D4 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, JUNE 7 , 2022
N L games
NATIONALS AT MARLINS, 6:40
W-L ERA TEAM
TBD ---- ---- ----
Cabrera (R) 1-0 0.00 1-0
DIAMONDBACKS AT REDS, 6:40
TBD ---- ---- ----
Ashcraft (R) 2-0 1.53 3-0
PHILLIES AT BREWERS, 8:10
Suárez (L) 4-3 4.69 6-4
Alexander (R) 0-0 2.57 0-1
METS AT PADRES, 9:40
Walker (R) 3-1 2.88 4-4
Darvish (R) 4-3 4.03 6-4
ROCKIES AT GIANTS, 9:45
Márquez (R) 1-5 6.71 4-6
Rodón (L) 4-4 3.44 4-6AL games
GAME 1: RANGERS AT GUARDIANS, 3:10
W-L ERA TEAM
TBD ---- ---- ----
TBD ---- ---- ----
GAME 2: RANGERS AT GUARDIANS,
AFTER GAME 1
W-L ERA TEAM
Hearn (L) 3-4 5.48 5-5
Pilkington (L) 1-0 2.65 2-1
YANKEES AT TWINS, 7:40
Taillon (R) 6-1 2.30 8-2
TBD ---- ---- ----
MARINERS AT ASTROS, 8:10
Flexen (R) 2-6 4.55 3-7
Verlander (R) 6-2 2.23 7-3
BLUE JAYS AT ROYALS, 8:10
Manoah (R) 6-1 1.98 7-3
Keller (R) 1-6 4.15 3-7
RED SOX AT ANGELS, 9:38
Whitlock (R) 2-1 3.02 4-4
Detmers (L) 2-2 4.20 4-5NL scores
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Washington 5, at Cincinnati 4
at Pittsburgh 3, Arizona 0
San Francisco 5, at Miami 1
San Diego 6, at Milwaukee 4 (10)
Atlanta 8, at Colorado 7
N.Y. Mets 5, at L.A. Dodgers 4 (10)
St. Louis 5, at Chicago Cubs 3 (11)
MONDAY’S RESULTS
at Cincinnati 7, Arizona 0 (7)
N.Y. Mets at San Diego, lateAL scores
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Cleveland 3, at Baltimore 2
at N.Y. Yankees 5, Detroit 4 (10)
Minnesota 8, at Toronto 6
Chicago White Sox 6, at Tampa Bay 5
Houston 7, at Kansas City 4
Seattle 6, at Texas 5 (10)
Boston 5, at Oakland 2
MONDAY’S RESULTS
Seattle 7, at Houston 4
Toronto at Kansas City, late
Boston at L.A. Angels, late
Texas at Cleveland, ppd.I nterleague games
CUBS AT ORIOLES, 7:05
W-L ERA TEAM
Thompson (R) 6-0 1.98 4-0
Bradish (R) 1-3 6.82 4-3
TIGERS AT PIRATES, 7:05
Skubal (L) 4-2 2.15 6-4
Quintana (L) 1-2 2.32 6-4
CARDINALS AT RAYS, 7:10
Hudson (R) 4-2 2.96 6-4
Springs (L) 2-2 1.88 4-2
ATHLETICS AT BRAVES, 7:20
Irvin (L) 2-2 2.96 3-5
Wright (R) 5-3 2.41 6-4
DODGERS AT WHITE SOX, 8:10
White (R) 1-1 4.79 2-1
Kopech (R) 1-2 2.20 4-5Reds 7,
Diamondbacks 0 (7)
Hunter Greene allowed a
leadoff bunt single, then
faced the minimum
through seven innings, re-
tiring his final 20 batters as
Cincinnati beat Arizona in a
rain-shortened game.
The start was delayed for
13 minutes because of
showers, and s torms
moved in and halted play
with two outs in the bottom
of the seventh. After a total
of 46 minutes in delays, the
game was called.
D’BACKS AB RHBIBBSOAVG
Varsho dh............301 001 .244
Rojas 3b...............300 001 .276
Marte 2b..............300 001 .258
Walker 1b............200 000 .201
Peralta lf .............100 000 .238
Hummel lf ...........100 001 .177
McCarthy rf.........200 002 .197
Thomas cf...........200 001 .233
Perdomo ss .........200 000 .215
Herrera c.............200 001 .194
TOTALS 21 01008—
REDSABRHBIBBSOAVG
Senzel dh.............401 101 .218
Drury 3b ..............422 100 .263
Pham lf................400 001 .240
Votto 1b..............221 020 .189
Stephenson c......322 210 .306
Farmer ss............302 200 .265
Almora Jr. cf........401 10 1.306
Lopez 2b..............412 001 .260
Aquino rf.............301 001 .153
TOTALS31712 735—
ARIZONA....... 000 000 0— 010
CINCINNATI... 110 020 3— 7120
Two outs when winning run scored.
