WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Trevor Rosenthal sneaked a peek. How could he not? After throwing a couple of fastballs in the top of the fifth this afternoon at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, Rosenthal decided things were going well enough to take a look at the scoreboard radar gun. "I did. I peeked," he said with a sheepish grin. "After I threw the two balls to the second hitter, I kind of peaked at it. I was kind of surprised at how hard I was throwing." The entire stadium was, Trevor....

SARASOTA, Fla. - The first three at-bats ended in strikeouts and the familiar walk back to the dugout. A fresh start for Chris Davis, the latest since signing his franchise-record contract in January 2016, already had taken on a familiar look. A groundout made Davis 0-for-4 in two spring training games, but there was contact. And it would get much louder in the fifth inning when he drove a breaking ball from Tampa Bay's Austin Pruitt over the center field fence and off the scoreboard in the...

Confetti, balloons, and rousing applause greeted the announcement today when the Orioles selected Diana Love of Sarasota as the "One Millionth Fan" to attend an Orioles Spring Training game at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. As fans streamed into the ballpark for the third home game of the 2019 season, the Orioles selected Love at random to represent the one million fans. In a special on-field presentation, Love received a $5,000 shopping experience at Diamond Vault in Sarasota, two Spring...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Dissecting the first two spring outings begins with the basics for Mike Wright. Four innings and no runs allowed. "I like giving up no runs," Wright said this afternoon after shutting out the Rays over two innings. "That's fun." Wright allowed two hits, walked a batter and struck out one. He's surrendered five hits this spring, his first appearance coming Saturday in relief of starter Yefry Ramirez. "A little too many hits and obviously the walk today," he said....

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Ryan Zimmerman is the lone Nationals position player who has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game this spring, but it doesn't appear he'll hold that distinction much longer. Zimmerman is scheduled to make his 2019 debut Wednesday when the Nationals host the Astros here in West Palm Beach, manager Davey Martinez said. Zimmerman, who infamously played in only one major league game last spring and did the vast majority of his work in minor league games on back...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles won't engage in serious discussions about the back end of their rotation for a few more weeks. Whether one starter will hold down the fifth spot breaking camp or if using an "opener" really is a viable alternative. Manager Brandon Hyde and executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias will swap opinions while poring over the roster. Elias already has brought up the possibility of an opener while speaking to the media on the first day of spring...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles left-hander Richard Bleier threw live batting practice this morning on Field 2, with Cedric Mullins and Carlos Pérez serving as the hitters. Manager Brandon Hyde said Bleier will pitch in a "situational-type game" before debuting in six or seven days. The Orioles are being careful with Bleier, who underwent lat surgery in June and is an important part of their bullpen. Mychal Givens pitched a simulated game yesterday in Sarasota and also is getting closer to making...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - An MRI of Koda Glover's elbow revealed a forearm strain but no ligament damage, the reliever said this morning, though he will be shut down from throwing for now while the Nationals map out a plan to try to keep their oft-injured right-hander healthy at last. "Just a forearm strain," Glover said. "Nothing crazy. UCL was great. That's good news. It's just one of them things where we think maybe some weakness in there or some fatigue. But I'll be fine. I'm really...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Austin Hays got an immediate return Sunday on his offseason workouts during two at-bats against the Blue Jays at Ed Smith Stadium. Hays fell behind 1-2 and poked an RBI single into right field, and he scored from first base on Carlos Pérez's two-run double into left-center. The single illustrated how he made adjustments to this approach at the plate in order to give himself a chance when down in the count. Making it around the bases on Pérez's double, which gave the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals are back home today, facing the same Cardinals team they saw over the weekend in Jupiter. Though this time they'll be going up against Adam Wainwright instead of Michael Wacha. The lineup includes several regulars, including a one-two combo of Trea Turner and Brian Dozier. Davey Martinez said he wants to try to play those two middle infielders together as much as possible this spring, recognizing the need for them to get familiar with each other. Turner...