HOUSTON – After a weekend in Houston where O’s pitching gave up just four runs, leading the team to a series win over the club with the best record in the American League, the O’s take some momentum to Cleveland where they open a big series Tuesday night.

They’re all big now, when the club is 1.5 games out of a playoff berth with 35 games remaining.

The Orioles continue to surprise some people around MLB and who could have expected them to head into Houston, win the series with a chance to sweep Sunday? Houston began this weekend with the best AL record at 81-45 which included a seven-game home win streak and home record for the year of 42-18.

But terrific starting pitching led the Orioles to wins by 2-0 Friday and 3-1 Saturday before they lost 3-1 Sunday to end a five-game win streak at Minute Maid Park.

The Orioles continue to show they can play with the AL big boys – both in the AL East and beyond – and outfielder Austin Hays likes their positioning for the stretch run.

Scoreboard watching also includes the Home Run Riches winnings tally — now at more than $126,000.

The Baltimore Orioles will head to Houston this weekend to take on the American League’s best team so far this season — the beginning of a six-game road trip to close out the month of August. This time of year is when baseball fans start to do a lot of scoreboard-watching, as teams spend the last several weeks of the season jockeying for playoff spots. That means every game counts, especially for the Orioles, who are in the thick of the hunt for a wildcard playoff berth. The O’s begin the weekend 2 ½ games behind the Seattle Mariners for the final wildcard spot, and the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox are nipping at the Birds’ heels, both just 2 ½ games behind Baltimore. 

The games are also meaningful to the hopeful Contestants of the Game participating in the Lottery’s Home Run Riches Bases Loaded FAST PLAY second-chance promotion. Those lucky few who have been selected are watching their own scoreboard as the Orioles' powerful offense has notched 129 home runs to date, providing needed support for the team’s starting pitchers and awarding more than $126,000 in prizes for the Lottery’s Contestants of the Game.

There is still time for you to be selected for an upcoming game. The Lottery’s final Contestant of the Game drawing for 2022 will be held on Aug. 30, selecting the winners for games in September and October.  To enter, submit any winning or non-winning FAST PLAY Home Run Riches Bases Loaded ticket purchased between March 7 and August 29 into your My Lottery Rewards account. Not yet a member of My Lottery Rewards? Click here to start your free account today!

The $5 FAST PLAY Home Run Riches Bases Loaded game was introduced to coincide with the 2022 Orioles’ season. The ticket has instant prizes ranging from $5 to $5,000 and a progressive jackpot that starts at $40,000 and continues to grow with each ticket sold until a jackpot-winning ticket is sold. 

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled RHP Rico Garcia from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Optioned RHP Louis Head to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.
• Optioned RHP Phoenix Sanders to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.

As the Nationals look forward to watching Cade Cavalli, CJ Abrams and possibly MacKenzie Gore finish out the last month of the 2022 season, they announced the complete 2023 schedule earlier today.

The 2023 Major League Baseball season will be the first to feature a balanced schedule for all 30 teams since interleague play was introduced in 1997. Each of the 30 clubs will play against one another, while also hosting every other club in their home market at least once every other season.

Opening day will start the 19th season of Nationals baseball in our nation’s capital with the Braves visiting on Thursday, March 30. It will be the fifth time the Nats have faced the Braves on opening day. It will also start a six-game homestand against the Braves and Rays to start the regular season.

The Nats’ first road trip of 2023 takes them to Colorado and Anaheim for seven games to face the Rockies and Angels. It will be the second year in a row the Nats will travel to face old friend Anthony Rendon and the Halos, who do not make a trip to D.C. next year.

The annual Battle of the Beltways series against the Orioles are earlier and later than usual next year. The two rivals will play two games April 18-19 at Nationals Park and two games Sept. 26-27 at Camden Yards during the Nats’ final road trip of the season.

The Washington Nationals announced the following roster moves on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

• Recalled catcher Riley Adams from Triple-A Rochester
• Returned from rehabilitation assignment and reinstated right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde from the 15-day Injured List
• Designated right-handed pitcher Tyler Clippard for assignment
• Optioned catcher Tres Barrera to Triple-A Rochester (Monday, August 22)

Adams, 26, returns for his second stint in the Major Leagues this season after making the club out of Spring Training. He hit .192 with a double, three home runs, five RBI, and nine walks in 27 games with Washington. After he was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on July 1, Adams hit .224 with eight doubles, four home runs, 17 RBI and 11 walks in 29 games.

