For his next trick, Orioles outfielder Joey Rickard will try to hit a knuckleball off a pitcher 17 years his senior. He'll bat leadoff tonight and face 41-year-old R.A. Dickey as the Orioles play the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Rickard has played in 359 games in the minors but said this afternoon he has never faced a knuckleball. "I lot of guys have been giving me advice," he said. "But at the same time, it is very foreign to me. They told me just stay back and don't try and think too much....

Left-hander Brian Matusz is expected to be activated from the disabled list on Saturday while the Orioles are in Kansas City. Matusz allowed one hit and struck out nine batters over four scoreless innings last night at Single-A Frederick. He's made five appearances on his minor league rehab assignment. "It felt good to be able to get extended to four innings," Matusz said today. "Threw all four pitches. It was a positive outing. "The strikeouts are great. But I think ultimately the key was...

WOODBRIDGE - Right-hander Erick Fedde, starting his first full season in the Nationals organization following Tommy John surgery almost two years ago, allowed three homers in his last start for Single-A Potomac versus Wilmington on April 15. One of the three homers against the Blue Rocks was of the inside-the-park variety, but last season he had allowed only two homers over the entire campaign. In his third start this season, the 2014 first-rounder again surrendered a longball when designated...

MIAMI - Two trends to watch tonight as the Nationals face the Marlins in the third of this four-game series under the roof: Can Joe Ross continue the rotation's dominant start to the season, and can this lineup continue to thrive against left-handed pitching? We'll start with Ross, who has been lights-out through his first two starts of the season (2-0, 0.61 ERA, .160 opponents' batting average). It's easy to forget the right-hander is only 22, with 15 big league starts on his resume,...

Adam Jones is in the Orioles lineup tonight after leaving last night's game with a stomach virus. Joey Rickard continues to lead off and play left field. Mark Trumbo is in right. Caleb Joseph is behind the plate. Pedro Alvarez is on the field early today working out at first base. A JUGS machine is used to simulate throws to first, allowing Alvarez to field balls in the dirt. For the Orioles Joey Rickard LF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Mark Trumbo RF J.J. Hardy SS Jonathan...

Having lost four of their last five games, the Orioles will try to straighten out tonight against a knuckleball pitcher. Consider it the latest challenge in a young season. Blue Jays right-hander R.A. Dickey is 2-6 with a 3.93 ERA in 14 outings (11 starts) against the Orioles. He's 1-3 with a 3.09 ERA in six outings (five starts) at Camden Yards. The current Orioles are batting .199 (28-for-141) against Dickey. Adam Jones, who left last night's game with a stomach virus, is 3-for-25 with a...

Heading into the 2014 season, after inking a new four-year, $50 million deal with the Orioles, Ubaldo Jimenez was expected to be near the top of the club's rotation, just behind right-hander Chris Tillman. This wasn't the case, however, as Jimenez was arguably the worst pitcher on staff, recording a 4.73 ERA, a 4.79 fielding independent pitching (FIP) and an abysmal 5.48 walks per nine innings over 22 starts, averaging just over 5.1 innings pitched per outing. The Orioles placed Jimenez on...

The Orioles have lost four of their last five games since their 7-0 start. They were 5-0 at home this year and 10-0 at home since the second game of a doubleheader last Sept. 30 until last night's loss to Toronto. On the plus side, O's starting pitchers have now gone exactly six innings three straight games. O's starters went six innings or more just once in the first nine games. Ubaldo Jimenez, who went seven innings in his first start on April 7, is the only O's starter to pitch seven or...

Last year, there was quite a bit of talk about how the Nationals' "window" was closing because Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond were leaving, along with a few others. But I never bought into that, and while it's early, the Nats certainly look like a team that can succeed with its current roster. Sure, they aren't consensus World Series favorites anymore, but where did that ever get them? Some sort of window didn't close on them after last season just because they lost a few key...

Mark Trumbo reached base twice last night on a walk and infield hit. He also threw out Troy Tulowitzki at the plate to conclude the third inning, and it wasn't close. Tulowitzki went in standing and ran into catcher Matt Wieters' tag. He could have just stopped and held out an arm. Trumbo has 16 career outfield assists, the most recent before last night coming on June 27, 2015. The Orioles lead the majors with 49 outfield assists since the beginning of the 2015 season. * Manny Machado...