ORIOLES QUICK WRAP Score: Pirates 4, Orioles 2Recap: Gorkys Hernandez and Alen Hanson had RBI singles off Mark Hendrickson in the eighth to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead. Wei-Yin Chen lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed two runs and seven hits, with no walks, two strikeouts and a hit batter. He threw 64 pitches, 43 for strikes, by my count. Chen threw 21 pitches in the first and gave up back-to-back doubles to Josh Harrison and Neil Walker to start the game. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the...

BRADENTON, Fla. - Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen didn't complete four innings today, his pitch count causing his removal from the game with one out in the third following Tony Sanchez's RBI single. Chen threw 64 pitches, 43 for strikes, by my unofficial count. He allowed two runs and seven hits, walked none, struck out two and hit a batter. This was Chen's longest outing of the spring. Josh Harrison and Neil Walker had back-to-back doubles in the first inning. The Pirates left the bases...

NATIONALS QUICK WRAP Score: Astros 3, Nationals 2 Recap: Max Scherzer pitched four scoreless innings today, allowing just a hit and a walk with three strikeouts. He threw 60 pitches, 29 for strikes, in his longest outing of the spring. Tyler Moore hit his seventh extra-base hit of the exhibition season when he smoked a double to the right-center gap in the first. He's now 10-for-21 in Grapefruit League play. Need to know: Reliever Heath Bell struggled in the fifth inning, giving up three runs...

SARASOTA, Fla. - It was only a B game and it won't count in the stats, but Matt Wieters, who is 0-for-20 in exhibiton games, did get a hit today in the contest against Pittsburgh. Then he got ribbed for it. Wieters went 1-for-3 with a ground single off pitcher Francisco Liriano's glove in the last of the first. "It was nice to get on base. Looked at Buck (Showalter) and he asked if I wanted the ball," Wieters said with a laugh. Now comes more serious matters for the O's catcher. After...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Players use spring training to improve and Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman did some of that in a nearly-empty stadium this morning. Pitching in a B game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium, Gausman faced a decent Bucs lineup, one that included Pedro Alvarez, Greg Polanco, Francisco Cervelli and former Oriole Steve Lombardozzi. The Orioles and Pirates tied 2-2 in a seven inning game. He threw 50 pitches (32 strikes) over three innings allowing three hits and...

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Orioles made two camp cuts before today's game against the Pirates, optioning infielder Rey Navarro to Triple-A Norfolk and reassigning outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo to minor league camp. The Orioles now have 49 players in spring training, including 11 non-roster invitees. Navarro, who is projected to start at second base at Triple-A Norfolk, was 4-for-12 with a home run and two RBIs. The Orioles signed him to a major league deal in late November. Tuiasosopo, who also could...

The Orioles today announced that they have optioned infielder Rey Navarro to Triple-A Norfolk and reassigned outfielder Matt Tuiasospo to minor league camp. With these moves, the Orioles now have 49 players at Major League Spring Training, including 11 non-roster invitees.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Nationals have optioned right-handed pitcher Taylor Hill to Triple-A Syracuse and reassigned right-handers Eric Fornataro, Mitch Lively, and Scott McGregor to minor league camp. Hill, 26, made three appearances this spring, allowing two earned runs on five hits in four innings, while striking out five, walking none and hitting two batters. A sixth-round pick by the Nationals in 2006, Hill rejoins Syracuse, where he was 11-7 with a 2.81 ERA in 24 starts last season. He made...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Kevin Gausman gave up one run over three innings this morning in his third spring outing as he faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in a B game at Ed Smith Stadium. Gausman got off to a strong start, pitching a scoreless first, working around a leadoff single by former Oriole Steve Lombardozzi. He then retired the Pirates in order with two strikeouts on just eight pitches in the second. Down 2-0, the Pirates got one off Gausman in the third. With two outs and none on, Lombardozzi...

BRADENTON, Fla. - Manny Machado swiped second in Wednesday's exhibition game at Ed Smith Stadium, which was noteworthy for a couple of reasons. Machado has two surgically repaired knees and he's never been a prolific basestealer, going 10-for-17 in three major league seasons. Will he be running more often in 2015? "I hope so, I hope so," he said this morning. "My legs feel great. Every day they feel better. "I just wanted to test it out and see if I was able to do that. I felt a little...