Fedde, 29, returns from the Injured List after missing 22 games with right shoulder inflammation. Before heading to the IL on July 30, he was 5-7 with a 4.95 ERA in 19 starts. He allowed 96 hits and struck out 70 in 92.2 innings. In his only rehab appearance for Triple-A Rochester, Fedde worked 4.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts on August 17 at Worcester.

Clippard, 37, was 0-0 with a 7.20 ERA in four games for Washington this season.

Barrera, 27, hit .182 with a double, four RBI and two walks in 14 games for the Nationals in 2022.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Selected the contract of OF Kyle Stowers from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Recalled INF Richie Martin from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Recalled LHP Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Optioned RHP Logan Gillaspie to Triple-A Norfolk.
• Placed INF Terrin Vavra on the Paternity List.
• Designated OF Brett Phillips for assignment.

The Washington Nationals recalled shortstop C.J. Abrams from Triple-A Rochester and placed infielder Luis García on the 10-day Injured List (retroactive to Aug. 13) with a left groin strain on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Abrams, 21, is Washington’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 11 overall prospect in baseball according to Baseball America. Acquired on Aug. 2 from San Diego, Abrams hit .290 (9-for-31) with two doubles, two RBI, two walks and four stolen bases in eight games for Triple-A Rochester.

The 6-foot-2, 189-pound Abrams was San Diego’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 9 prospect in all of baseball entering the 2022 season, according to both Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com. He was cited by Baseball America as being the “best hitter” and having the “best speed” in all of Minor League baseball entering the 2022 season.

Abrams made San Diego’s Opening Day roster and his Major League debut this season, starting the second game of the season at shortstop. He hit .232 with five doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, four walks, one stolen base and 16 runs scored in 46 games across two Major League stints with the Padres this season.

He was selected to represent the Padres in the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. He has been cited by Baseball America as the “best defensive infielder” (2021, 2022), “best athlete” (2020-22), “fastest baserunner” (2020-22) and “best hitter for average” (2020-22) in San Diego’s Minor League system throughout his professional career. Following the 2019 season, he was named the Most Valuable Player in the rookie-level Arizona League and to Baseball America’s Rookie All-Star team.

The Washington Nationals recalled outfielder Alex Call from Triple-A Rochester and optioned outfielder Josh Palacios to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Call, 27, hit .292 with 18 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 52 RBI, 51 walks, nine stolen bases and 62 runs scored in 76 games between Triple-A Columbus (CLE) and Triple-A Rochester this season. He posted a .423 on-base percentage and a .521 slugging percentage in his sixth professional season in 2022.

The Nationals acquired Call off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians on Aug. 7. He went 8-for-18 (.444) with two doubles, two homers, six RBI, two walks, three stolen bases and six runs scored in five games with the Red Wings. This will be his second Major League stint of the season after he made his Major League debut on July 11 at Chicago (AL). He went 2-for-12 with four walks and two runs scored in 12 games for the Guardians.

Call was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Ball State (IN) University. He was acquired by the Guardians in exchange for Yonder Alonso on Dec. 14, 2018.

Palacios, 27, went 3-for-16 (.188) with a double and two runs scored in eight games for the Nationals.

It is hard to keep your momentum going in baseball and stay riding a high when your team loses. And after an upbeat Friday and a 10-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles lost big on Saturday by 8-2 at Tropicana Field.

Now these teams meet one more time this weekend and this season, and the weekend series and season series will be determined by today’s result. That is big for the Orioles as head-to-head results will break standings ties at the end of the year.

And should they tie with Tampa Bay for any spot, including any of three wild card playoff berths, today’s game will be the decider after 18 games and nine wins for each side.

If the Orioles and Rays tied for the third wild card spot, for instance, the season series winner would advance while the other team would go home. So yeah, big game today.

Lefty DL Hall had a poor outing in his big league debut, allowing five runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings. After he gave up a run in the last of the first, he struck out the side in the second, getting swings and misses for strikeouts on fastballs at 96 and 97 mph. It was a dominant inning and looked like he was settling in. But, with two outs and a man on first in the Rays third, he allowed three straight run-scoring hits as Tampa Bay opened a 4-2 lead on its way to the win.

Jump back in time all of one month and make a mental list of the Nationals’ top prospects.

You’d start with Cade Cavalli, include Brady House and then try to come up with the names of other kids who may or may not develop into major leaguers some day in the short or long term.