LOB: Arizona 0, Cincinnati 8. 2B: Votto
(8), Lopez (2), Aquino (2), Farmer (12),
Stephenson (8). HR: Drury (10), off Bum-
garner.
D’BACKS IP HRERBBSOERA
Bumgarner........... 5844243.64
Widener.............1^2 / 343311 9.64
REDSIP HRERBBSOERA
Greene ................. 7100085.40
WP: Greene (3-7); LP: Bumgarner (2-5).
HBP: Bumgarner (Farmer). T: 2:13. A:
9,485 (42,319).Mariners 7, Astros 4
Julio Rodriguez hit a two-
run home run in the ninth
inning, and Seattle defeat-
ed Houston, overcoming
three Astros home runs in
the AL West matchup.
MARINERS AB RHBIBBSOAVG
Winker lf............. 401010 .212
France 1b ............ 410001 .326
Rodríguez cf .......522 202 .277
Crawford ss ........ 401111 .287
Suárez 3b............ 400014 .231
Frazier 2b-rf.......421 011 .238
Trammell dh .......300 010 .300
Moore rf.............. 210002 .193
Toro ph-2b.......... 100000 .168
Raleigh c............. 412400 .169
TOTALS 35 777511 —
ASTROS AB RHBIBBSOAVG
Altuve 2b............ 513200 .280
Brantley dh......... 503001 .287
Bregman 3b ........ 300020 .217
Alvarez lf............ 400010 .288
Gurriel 1b............ 300011 .221
Tucker rf ............. 413101 .259
Peña ss ............... 300011 .273
McCormick cf......411 101 .232
Maldonado c.......310 001 .133
Castro ph-c......... 100001 .100
TOTALS 35 410457 —
SEATTLE........ 130 100 002 —77 1
HOUSTON...... 130 000 000 —410 0
E: Crawford (7). LOB: Seattle 8, Hous-
ton 9. 2B: Crawford (11), Frazier (12),
Brantley (11). HR: Raleigh (6), off Javi-
er; Rodríguez (7), off Neris; Altuve (11),
off Ray; Tucker (10), off Ray; McCor-
mick (6), off Ray.
MARINERS IP HRERBBSOERA
Ray ...................... 584333 4.97
Murfee.............. 12 / 310001 0.93
Borucki...............^1 / 300000 9.45
Romo................... 110013 6.75
Castillo................ 100010 5.85
ASTROS IP HRERBBSOERA
Javier................ 32 / 365514 3.22
Martinez........... 11 / 300003 0.00
Mushinski............ 100021 4.26
Stanek................. 100002 0.95
Maton.................. 100001 3.04
Neris...................^2 / 312210 3.00
Abreu..................^1 / 300010 2.82
WP: Ray (5-6); LP: Javier (3-3); S: Cas-
tillo (3). Inherited runners-scored: Mar-
tinez 2-0, Stanek 1-0, Abreu 1-0. HBP:
Javier (Moore), Neris (France). WP:
Javier, Neris. PB: Raleigh (2), Maldona-
do (5). T: 3:46. A: 27,521 (41,168).PERSONNEL DEPT.
Astros: OF Yordan
Álvarez and Houston
finalized a six-year,
$115 million contract
covering 2023-28.
Álvarez hit .277 last year
and set career highs with
33 homers and 104 RBI.
Diamondbacks: Agreed
to a m inor league
contract with former Cy
Young Award winner
Dallas Keuchel. The left-
hander (2-5, 7.88 ERA),
recently released by the
White Sox, was in the
final season of a three-
year, $55 million deal.
Twins: Placed RHP Bailey
Ober on the 15-day
injured list with a
strained right groin.
BY THE NUMBERS
19
Home games played by
the Guardians this
season, fewest in the
majors. Cleveland’s game
Monday night against the
Rangers at Progressive
Field was postponed by
rain, the seventh time the
Guardians have had a
game called off because
of bad weather. The
teams will play a
doubleheader Tuesday
starting at 3:10 p.m.
QUOTABLE
“I’m very excited.
A lot of emotions
playing against
them.”
