the middle game of t

The Orioles lost their lead tonight in the top of the sixth inning, then watched the tarp pulled onto the field before the rain arrived. Hurt by their own mistakes and what they couldn’t control. They handled it with the same confidence and composure that’s guided them through the season. Always finding rays of light after a heavy downpour of disap

CHICAGO – The Nationals will skip over Patrick Corbin’s next turn through the rotation but do plan to continue starting the struggling left-hander once he has a chance to work on a few things over the weekend. Manager Davey Martinez said the club will use the off-day between this road series against the Cubs and the upcoming home series against the

After winning 7-4 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, the Orioles now have two chances to achieve something they have not since 2019. That is, a win a series against Toronto. The Orioles (57-52) split a four-game series 2-2 at Toronto in June, but they have not won a series versus the Blue Jays since taking two of three at Toronto July 5-7.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde can’t ignore the standings any longer. His club is one game back in the wild card race, the season has moved past July and he’s peeking at the results. “Yeah, I am,” he said. “Tried to stay up for the Seattle game, but I checked it this morning. “When you’re in August, you start paying attention. After our games I’m alw