Now consider what that list looks like in the wake of a dramatic (and, yes, controversial) overhaul of the organization that culminated with last week’s trade of Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres.

Cavalli and House remain on the list, but not in the top two spots. Those now belong to the likes of C.J. Abrams and Robert Hassell III, two of the six players acquired from San Diego in the blockbuster deal. Right behind them are Elijah Green and Cristhian Vaquero, teenage sensations who were the organization’s top amateur draft and international signing additions of 2022. Also include James Wood and Jarlin Susana, two more younger prospects who came over in the trade with the Padres. And then don’t forget to keep Cavalli and House, the 2020 and 2021 first-round picks, in the mix as well.

What you now see is a farm system that no longer is dependent on the rise of one or two blue-chip prospects, but has enough depth to account for the inevitable injuries and/or struggles that are bound to occur when trying to turn players right out of high school and college into big league stars.

Lottery’s contestants clean up with $107,000 in winnings!

The Orioles have been hot as of late, capping a series sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 6-3 win in Arlington on Aug. 3. And as the temperatures have headed up in the dog days of summer, so have the Birds’ bats.

Anthony Santander leads the team with 19 home runs this season. Other home run leaders Ryan Mountcastle with 14 and Austin Hays with 12 have formed the heart of an Orioles lineup that has helped the team accumulate 25 home runs in July.

This is a great news for fans that have been taking part in the Maryland Lottery’s Home Run Riches Bases Loaded FAST PLAY Second-chance promotion. With a total of 109 home runs to date in 2022, the Lottery has awarded $107,000 to Contestants of the Game selected in this year’s promotion.

There is still time for you to be selected for an upcoming game. The Lottery will select this year’s final Contestants of the Game in the promotion’s final drawing on Aug. 30.  To enter, submit any winning or non-winning FAST PLAY Home Run Riches Bases Loaded ticket purchased between March 7 and August 29 into you MY Lottery Rewards account for a chance to win. Not yet a member of My Lottery Rewards? Click here to start your free account today!

The $5 FAST PLAY Home Run Riches Bases Loaded game was introduced to coincide with the 2022 Oriole’s baseball season. The ticket has prizes from $5 to $5,000 and a progressive jackpot that starts at $40,000 and continues to grow with each ticket sold until someone buys a jackpot-winner!

The Washington Nationals are back in D.C. for the first time since the All-Star break, opening a six-game homestand with three games against the St. Louis Cardinals followed by a three-game series against the divisional rival New York Mets. Single-game tickets for all Nationals home games are on sale now starting at just $9. Fans interested in purchasing tickets should visit nationals.com/Tickets.

The season’s eighth homestand is capped by the annual DC Sports Hall of Fame Induction ceremony and also features Baby Shark™ Day; Cat-urday; a Harris Teeter Food Drive; three University Days; City Connect uniforms; Value Day; U.S. Coast Guard Day; Signature Sunday; Kids Run the Bases; and more. Additionally, the popular Kids Eat Free program has been extended through Thursday, Sept. 1. For additional details, please reference the ‘Kids Eat Free’ section at the bottom of the release.

As a reminder, if you would like to cover any events at Nationals Park, please contact Valerie Todryk Krebs at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Devon Bridges at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for credentialing information in advance of the event.

FRIDAY, JULY 29 vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (7:05 PM)

Nationals Draft Pick Elijah Green Visits Nationals Ballpark

Not every day at the ballpark is eventful, and not every day is created equal. Yesterday, for instance. It was a special day to be at Camden Yards, especially in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Needing a win to go over .500, take three of four from the Tampa Bay Rays and go 5-5 in a 10-game stretch versus the Yankees and Rays, the Orioles got one. A 3-0 shutout over the Rays to get to 50-49. Game No. 100 comes tonight in Cincinnati and the Orioles will be, at worst, a .500 team contending for a playoff spot.

But when Trey Mancini lifted a fly ball to right field with Austin Hays on second with one out in the O's eighth, it looked like what could be his last at-bat at home as an Oriole would go down F9 in the scorebook. But right fielder Josh Lowe lost the ball in the sun, it hit him in the face and Mancini circled the bases, beating the relay home for a thrilling two-run, inside-the-park homer.

Just when the O’s needed a big hit, they got one. From Mancini. On Mo Gaba Day. On the anniversary of the day Mancini lost his dear friend two years ago. On the day he caught the ceremonial first pitch from Mo’s mom, Sonsy, on Mo Gaba Day at the ballpark.