— Randy Arozarena ,
Rays slugger, on facing the
Cardinals in an interleague
series this week in
St. Petersburg, Fla. (per the
Ta mpa Bay Times).
Arozarena was acquired
from St. Louis in a January
2020 trade, had a record-
breaking 2020 postseason
and was the 202 1 AL rookie
of the year.STAR OF THE DAY
Hunter Greene, Reds
Allowed a bunt single to
begin the game and then
faced the minimum
through seven innings,
retiring his final 20
batters as Cincinnati
beat Arizona, 7-0, in a
rain-shortened game.
TODAY’S GAME
T O WATCH
Dodgers at White Sox,
8 p.m., TBS
Los Angeles sends RHP
Mitch White (1-1, 4.79
ERA) against Chicago
RHP Michael Kopech (1-
2, 2.20).
NL leaders
Entering Monday’s games.
BATTING
Goldschmidt, StL ............................. .342
Machado, SD .................................... .333
Iglesias, Col ..................................... .314
McNeil, NY ....................................... .311
Harper, Phi ....................................... .309
Betts, LA ......................................... .303
Cooper, Mia ...................................... .302
Bell, Was ......................................... .302
Turner, LA ........................................ .299
HOME RUNS
Betts, LA ............................................ 16
Alonso, NY .......................................... 16
Walker, Ari ......................................... 14
Schwarber, Phi ................................... 14
Cron, Col ............................................. 14
Riley, Atl ............................................. 14
RBI
Alonso, NY .......................................... 54
Goldschmidt, StL ................................ 47
Lindor, NY ........................................... 45
Turner, LA ........................................... 44
Harper, Phi .......................................... 40
Cron, Col ............................................. 40
Betts, LA ............................................ 39
Arenado, StL ....................................... 37
ERA
Musgrove, SD .................................. 1.64
Alcantara, Mia ................................. 1.81
López, Mia ....................................... 2.18
Lauer, Mil ......................................... 2.38
Gallen, Ari ........................................ 2.40
Wright, Atl ...................................... 2.41
Burnes, Mil ...................................... 2.50
Anderson, LA ................................... 2.59
SAVES
Hader, Mil ........................................... 18
Rogers, SD .......................................... 18
Jansen, Atl ......................................... 14
Bard, Col ............................................. 11
Díaz, NY .............................................. 11
Kimbrel, LA ......................................... 11
Melancon, Ari ..................................... 11
Bednar, Pit .......................................... 10
STRIKEOUTS
Burnes, Mil ......................................... 84
Nola, Phi ............................................. 79
Alcantara, Mia .................................... 71
Rodón, SF ............................................ 70
Bassitt, NY ......................................... 68
Manaea, SD ........................................ 68
López, Mia .......................................... 67
Wheeler, Phi ....................................... 67BaseballNational League American League
TODAYInterleague score
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
at Philadelphia 9, L.A. Angels 7
MONDAY’S RESULTS
No games scheduled.AL leaders
Entering Monday’s games.
BATTING
Arraez, Min ...................................... .358
Anderson, Chi .................................. .356
Martinez, Bos .................................. .353
Devers, Bos ...................................... .341
France, Sea ...................................... .332
Bogaerts, Bos .................................. .323
Benintendi, KC ................................. .321
Judge, NY ......................................... .313
HOME RUNS
Judge, NY ............................................ 21
Alvarez, Hou ....................................... 16
Ramírez, Cle ....................................... 14
Trout, LA ............................................. 13
Rizzo, NY ............................................ 13
Buxton, Min ........................................ 12
Guerrero Jr., Tor ................................. 12
Devers, Bos ......................................... 12
RBI
Ramírez, Cle ....................................... 53
Judge, NY ............................................ 42
Story, Bos ........................................... 40
France, Sea ......................................... 37
García, Tex .......................................... 36
Stanton, NY ........................................ 35
