VIERA, Fla. - As they count down the final days of spring, the Nationals also can count their blessings, thankful they have mostly avoided the kind of significant injuries that have plagued them in previous years. Think back only 12 months ago. When the Nationals headed north for opening day, they were without their projected No. 1 (Denard Span), No. 2 (Anthony Rendon) and No. 3 (Jayson Werth) hitters. They were without their projected primary set-up man (Casey Janssen). And though he wasn't...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles claimed another victory yesterday and then gave back to the Sarasota community. It's one of their finer exchanges and it's become quite familiar over the years. Many of the players returned to the Ed Smith Stadium complex last night along with manager Buck Showalter and his wife Angela, vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson and the coaches, for "Nashville's Music Row Comes to the Ballpark." A large white tent was set up on one of the back fields...

VIERA, Fla. - The countdown has begun. There are only four days' worth of games left down here, and only two games left to be played at Space Coast Stadium ever. Before we go to tomorrow's teary-eyed finale, though, the Nationals first must play split-squad games today. They've got the Braves here in Viera and the Mets in Port St. Lucie. Most of the regulars, as is custom, are playing in the home game. And most are scheduled to play nine innings, something that becomes important during this...

VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals have split-squad games on tap today, kind of an unconventional thing to have this late in the spring, but not something of their doing. Major League Baseball sets the spring training schedule, and with 15 teams training in Florida, somebody has to either go split-squad or get the day off every day in March. Some of the Nats will be hosting the Braves at Space Coast Stadium this afternoon at 1:05 p.m. on MASN, with Gio Gonzalez on the mound. The other Nats will be...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles begin a stretch tonight when they'll play four of their last six Grapefruit League games at 6:05 p.m. Nothing like being under the lights to get you ready for the regular season. The Orioles travel to McKechnie Field in Bradenton to face the Pirates, which is more like playing under the flashlights. Ubaldo Jimenez will take the mound after making his last two starts at Twin Lakes Park. Jimenez allowed a combined one run and five hits over 10 2/3 innings against...

When MLB Network made its annual trek to the Orioles spring training camp, the analysts verbalized a familiar theme - the O's have plenty of offense, but will the starting pitching hold up? The Orioles were featured on the network's "30 Clubs in 30 Days" segment last night. Former player and current network analyst Mark DeRosa interviewed some players in Sarasota, Fla., and came away impressed by the O's offense. "A message to the American League teams out there," DeRosa said. "Do not...

SARASOTA, Fla. - As the Orioles attempt to shape their roster with nine games left before opening day, they're deciding whether South Korean outfielder Hyun Soo Kim will be part of it. Kim's two-year contract includes a stipulation that he can't be optioned to the minors without his consent. Meanwhile, the Orioles have held internal discussions about trying to reach a deal with Kim that would allow him to go back to the Korean Baseball Organization, similar to what happened last spring with...

SARASOTA, Fla. - It took two touchdowns and a safety today for the Orioles to run their winning streak to three games. Get used to it. The Orioles broke out the heavy lumber again to compensate for another poor statistical outing from their starter, pounding out 20 hits and defeating the Red Sox 16-8 at Ed Smith Stadium. J.J. Hardy, Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Audry Perez homered for the Orioles, who improved to 8-14-4 in the spring. Perez drove in four runs after replacing catcher Caleb...

The Orioles today announced that they have optioned infielder/outfielder Christian Walker to Triple-A Norfolk. With this move, the Orioles now have 43 players at Major League Spring Training, including eight non-roster invitees.

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles optioned Christian Walker to Triple-A Norfolk following today's 16-8 win over the Red Sox, leaving them with 43 players on the camp roster, including eight non-roster invitees. Walker will be the regular left fielder at Norfolk after playing first base in all 377 of his minor league games since the Orioles selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 draft out of the University of South Carolina. "We want to get him down there playing the outfield every day,"...