Roch Kubatko

Spoone's wild ride (with Lebron and Patton added)

March 24, 2010, 11:39am

It wasn't pretty, but the Orioles kept their lead. Chorye Spoone was wild in the sixth inning, walking the leadoff batter and almost drilling Ronny Cedeno. He totaled only six strikes among his 15 pitches. Jeff Salazar made a sliding catch of Cedeno's sinking liner and fired to second to double off Steve Pearce for the last out. He looked like Nick Markakis out there. Update: Luis Lebron pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two batters. He threw 13 pitches, eight strikes. Scott Moore...

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Nolan Reimold

Snyder leaves game (updated)

March 24, 2010, 11:37am

Brandon Snyder came out of the game in the eighth inning after Pirates reliever Ramon Aguero drilled him in the left leg with two outs and the score tied. Snyder was in obvious pain as he hopped out of the batter's box and limped to first base. He bent at the waist as head athletic trainer Richie Bancells checked on him. Manager Dave Trembley later joined them. Josh Bell pinch-ran for Snyder, who walked off the field under his own power. Bell went to third base in the top of the ninth, and...

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David Hernandez

Post-game Trembley

March 24, 2010, 11:36am

Orioles manager Dave Trembley said he removed Brandon Snyder from the game as a precaution after the infielder was hit on the side of his left knee. "It's cold out here," Trembley said. "You get hit like that, get out of the game. He'll be fine." Trembley was especially impressed with two of the club's pitchers. "(Chris) Tillman showed three quality pitches. His fastball was good. I like (Luis) Lebron. He's got a good fastball." Asked about Tillman again, Trembley replied, "He...

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Adam Jones

Orioles lineup (with Snyder quotes)

March 24, 2010, 11:35am

Felix Pie LF Robert Andino 2B Nolan Reimold DH Ty Wigginton 3B Lou Montanez RF Brandon Snyder 1B Jeff Salazar CF Michel Hernandez C Blake Davis SS Kevin Millwood RHP A reminder that Reimold is scheduled to get two at-bats as the DH before Michael Aubrey replaces him. Aubrey received his first spring training at-bat last night and flied out in the eighth inning. Snyder obviously is fine after being hit on the left knee last night and leaving the game for a pinch-runner. And Pie returns to the...

Looking ahead

March 24, 2010, 11:34am

The Orioles play three straight home games after today before subjecting us to back-to-back night games in Bradenton on Wednesday and Fort Myers on Thursday. The Friday afternoon game against the Florida Marlins in Sarasota will be a tough turnaround, but that's why they have spring training. We're getting ready for a 162-game season. Jeremy Guthrie starts against the Boston Red Sox tomorrow. Mark Hendrickson, Kam Mickolio, David Hernandez and Will Ohman also are scheduled to...

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Adam Jones

Tigers lineup and pre-game chatter

March 24, 2010, 11:33am

For the Tigers: Clete Thomas CF Johnny Damon LF Magglio Ordonez RF Miguel Cabrera 1B Carlos Guillen DH Don Kelly 3B Alex Avila C Scott Sizemore 2B Ramon Santiago SS Justin Verlander RHP Manager Dave Trembley confirmed that the club has held discussions about adding a middle infielder to the camp roster. Brian Roberts still isn't ready to play, Justin Turner probably won't be available tomorrow after taking a line drive off his left foot, and Cesar Izturis has a sore throat. "Maybe an...

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David Hernandez

Millwood's "Welcome to the Orioles" moment (updated)

March 24, 2010, 11:32am

Kevin Millwood has faced one batter today and he's trailing, 1-0. Clete Thomas just took him deep on a 2-2 pitch, the ball clearing the fence in right field. Thomas likes hitting against the Orioles, if you'll recall. Felix Pie led off the top of the first inning with a scorching liner that Thomas ran down in right-center field. I thought the ball was going to clear his head for another triple. Justin Verlander retired Robert Andino on a pop up and Nolan Reimold on a fly ball. Nobody is...

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brian matusz t-shirt tuesday

Getting Wiggy with it

March 24, 2010, 11:32am

Ty Wigginton has hit the Orioles' 10th home run this spring. Wigginton led off the second inning with a blast onto the grassy hill beyond the fence in left-center field. He almost wiped out a sunbather. The Tigers lead, 6-1. Matt Albers got the final out in the bottom of the first by inducing a fly ball from Johnny Damon. The Tigers might have been exhausted from running the bases.

Albers calms the storm

March 24, 2010, 11:31am

Matt Albers retired the first four batters he faced, getting three ground balls in the second inning, before Don Kelly led off the third with a single up the middle. Yes, we've only completed three innings. We're going to be here for a while. Albers got a fly ball, fielder's choice grounder and another fly ball, giving him 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Kevin Millwood. On the day Miguel Tejada wasn't scheduled to make the trip to Port Charlotte, he arrived at the Sarasota complex...

The second inning (and the third)

March 24, 2010, 11:28am

Brian Matusz gave up a two-out double to Yadier Molina and a single to David Freese in the second inning, but the Cardinals didn't score. Left fielder Nolan Reimold almost threw out Molina at second. Molina reached third on Freese's hit, but he left the game with an apparent hamstring injury. I think he has a bad case of slow. Matusz fanned Ryan Ludwick for the second out. He threw 20 pitches, 14 for strikes. Rich Hill threw 12 pitches in a scoreless second inning. Felix Pie reached on an...

