SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles return home today after two games on the East Coast to face the Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. Mike Wright Jr. is on the mound and first baseman Chris Davis wants to be in the lineup. Manager Buck Showalter could make him wait until Sunday, also in Sarasota, but the return is coming. Reliever Brad Brach threw two innings Thursday afternoon against the Red Sox's Triple-A team at Twin Lakes Park, the first time he's gone more than one this spring. He didn't allow a run or...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - After spending the last month watching their in-house candidates pitch in person and prominent free agents agree to deals elsewhere, the Nationals appear to have found a surprise new choice to be their No. 5 starter. The club has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with Jeremy Hellickson, according to a source familiar with the deal, making the 30-year-old right-hander the sudden odds-on favorite to fill the final spot in the Nationals rotation. Hellickson's deal...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - After each team scored twice in the ninth inning today, the New York Mets were out of pitchers, and the Orioles and Mets played to a 4-4 tie. The Orioles have not lost since March 9 and are 7-0-1 over the last eight games. They are 13-8-2 for the Grapefruit League season. Anthony Santander's two-run homer in the top of the ninth gave the O's a 4-2 lead before the Mets tied it versus right-hander James Teague in the bottom half. It was Santander's fourth spring homer. A...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - From his perch in the Nationals dugout, Davey Martinez saw Gio Gonzalez start moving his body around in a manner that suggested something didn't feel right. And when the left-hander grabbed his side, Martinez had only one thought. "No, no, no," the first-year Nationals manager said. "Now's not the time." So Martinez told director of athletic training Paul Lessard the two of them needed to go check on Gonzalez. Lessard, who has been with the club for three seasons,...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - For the first time since it happened on Wednesday in Sarasota, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado today discussed the comments made to him that day by the Yankees' Aaron Judge. Judge told New York reporters that he told Machado he'd "look good in pinstripes." Major League Baseball issued a statement saying Judge's comments "were not appropriate and not authorized by the club." "I think he's a great guy," Machado said outside the Orioles clubhouse. "He's a...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Despite giving everyone in the park a brief scare that prompted a mound visit from a trainer, Gio Gonzalez made it through today's outing in one piece and pitched quite well against a Cardinals lineup featuring several regulars. Gonzalez allowed one run in five innings, that coming on Jedd Gyorko's leadoff homer to left in the top of the fourth. The moment of panic, though, came during his final inning. After throwing a pitch to Dexter Fowler, Gonzalez appeared to land...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Making his second Orioles start of spring training this afternoon, right-hander Andrew Casher held the New York Mets to a run through five innings as New York leads Baltimore 1-0. The Orioles were blanked through their first five at-bats by Mets righty Jacob deGrom. Making his second spring start, he fanned eight O's in the first five innings, allowing just one hit. That was a single by Austin Hays, who then stole second base in the third. Cashner, who pitched four...

LIke all good teams, we're setting our lineup for the coming season. At MASNsports.com, that means letting you know who our Orioles guest bloggers will be for the 2018 campaign. Since 2011, we've shared our little corner of cyberspace with passionate guest bloggers who write about the O's, giving them an opportunity to share their strong opinions with a larger audience and hopefully introducing new readers to their blogs. This year will be no different, with two returnees and a newcomer...

Since 2011, MASNsports.com has welcomed guest bloggers to our pages, giving folks with strong opinions about the Nationals a chance to share their viewpoints with a larger audience. We'll do the same in 2018, though we're adding a couple of newcomers to our rotation. We'll begin on Friday, March 30 - which is currently scheduled as an off-day after the Nats' season opener in Cincinnati - with the introduction of Ryan Sullivan, who hosts The Nats GM podcast and associated website. He'll be...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he expects first baseman Chris Davis to return to the Grapefruit League lineup on Sunday when the Orioles host the Mets in Sarasota. Davis has played in just five spring games due to right elbow tightness/inflammation. He is 2-for-13 (.154) with one homer. His last game was March 2. He got a cortisone injection on Saturday. "He is making good progress," Showalter said before today's game with the Mets. "Right now, the plan is for...