It was an amazing Mo-ment.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves: 

• Recalled INF Terrin Vavra from Triple-A Norfolk. He will wear 77 and his first appearance will be his Major League debut
• Placed INF Jonathan Araúz on the 10-day Injured List with a right digit avulsion fracture

The Orioles have signed INF Max Wagner (Rd. 2, No. 42 overall) from the 2022 First-Year Player Draft. The Orioles have now signed three selections from the 2022 Draft.

The All-Star break has come and gone. The first half of the season is no more. Everybody’s enjoying one more day of relaxation before regathering Friday and commencing the second half.

For the Nationals, this is going to be a second half of change and promise, and perhaps some heartbreak as well. A lot could happen in these next few weeks leading up to the Aug. 2 trade deadline, after which the roster may look even less like the one that was trying to win championships not that long ago.

There will be no shortage of storylines to monitor the rest of the way. Here are five particularly important ones …

1. Is this really it for Soto in D.C.?
There was zero reason to even broach this subject one week ago. Of course Juan Soto would be finishing out the season with the Nationals, perhaps putting forth another monster second half and making an MVP case for himself, no matter the team’s record. That all changed Saturday with The Athletic’s report that Soto had turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension with the Nats, who now were going to explore the possibility of trading him.

It’s a bombshell development, one that could fundamentally change the way the rest of this season plays out for the Nationals. That doesn’t mean general manager Mike Rizzo is definitely going to trade Soto by Aug. 2. Given how complicated such a trade would be, there’s probably a good chance he doesn’t do it yet and re-explores the market over the winter (when the franchise may have some more stability on the ownership front, by the way).

The Washington Nationals selected collegiate left-handed pitcher Jake Bennett out of the University of Oklahoma with their second round pick (No. 45) in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Scouting Operations Kris Kline and Director of Scouting Operations Eddie Longosz made the joint announcement.

Bennett, 21, went 10-4 with a 3.69 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) during his redshirt sophomore season at Oklahoma in 2022. He struck out 133 batters and walked just 22 in 117.0 innings pitched. He received second-team All-America honors from Baseball America and D1Baseball.com and third-team honors from Perfect Game. He was named First-Team All-Big 12 Conference and to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team.

The 6-foot-6, 234-pound left-hander is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 41 prospect and by MLBPipeline.com as the No. 68 prospect in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft.

A high school and college teammate of current Nationals prospect Cade Cavalli, Bennett was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2020. He went 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA (1 ER/19.0 IP) with 19 strikeouts and three walks in three starts before the cancellation of the season. In 2021, Bennet struck out 60 batters in 55.1 innings while going 4-3 with a 6.34 ERA in 16 games (13 starts).

Bennett is a native of Bixby, Okla., and graduated from Bixby High School. He was selected by the Nationals in the 39^th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft but chose to attend the University of Oklahoma. As a senior, he was rated as the top-ranked left-handed pitcher in the state of Oklahoma by Perfect Game. He garnered all-state honors in 2019 and was a three-time Tulsa World All-World honorable mention.

The Washington Nationals return home to D.C. for a six-game homestand, opening with a quick two-game set against the Seattle Mariners followed by a four-game series against the divisional rival Atlanta Braves. Single-game tickets for all Nationals home games are on sale now starting at just $9. Fans interested in purchasing tickets should visit nationals.com/Tickets. 

The season’s seventh homestand features a Value Day; U.S. Marine Corp Day; Camp Day; Intern Night; three University Days; STAR WARS™ Day; a Juan “Solo” bobblehead giveaway; City Connect uniforms; Summer Reading Sunday; Signature Sunday; Kids Run the Bases; and more. 

As a reminder, if you would like to cover any events at Nationals Park, please contact Valerie Todryk Krebs at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Devon Bridges at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for credentialing information in advance of the event.

TUESDAY, JULY 12 vs. SEATTLE MARINERS (7:05 PM)

Value Days

The Orioles selected the contract of reliever Rico Garcia this morning and optioned left-hander Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk.

Zimmermann threw a scoreless relief inning yesterday.

Reliever Travis Lakins Sr. was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Garcia on the 40-man roster.

Also, reliever Marcos Diplán cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Norfolk.

Garcia, who’s wearing No. 63, has made two appearances with the Orioles as a replacement player in Toronto and allowed one run in three innings.