A teenager among men
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with his maturity and, even more so, his potent bat.
Soto hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning, and Washington beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 Thursday night in the deciding matchup of a
three-game interleague series between neighboring rivals.
Soto, a 19-year-old rookie, is batting .326 with 16 RBIs in 28 games. Starting in the cleanup spot for the first time, he drew a walk and delivered
the game’s pivotal hit.
”I think we’re all amazed every single day,” Washington ace Max Scherzer said. ”He puts together great ABs. He has antics and has some flair. He’s a
great young player. He’s just enjoying himself.”
Bryce Harper led off the eighth with a double off Mychal Givens (0-4) and Trea Turner followed with a single. After Anthony Rendon struck out, Soto hit a
liner into the gap in left-center.
”He’s got unbelievable poise,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of Soto. ”No matter what the situation is, he goes out there with a game plan.”
Whatever that plan is, it’s effective.
”I just try to be focused and keep working,” Soto said.
Rendon homered for the Nationals
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flawless work from their bullpen.
Newcomer Kelvin Herrera (1-0) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Sean Doolittle got three straight outs for his 20th save in 21 tries.
Seeking to end a rare run of two straight losses, Scherzer left a tied game after allowing two runs – both on solo homers – and striking out nine.
Afterward, the right-hander heaped praise upon Soto for the manner in which he’s adapted to playing in the big leagues.
”He has a great feel for the strike zone,” Scherzer said. ”To have that type of eye, it’s remarkable for him to be able to do that at this time and this age
and this level.”
Activated from the 60-day disabled list before the game, Colby Rasmus homered for the Orioles in his first at-bat since April 6.
”Me and Max, we go way back, so I felt real good,” said Rasmus, who had been sidelined with a hip injury.
In addition, Rasmus made an outstanding throw from right field to the plate, nailing Wilmer Difo on a tag-up play in the seventh inning with the score
tied.
Mark Trumbo also homered for Baltimore, his sixth of the season and third in four games.
Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman gave up two runs and four hits over six innings. The right-hander was lifted with the score
tied
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WALK THIS WAY
Martinez put Harper in the leadoff spot for the first time since May for this reason: ”The thinking is if he’s hitting up top, he’ll start taking his walks
again and it will get him going.” It worked. Harper walked twice.
DAVIS COMEBACK
Struggling Orioles slugger Chris Davis will start Friday night in Atlanta, manager Buck Showalter said. Davis hasn’t played since June 11, when an 0-for-5
outing against Boston dropped his batting average to .150. Since then, he’s been
working on his swing and mental approach in an effort to turn around his
unproductive season.
ROSTER SHUFFLE
In addition to activating Rasmus from the DL, the Orioles optioned OF Joey Rickard to Triple-A Norfolk and moved LHP Richard Bleier (latissimus tear) to
the 60-day DL. Also, DH Pedro Alvarez cleared waivers and accepted an assignment
to Norfolk.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: RHP Chris Tillman (back) will next pitch for Class A Delmarva after allowing three runs in two innings for lower Class A Aberdeen on Wednesday
night.
Nationals: RHP Brandon Kintzler (flexor strain) is close to coming off the DL. Martinez hopes the reliever can pitch an inning on a rehabilitation
assignment before being is activated. … Martinez said RHP Jeremy Hellickson
(right hamstring strain) will soon go on a rehab assignment and pitch five or
six innings.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Alex Cobb (2-9, 7.14 ERA) helps Baltimore open a three-game series on the road Friday night against the Braves, who lead the NL East.
Nationals: Tanner Roark (3-7, 3.87) takes the mound in the opener of a three-game set against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, who entered play
Thursday in a second-place tie with Washington.
—
While Kirk Cousins was on his way to visit, the Minnesota Vikings were moving swiftly toward securing a potential backup.
According to a person with knowledge of the negotiations, the Vikings were working on a trade Wednesday with the Denver Broncos to acquire quarterback
Trevor Siemian. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the
deal
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Cousins, meanwhile, arrived on a private plane with his wife and infant son before heading downtown for dinner with team officials with all signs pointing
to a deal as the new league year began.
Siemian would give the Vikings a capable backup who started 24 games for the Broncos over the last two seasons, with the free agent Cousins the team’s
primary target. As the Vikings watched quarterbacks Case Keenum (Denver), Sam
Bradford (Arizona) and Teddy Bridgewater (New York) all join other teams as the
new league year began, they were running out of options on a market that began
with an unusually high amount of accomplished quarterbacks but quickly dried up
amid the opening flurry. The Jets not only brought in Bridgewater, they
re-signed veteran Josh McCown, too.
The Broncos juggled between Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch last season and split the position in 2016 between Siemian and Lynch. Siemian, who
was drafted by Denver in 2015 in the seventh round out of Northwestern, has a
79.9 career passer rating with 30 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over the last
two years. He was never the favored candidate, but he climbed his way to the top
of the depth chart after Peyton Manning’s retirement and gave the rebuilding
club some decent performances despite some struggles.
The Vikings also still have Kyle Sloter
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training camp by the Broncos. They even elevated him to the active roster last
season to make sure they could keep him, while Bradford was sidelined with a
knee injury and Keenum was thriving as the unexpected starter.
Twin Cities television stations staked out the small airport where the Cousins family landed with Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and the
restaurant for footage of Cousins, the 29-year-old who also pushed himself up
the pecking order with Washington after being drafted in the fourth round in
2012 behind second overall pick Robert Griffin III. Cousins has topped 4,000
passing yards in each of the last three seasons and, despite not owning a single
victory in the playoffs, became the most valuable player on this year’s free
agent market given his age, durability and accomplishments. ESPN reported
Tuesday that Cousins will sign a fully guaranteed $84 million contract that
spans three years, but his agent said no decision had been made yet.
If the deal gets done as expected and Cousins stays healthy through the preseason, he’ll represent the sixth different quarterback start Minnesota’s
season opener in six years.
The Vikings also let versatile running back Jerick McKinnon leave Wednesday for San Francisco and backup cornerback Tramaine Brock sign with Denver. Nine
more of their players became unrestricted free agents, with kicker Kai Forbath,
cornerback Terence Newman and punt returner Marcus Sherels atop the list of
players likely to return. Guard Joe Berger has not yet decided whether to
continue his career for a 14th season or retire.
—
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