Rizzo, NY ............................................ 35
Alvarez, Hou ....................................... 34
ERA
Cortes, NY ....................................... 1.50
Pérez, Tex ........................................ 1.56
Manoah, Tor .................................... 1.98
McClanahan, TB ............................... 2.10
Skubal, Det ...................................... 2.15
Gilbert, Sea ...................................... 2.22
Verlander, Hou ................................ 2.23
SAVES
Hendriks, Chi ...................................... 16
Romano, Tor ....................................... 16
Iglesias, LA ......................................... 11
Barlow, Tex ......................................... 10
Jiménez, Oak ...................................... 10
Pressly, Hou ....................................... 10
Soto, Det ............................................. 10
STRIKEOUTS
McClanahan, TB .................................. 89
Cease, Chi ........................................... 81
Cole, NY .............................................. 81
Montas, Oak ....................................... 78
Ray, Sea .............................................. 74
Gausman, Tor ..................................... 73
Cortes, NY .......................................... 68
Eovaldi, Bos ........................................ 67
Gilbert, Sea ......................................... 67
NOTESEAST WLPCTGBL10STR
New York 39 15 .722 —8-2 W-6
x-Toronto 31 22 .585 71 / 2 8-2 L-1
Tampa Bay3123.57485-5 L-2
x-Boston 27 27 .500 12 6-4 W-4
Baltimore2333.411 17 4-6 L-1CENTRAL WLPCT GBL10STR
Minnesota 32 24 .571—4-6 W-1
Cleveland 24 25 .490 41 / 2 6-4 W-1
Chicago 25 27 .481 54-6 W-2
Detroit 21 33 .389 10 5-5 L-3
x-Kansas City 17 35 .327 13 3-7 L-1WEST WLPCTGBL10STR
Houston 35 20 .636 —6-4 L-1
x-Los Angeles 27 28 .491 80-10 L-11
Texas2528.47295-5 L-1
Seattle 25 30 .455 10 7-3 W-2
Oakland 20 36 .357 151 / 2 1-9 L-6
x-Late gameEAST WLPCTGBL10STR
x-New York 37 19 .661 —8-2 W-2
Atlanta 28 27 .509 81 / 2 7-3 W-5
Philadelphia 25 29 .463 11 5-5 W-4
Miami 22 30 .423 13 4-6 L-1
Washington 21 35 .375 16 5-5 W-3
CENTRAL WLPCT GBL10STR
Milwaukee 33 23 .589 —4-6 L-3
St. Louis 32 23 .582^1 / 2 7-3 W-2
Pittsburgh 24 28 .462 77-3 W-2
Chicago 23 32 .418 91 / 2 4-6 L-2
Cincinnati 19 35 .352 13 5-5 W-1WEST WLPCT GBL10STR
Los Angeles 35 19 .648 —5-5 L-2
x-San Diego 33 21 .611 25-5 W-3
San Francisco29 24 .5475^1 / 2 5-5 W-1
Arizona 26 30 .464 10 3-7 L-3
Colorado 23 31 .426 12 3-7 L-4
x-Late gamebe successful is another matter.
A decade ago, the Nationals sued
MASN over tens of millions of dollars
in rights fees that they believed MASN
owed them. That lawsuit is ongoing.
Meanwhile, the relationship between
the network and the Nationals has
become so acrimonious that the sides
are also embroiled in a separate lawsuit
over how the network’s profits are dis-
tributed.
Aside from the legal disputes, MASN
has frustrated the Nationals and their
fans with cost-cutting in recent years.
Coverage for games has been trimmed,
and this season MASN tried to cover
games without sending announcers on
the road, resulting in technical difficul-
ties.
Neither team is reaping financial
benefits, at least compared with some
other franchises. According to a person
with knowledge of the finances, the
Nationals and Orioles received around
$60 million apiece last year for their TV
rights. In comparison, the Philadelphia
Phillies in 2014 signed a 25-year, $2.5
billion rights agreement with Comcast.A deal for the O’s
Before the Nationals’ arrival in 2005,
the Orioles had sole reign over a region-
al TV territory that stretched from
Delaware to North Carolina. Orioles
owner Peter Angelos reached an agree-
ment with Major League Baseball to
compensate his franchise for sharing
its geographic territory with a new
team.
Enter MASN. The Nationals and Ori-
oles are part-owners of the network,
with the Nationals owning 23 percent
and the Orioles 77 percent. The Nation-
als’ stake increases annually by 1 per-
centage point until it tops out at 33
percent.
There was skepticism from the start.
According to a summary of an MLB
executive committee meeting the same
day the agreement was signed, multi-
ple owners, including Jerry Reinsdorf
of the Chicago White Sox and Bill DeW-
itt of the St. Louis Cardinals, expressed
reservations about the deal because of
its length and potential impact on the
sale price of the Nationals.
Yet the deal went through. And it
makes clear that a sale of either team
would not unwind it.
“In the event that either the Orioles,
the Nationals, or the RSN [regional
sports network] are sold... ,” the agree-
ment reads, “all subsequent purchas-
er(s), assignees or transferees shall be
unconditionally bound to all terms and
conditions of this Agreement.” The
meeting summary refers to the length
of the deal as “in perpetuity.”
