After the final minor league exhibition games yesterday and an intrasquad game today at Twin Lakes Park, the Orioles have set the minor league break-camp rosters for their four full-season affiliates, which begin play next week. The players are beginning to head north to play at Triple-A Norfolk, Double-A Bowie, Single-A Frederick and Single-A Delmarva. These rosters are not final, and changes could still be made between now and opening day on the farm, which is next Thursday for most...

CINCINNATI - Davey Martinez had been thinking about his opening day lineup for some time. He had scribbled out different varieties, with and without players who were trying to return from injuries this spring. And once he knew for sure who he'd have available to him for today's game at Great American Ball Park, he didn't hesitate to write it down in pen on his first official lineup card as a big league manager. Even if it had Trea Turner batting sixth. That unconventional decision surely...

The rain is finally gone (for now), which means the Nationals can finally open the 2018 season in Cincinnati. It also means the release of the first Nats episode of the brand-new "MASN All-Access" podcast, which goes along with the "MASN All Access" Facebook Live show. If you followed along the past couple of years with the District 34 podcast, you'll be familiar with me, "All Access" and social producer Bobby Blanco, as a host. Joining me this year on the podcast is "All Access"...

CINCINNATI - They're playing a ballgame here today. No, really. They are. Pay no attention to the tarp that has been on the field at Great American Ball Park, or the rain that started falling yesterday and hasn't stopped since. It's going to clear up in time for first pitch at 4:10 p.m. That's what everyone insists, so we have no choice but to believe them. The Nationals face the Reds on opening day for the first time, and so maybe it's appropriate that there's a first in today's lineup:...

Happy opening day, baseball friends! After many months of battling cold temperatures and evenings without the soothing voices of Bob Carpenter and F.P. Santangelo, Nationals baseball returns today. One of the many great things about opening day is the sense of optimism it brings with it - spring in Washington can be truly beautiful and the beginning of a baseball season leads one to think of the endless possibilities over 162 games. Naturally, this leads fans to start making predictions for...

In 2018, the Orioles will go as far as their starting pitching will take them. I think I've been writing that same sentence for the last seven years. It's basic, but it's true. The O's offense is strong and should be even better this season. Last year, the team fell out of contention because its starting pitching struggled. The Birds' rotation ranked last in ERA (5.70), 27th in walks per nine innings (3.74) and gave up more hard contact (35 percent) than 26 of the 30 teams in baseball. The...

Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver used to ask what constitutes a good start for a team. Is it playing well through six games, eight games or 10, 20 or 40? Well, we can debate that, but it is certainly more than one game. Although once again, the Orioles did win their first game. For the eighth year in a row and for the third straight year with a walk-off victory. Also for the third straight year by a 3-2 score. In their last six opening day extra-inning games, the Orioles are 6-0 and all six...

Manager Buck Showalter gets another day to plot his Game 2 lineup after the second-guessers descended upon him in the opener. Chris Davis batting leadoff wasn't the only move that stirred the masses. Craig Gentry was given the start in right field over Colby Rasmus and switch-hitting spring training darling Anthony Santander. We'll never know whether Rasmus or Santander would have caught Eddie Rosario's fly ball to the track in right-center field leading off the top of the second inning, but...

Adam Jones saw one pitch today from Twins reliever Fernando Rodney leading off the bottom of the 11th inning. That's all he needed. Jones demolished a 92 mph fastball, sending it into the left field seats to give the Orioles a 3-2 win on opening day and the center fielder his first walk-off hit since a single against the Mariners in 2012. This is the third career walk-off home run for Jones, who's batting .341 with six doubles, one triple, two home runs, eight RBIs and seven runs scored in 11...

After the Orioles had blown a 2-0 lead in the ninth and then failed to score with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th, it was looking like opening day might end badly. Then one swing changed all of that. Center fielder Adam Jones blasted the first pitch of the last of the 11th over the left-field fence for a 3-2 walk-off win over the Minnesota Twins. It was the Orioles' eighth straight win in an opener and the third year in a row they won via a walk-off hit. To hear him tell it, catcher...