Alex Cobb isn't expected to debut with the Orioles before April 14. Cobb worked four innings and threw 48 pitches yesterday in extended spring training in Sarasota. He'll build up to five and six innings in his next two outings. The veteran right-hander must be placed on Double-A Bowie's roster on April 9, but he probably won't pitch in an Eastern League game. Cobb isn't allowed to use a major league baseball since he isn't on an injury rehab assignment, though the Orioles tried to obtain...

CINCINNATI - Matt Adams is making the most of his first start with the Nationals. Given a chance to bat cleanup on the second day of the season with Ryan Zimmerman on the bench, Adams launched a three-run homer into the far reaches of the right-center field bleachers at Great American Ball Park. That first-inning blast, which measured 460 feet, gave the Nationals an early lead over the Reds, which they went on to extend to 5-0 in the fourth inning. With two on and one out in the top of the...

Chris Davis remains the Orioles' leadoff hitter tonight and Anthony Santander is the designated hitter. Colby Rasmus makes his first start with the Orioles, replacing Craig Gentry in right field. Caleb Joseph is catching. For the Orioles Chris Davis 1B Manny Machado SS Jonathan Schoop 2B Adam Jones CF Trey Mancini LF Colby Rasmus RF Tim Beckham 3B Anthony Santander DH Caleb Joseph C Andrew Cashner RHP On this date in 2008, Jones played in his first game with the Orioles in a 6-2 opening day...

CINCINNATI - The sight of today's lineup may have induced a sense of dread for more than a few Nationals fans who are curious why Ryan Zimmerman and Michael A. Taylor are sitting out the season's second game. Manager Davey Martinez, though, insists he was planning to do this all along. Not as a reaction to anything Zimmerman or Taylor did on opening day but as a way to make sure Matt Adams and Brian Goodwin don't waste away on the bench. "Coming into the series, I had different lineups,...

CINCINNATI - And we're back. With the anticipation and hoopla of opening day behind them, the Nationals now begin the long grind this afternoon. It's Game 2 of 162, and it's a little bit of a quick turnaround with a 2:10 p.m. start here at Great American Ball Park. The Nationals send Stephen Strasburg to the mound for his first start of the season, his first meaningful outing since his Game 4 victory at Wrigley Field in October. The conditions won't be nearly as tough today in Cincinnati,...

CINCINNATI - The Nationals are going to score a lot of runs this season via big blasts and sustained rallies. There's simply too much thunder in their lineup to believe otherwise. But sometimes you've got to manufacture a run or two to win a ballgame. And that's what made Friday's 2-0 opening day victory over the Reds particularly encouraging. The Nationals scored their runs by virtue of three singles (one of them on a bunt), a stolen base, some well-executed baserunning and three...

Even though manager Buck Showalter would not commit to using first baseman Chris Davis as a leadoff hitter beyond opening day, there seems to be no reason to make a change now. Will Davis hit first again tonight against Minnesota? Why pull the plug after just one game? Why not let this play out for at least a handful of games to start the year? Davis went 0-for-4 with an intentional walk on Thursday and everyone knows that he is a player on the spot this season. Many Orioles fans race to talk...

CINCINNATI - Davey Martinez wasn't expecting it. His mind was still racing moments after his team had finished off a 2-0 opening victory over the Reds, the first of his managerial career. So he never saw it coming when Nationals players ambushed him in the clubhouse with a celebratory beer shower, the olfactory remnants of which were still evident 30 minutes later after Martinez had taken an actual shower to try to clean himself off. "I was a little wet," he said. "A lot wet,...

CINCINNATI - The day began with Davey Martinez answering questions about his unconventional lineup decisions. The day ended with the Nationals' new manager needing no explanation for sticking with the conventional bullpen order that closed out his team's 2-0 victory over the Reds and made Max Scherzer a winner on opening day for the first time in three career tries. Scherzer dominated for six innings, striking out 10 with only one walk issued, putting himself in line for the win after he took...

Craig Gentry is developing a knack for signing minor league deals with the Orioles in February and breaking camp with the team. Not the easiest path to take and certainly not his first choice, but he's really making the most of it. Gentry's first start last season occurred on April 9 after coming off the bench in four games with no plate appearances. He was in the opening day lineup Thursday afternoon and made a couple of outstanding plays in right field in a 3-2, 11-inning win over the...