In a joint statement to The Washing-
ton Post, MASN and the Orioles reaf-
firmed their position that the agree-
ment is necessary and firmly in place.
“The adverse effects that MLB’s deci-
sion to relocate the Expos to Washing-
ton inflicted on Baltimore, the state of
Maryland, and the Orioles will contin-
ue indefinitely so long as the Nationals
play in Washington,” the statement
reads. “Accordingly, under the 2005
MLB-Orioles Settlement Agreement,
MASN’s exclusive ownership of bothMASN FROM D1the Orioles’ and the Nationals’ telecast
rights throughout the Orioles’ Exclu-
sive Home Television Territory contin-
ues in perpetuity, regardless of who the
owners are of each Club.”
The Nationals declined to comment.
Commissioner Rob Manfred could
undo the agreement under the “best
interests of baseball” clause, an ambig-
uous yet broad power outlined in the
MLB constitution. But one person fa-
miliar with the commissioner’s office’s
thinking said MLB probably would
have a hard time doing that because the
Orioles have been successful arguing in
court that MLB is not an unbiased
party to adjudicate MASN disputes.
The upshot, according to two people
familiar with the contract, is that the
MASN deal is extremely difficult to
unravel absent a negotiated settle-
ment.A changing landscape
Still, there are reasons to believe a
new deal could be reached. They start
with the rapidly shifting media land-
scape.
MASN is an independent RSN,
which means the company only oper-
ates a single cable channel. Cord-cut-
ting has made life difficult for all RSNs
but perhaps even tougher for MASN,
which does not have the scale to help it
negotiate with cable distributors as do
Comcast or Bally’s, which own multiple
sports networks.
According to Kagan, the media re-
search division of S&P Global MarketIntelligence, MASN’s subscriptions
have fallen from 5.6 million in 2018 to
3.6 million this year. And anyone who
has watched MASN in recent years has
noticed the network has responded by
cutting costs; there is no analyst on
pregame and postgame shows for the
Nationals, and the set beyond center
field that hosted that coverage was
dismantled.
“If MASN was owned by Comcast,
this wouldn’t be happening,” said Bill
Isaacson, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rif-
kind, Wharton & Garrison LLP who has
worked on RSN litigation. “You would
see much more money pumped into it.”
That could have been a possibility.
According to two people familiar with
the discussions, MASN had conversa-
tions around a decade ago about selling
itself to Comcast for more than $1 bil-
lion. The deal that was discussed would
be paying both teams more in rights
fees than they are getting from MASN
currently. It’s unclear why that deal fell
apart.
Any new deal would have to over-
come several complications. The Ori-
oles, worried the team would struggle
to sell TV rights on its own in the small
market of Baltimore, have long insisted
that any settlement continue to com-
pensate them for the Nationals’ place
in the market and that the teams’ rights
remain partnered. The Nationals,
meanwhile, would like to free them-
selves of any link to the Orioles and to
operate their TV rights like any other
team.According to the person familiar
with the commissioner’s office’s think-
ing, MLB is sensitive to the idea that a
settlement would require more protec-
tion for the Orioles than simply return-
ing the Nationals’ rights to the D.C.
team a nd would need to ensure both
teams had viable TV revenue.
But the Nationals also have a new
form of leverage. In addition to MASN’s
outlook, a New York court found that
MASN owes the Nationals some
$100 million in back pay for rights
between 2012 and 2017. The Orioles are
appealing, but the Nationals’ TV rights
since 2017 could be an entirely new
lawsuit. Perhaps the outline of a settle-
ment could be found in forgiving that
payment in exchange for amending the
MASN deal.
Another wrinkle: Angelos is 92, and
rumors of the Orioles’ own interest in a
sale have circulated around baseball
lately. If the Angelos family were inter-
ested in selling the Orioles, they could
collect a big payday in advance of a sale
as part of a settlement — or new Orioles
owners could be more interested in a
settlement.
The same is true of the Nationals:
Prospective owners could negotiate di-
rectly with the Orioles as part of the
buying process. Malandro suggested
prospective Nationals buyers who
weren’t interested in those talks could
approach their bids another way: Offer
one price if a deal is worked out and
another if there is no deal before the
sale.Sale could help solve the Nats’ MASN messGREG FIUME/GETTY IMAGES
Juan Soto and a ballpark near Capitol Hill are a mong the Nationals’ valuable assets, but M ASN is a detriment.M0140 4x7A PERFECT FIT FOR
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