For his next trick with the Orioles, Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard will replace Adam Jones in center field and bat leadoff. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters this afternoon that Jones is sore in the rib area and that it happened during his final at-bat last night. The hope is he can play tomorrow night, but he's not in the lineup tonight, so Rickard not only moves into center field, but bats leadoff for the first time as well. He said he feels ready to play in center. "I feel like I'm...

The Nationals and Marlins took the field at 4:05 p.m. knowing they had a window of clear weather to begin today's game and probably get several innings in the books before the expected rain returned to the area. Turns out both lineups were just too darn productive out of the chute to get more than an inning and a half completed before the first delay of the afternoon. Both the Marlins and Nationals scored three runs in the first inning, turning the home opener into a slugfest. Miami got to...

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones is out of tonight's lineup for the series finale against the Twins due to soreness in his rib area, according to manager Buck Showalter. Jones wasn't at his locker while the media was allowed inside the clubhouse. Showalter said Jones insists that he's fine and wants to play, but the Orioles aren't taking any chances in the first week of the season. And Showalter isn't using the word "oblique." "He's probably not real happy with the old manager,"...

Mike Rizzo knows too much about injuries to his roster, having spent the majority of the 2015 season trying to patch and re-patch his Nationals club together for months after a host of key players went down. So when it happened again on opening day in Atlanta, when Ben Revere strained a right oblique muscle on his very first swing in the very first inning, Rizzo knew he'd be calling upon his organizational depth yet again. "We try and think of every different type of scenario for injuries,...

With today's home opener, the Nationals begin a three-game, four-day series against the Marlins. It's right-hander Tanner Roark facing left-hander Adam Conley. The Marlins played the Nationals tough last season. The Nats led the season series 10-9 in 2015, but have won 37 of their 57 games (.649) against the Fish. The Nationals have won three straight in the series. Tanner Roark begins this season as a starter. Two years ago as a starter, he won a career-high 15 games over 31 starts. But last...

Still in search of pitching to improve their depth in the system, the Orioles worked out right-hander Eric Fornataro yesterday at Camden Yards. Fornataro, 28, spent last season at Triple-A Syracuse in the Nationals' organization and went 1-4 with a 5.54 ERA in 36 games, including one start. He posted a 2.57 ERA in 44 games with Triple-A Memphis in 2014. The Nats selected Fornataro off waivers from the Cardinals on Nov. 3, 2014 and released him on July 25, 2015. The Cardinals chose Fornataro in...

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez confirmed he will make his first start of 2016 on Monday night as the Nationals play host to the Braves. "I'm looking forward to getting that ball and finally attacking that strike zone," Gonzalez said. "I haven't felt so excited like this in awhile. Hopefully here it goes." Gonzalez said pitching coach Mike Maddux put forward the scenario of holding him until the April 11 game. One schedule for the starters manager Dusty Baker said that might work is a...

The Orioles today announced that the popular Birdland Passport program, designed to reward fans who visit Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Orioles' local minor league affiliate ballparks, will return for another season. All five minor league affiliates - the Norfolk Tides, Bowie Baysox, Frederick Keys, Delmarva Shorebirds, and Aberdeen IronBirds - will continue to participate this season. "The Birdland Passport program is a unique initiative that encourages fans to experience our...

For this edition of "Hitting the Books," we turn our attention to one of Baltimore's most valuable institutions, The Enoch Pratt Free Library. From the library's own records, we find that Enoch Pratt was a Baltimore businessman who lived from 1808-1896. He made his fortune as an iron merchant; a rail, canal and steamboat owner; and a bank president. He was an American story, coming from Massachusetts and making his own way and always believing those who have must give and that the...

And for the first time in 2016 (exhibition games excluded), hello from Nationals Park! The home opener has arrived at last, though this could end up being a long day of waiting around for a game that may or may not be played. I don't know any more than all of you do, but my trusty weather app is showing dry skies until about 6 p.m. So maybe we'll be alright after all. Once they do play, it's Tanner Roark on the mound for the Nationals against the fearsome Giancarlo Stanton and the rest of...