Hill Street Blues (updated)

March 24, 2010, 11:27am

Before the first pitch was thrown, we stood for the longest rendition of the national anthem in spring training history. Me: "Is this a night game?" Schmuck: "Rich Hill just walked the bases loaded." Press box announcer: "The temperature just went up two degrees." Too bad we didn't have a stopwatch on her. Hill walked leadoff hitter Felix Pie on six pitches. He also walked Lou Montanez on four pitches after Robert Andino flied out. Does any of this sound familiar? Nolan Reimold...

A few nuggets

March 24, 2010, 11:26am

Go with the honey mustard dipping sauce today. David Hernandez will start Saturday against the Red Sox in Sarasota, the last of three straight home games for the Orioles. Kevin Millwood will pitch in a minor league game on Saturday, as he suggested after his last start. No sense letting the Red Sox get a read on him, though I assume the book is out on this guy. No updates on Brian Roberts so far. He's expected to take batting practice again today and make his first start later this week....

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Jim Johnson

Orioles lineup (updated)

March 24, 2010, 11:25am

Felix Pie CF Robert Andino SS Lou Montanez RF Nolan Reimold LF Brandon Snyder 1B Josh Bell 3B Scott Moore DH Chad Moeller C Justin Turner 2B Brian Matusz LHP Here's the Cardinals lineup: Lugo 2B Ryan SS Pujols 1B Holliday LF Ludwick RF Molina C Freese 3B Mather CF Hill LHP Matusz was originally listed as the ninth hitter for the Orioles, but manager Dave Trembley inserted Moore as his designated hitter. I'm sure he'd like to avoid having Matusz bat and risk an injury.

Been here, done that

March 24, 2010, 11:25am

(I had to rewrite this entry because it somehow got deleted from the system. I'm off to a good start). I made the trip back up I-95 this morning, resisting the urge to use the carpool lane, and arrived at Roger Dean Stadium in approximately 45 minutes. Not bad for rush hour, especially going through West Palm, where traffic usually comes to a screeching halt. The Orioles are back in Jupiter, this time to face the ballpark's other tenant, the St. Louis Cardinals. Brian Matusz will make his...

Millwood on Millwood

March 24, 2010, 11:22am

Knowing that you don't have to compete for a spot on the team gives you the luxury of working on other pitches in the early weeks of spring training. The results don't really matter. Keep that in mind when examining Kevin Millwood's line today. Millwood went to his changeup more than usual, and it's his fourth-best pitch. "If I can get it to be just a little bit better, it's only going to help," he said. "When I'm going fastball-changeup, it's going to be a hard day. But I got a...

A few updates

March 24, 2010, 11:21am

Nolan Reimold went 0-for-2, grounding to short and hitting into a double play, before Michael Aubrey replaced him as the designated hitter. Aubrey singled in his second at-bat of the spring (he flied out last night). Ty Wigginton is 2-for-3 with a home run and a throwing error. Aubrey and Blake Davis have the only other hits for the Orioles. Cla Meredith tossed a scoreless fifth inning, striking out one. Brandon Erbe retired the first two batters he faced in the sixth, with a ground ball...

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Josh Willingham Ryan Zimmerman

Reimold on Reimold

March 24, 2010, 11:19am

Nolan Reimold said he was seeing the ball well today. "Now I just have to hit it." Reimold isn't running at full speed, which was evident on his double-play grounder. "Normally, I would probably have beat that out, but I'm going to try to not hurt myself any more," he said. "If it was a regular-season game, I would probably have been full-go. I ran hard, but I didn't want to hurt anything. I wasn't going 100 percent. I'm still working my way up to 100 percent." A work in...

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Lou Montanez

Rally falls short

March 24, 2010, 11:17am

The Orioles scored four runs in the ninth, the first two on another Rhyne Hughes home run, but the Tigers posted a 9-5 victory in Lakeland. Jeff Salazar followed Hughes' blast with a single, and Craig Tatum and Pedro Florimon walked before the Tigers yanked reliever Jay Sborz. Ground balls by Matt Angle and Miguel Abreu produced two more runs, but Michael Aubrey lined to center for the final out. Here's manager Dave Trembley on Kevin Millwood: "Millwood made some good pitches and they got...

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where in the yard

Orioles lineup

March 24, 2010, 11:16am

For the Orioles: Adam Jones CF Ty Wigginton DH Nick Markakis RF Miguel Tejada 3B Matt Wieters C Luke Scott LF Garrett Atkins 1B Miguel Abreu 2B Cesar Izturis SS Jeremy Guthrie RHP

Middle infield depth

March 24, 2010, 11:13am

The Orioles have summoned infielder Ryan Adams from the minor league camp. He'll wear No. 96. If he gets into the game, he'll have to report as tackle-eligible. "It was actually a big surprise," said Adams, who batted .288 with 14 doubles, two homers and 25 RBIs in 59 games at Single-A Frederick last season. "They just pulled me off the field (yesterday) and told me they were sending me here. It was a pretty cool feeling." Adams is here because Brian Roberts still isn't ready to...