DENVER – Nelson Cruz is out of the Nationals lineup for the second straight day, though manager Davey Martinez said the 41-year-old designated hitter’s lower back is feeling better. Cruz hasn’t played since Lane Thomas pinch-hit for him in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s series opener against the Rockies, hampered by lower back stiffness. He

BOWIE, Md. – For the second week in a row on the farm today, Birdland was treated to a battery that we could see in the big leagues as soon as later this year. Catcher Adley Rutschman, the top overall pick in the 2019 draft, caught lefty DL Hall, the Birds' top pick from 2017 as Double-A Bowie hosted Harrisburg. And Hall was dominant at times, alth

DENVER – After a cold, rainy Wednesday night here at Coors Field, it’s a beautiful Thursday afternoon for the series finale between the Nationals and Rockies. The Nats have a chance to win their second straight road series, which would be no small feat under the circumstances. They’ll hope to get the bats going again after getting shut down by left

Having fun with averages shows the Orioles have scored 21 runs the last four games. That’s a respectable 5.25 runs per game. But they got there by scoring nine, one, two and nine runs. So yeah, some inconsistency, but at least they’ve scored a season high for runs twice in four games. And they won those two games and lost a third by one run. Before

DENVER – There may be no more tried-and-true axiom in baseball than the one that stipulates a team’s No. 2 catcher will almost always start a day game after a night game. Managers don’t want to run their starting catchers into the ground, so they summon their backups to work anytime there’s a quick turnaround from one game to the next. And for the

The home runs puzzle Orioles reliever Travis Lakins Sr. and do considerable damage to his ERA and efficiency with inherited runners. His confidence and support system are fine, but he sees the numbers, too. Manager Brandon Hyde praised him for saving the bullpen on the final day in Anaheim, after Chris Ellis left in the first inning with shoulder s

DENVER – You can’t assume the double play. It’s a time-honored baseball fact, meant mostly as guidance for official scoring but having worked its way into the sport’s lexicon. So under that longstanding principle, Patrick Corbin was responsible for three of the five runs he surrendered tonight during the Nationals’ 5-2 loss to the Rockies. If we’re

The Orioles had lost 16 games and two starting pitchers before tonight. High marks less than a full month into their season. They won’t run the table after tonight’s 9-4 victory over the Twins at Camden Yards, but perhaps they could avoid more changes to their rotation created by injuries. The lesser of two long shots. Chris Ellis was supposed to r

DENVER – The Nationals transferred Sean Doolittle to the 60-day injured list this afternoon, revealing the left-hander recently received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow, which will prevent him from throwing for another six weeks. They then used that new opening on the 40-man roster to claim right-hander Cory Abbott from the Giants and

When the Orioles traded right-hander Dylan Bundy to the Los Angeles Angels on Dec. 4, 2019, one of four pitchers they got back was right-hander Kyle Bradish. Tonight Bradish, in his second big league start, pitches against Bundy at Oriole Park. Bradish (0-1, 3.00 ERA) and Bundy (3-1, 2.95 ERA) square off in the third game of the series between the