SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Davis is batting fifth today for a 1:05 p.m. game against the Marlins in Sarasota. Davis has reached base in seven of his eight plate appearances, with two singles and two home runs. Yusniel Diaz was the designated hitter yesterday and he's in left field this afternoon. Anthony Santander remains in the designated hitter role when he's in the lineup. Pedro Severino is catching. Pat Valaika, a super-utility candidates, is starting at second base. Left-hander Keegan Akin...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Richie Martin is blocked at shortstop and unsure whether he can claim second base or a utility job. He's no longer hearing how he should focus only on his defense at short and not worry about what he offers at the plate. Hold the gravy. Spring training 2020 certainly has a different feel and sound for Martin, the former Rule 5 pick who came within a home run yesterday of the cycle. Martin was allowed back at his old position while José Iglesias stayed in Sarasota for...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Coming off another strong minor league season, Orioles left-handed pitching prospect Zac Lowther is in big league camp for the first time. He's trying to soak up the experience, learn from the older players and show the staff what he can do when he gets his chance. He certainly has done that since the Orioles drafted him No. 74 overall in 2017 out of Xavier. In 61 career games he is 23-13 with a 2.26 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. The Orioles' co-Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2018...

JUPITER, Fla. - And then there was one. When Patrick Corbin toes the rubber at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium against the Cardinals this afternoon, he'll become the last of the Nationals starting pitchers to pitch in a Grapefruit League game. Manager Davey Martinez held back Corbin and Stephen Strasburg, who started yesterday against the Rays in West Palm Beach, as a way to compensate for the exceedingly long postseason that went through Oct. 30 and the club's victory over the Astros in the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Ever the routine-oriented pragmatist, Stephen Strasburg found both good and bad in his first Grapefruit League start - and he took both in stride. The good: He retired the first four batters he faced in order, striking out three of them. The bad: The next four batters reached base, and Vidal Bruján's two-run double to center gave the Rays a 3-1 lead in the second inning en route to an 8-1 victory. Strasburg wasn't able to escape the second frame, manager Davey...

BRADENTON, Fla. - Austin Hays didn't have a seat on the team bus this morning, his workout schedule keeping him back in Sarasota while the Orioles made the 20-minute trek to play the Pirates. Ryan Mountcastle peeled away from his friend and handled first base and cleanup duties at LECOM Park. They both cleaned up yesterday at Ed Smith Stadium. Hays doubled twice and had two RBIs, made two diving catches and was on the front end of an 8-4-2 putout. Mountcastle doubled twice, hit a long home...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - In some ways, Ryne Harper is like the new kid in class. The proverbial new kid doesn't know where the library is, isn't sure who to sit with at lunch and stands alone at the bus stop. Harper might be new to the Nationals, traded from the Twins on Jan. 29 in exchange for minor league right-hander Hunter McMahon, but the 30-year-old who reached the majors for the first time last season is not new to changing teams. This is the third time he's done so in his career....

BRADENTON, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde broke out a sheet of paper this morning with the list of players who are recovering from injuries and illnesses and the next stages of their individual progressions. Too many names and tasks to memorize with so many other activities happening at the complex. Hunter Harvey, who's been able to shake his flu-like symptoms, threw a simulated game today in Sarasota. Kohl Stewart (biceps) and Alex Wells (oblique) are throwing in the bullpen Saturday....

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Ryan Zimmerman came through his first Grapefruit League game Thursday night unscathed and Nationals manager Davey Martinez expects to have the veteran first baseman back in the lineup tomorrow when the club travels to Jupiter to play the Cardinals. "Typical soreness," Martinez said, "but he said he made it through." Zimmerman has come a long way as a first basemen, learning the position from former teammate Adam LaRoche during spring training 2014 in Viera and taking...

The Orioles today announced that Brett Hollander, former host of the Brett Hollander Show on WBAL Radio, will join the Orioles broadcast team in 2020, appearing on both MASN and the Orioles Radio Network throughout the season. Hollander joins the broadcast team following the conclusion of his agreement with WBAL Radio last week. He will appear as a special guest on MASN and the Orioles Radio Network during Monday's broadcasts. A lifelong Baltimore resident, Hollander began covering the Orioles...