BOSTON - Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has normal soreness today "in the right places," according to manager Buck Showalter, following yesterday's extended spring training game in Sarasota. Machado will play seven innings at third base on Monday and serve as the designated hitter on Tuesday. He could begin his minor league injury rehab assignment later in the week, with the affiliate still undetermined. "I think when he gets that nine-inning game under his belt in extended spring,...

As I dry myself off here in the press box ... Matt Williams might not love the Nationals' 2-for-12 line with runners in scoring position today or the fact that they stranded 17 runners, but he did love the way his team kept getting runners on and giving itself chances to come back and beat the Cardinals. That's exactly what happened in this afternoon's 3-2 walk-off win. The Nats scored twice in the seventh to even the score, then loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, and Denard...

BOSTON - The temperature in Boston is supposed to climb into the mid-60s on Monday. And as the weather heats up, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy hopes to do the same. Hardy is 10-for-41 with no home runs and three RBIs heading into tonight's game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. A career .219 hitter in March/April, he's grown somewhat accustomed to slow starts. The spasms in Hardy's lower back have subsided, but he's still not completely healed. "It sucks because this spring was probably...

BOSTON - Jonathan Schoop is starting at second base tonight for the Orioles, and Ryan Flaherty gets the nod at third base. Nelson Cruz is batting second as the designated hitter. David Lough is in left field. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Nelson Cruz DH Chris Davis 1B Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C J.J. Hardy SS David Lough LF Jonathan Schoop 2B Ryan Flaherty 3B Ubaldo Jimenez RHP For the Red Sox Grady Sizemore CF Dustin Pedroia 2B David Ortiz DH Mike Napoli 1B Jonny Gomes LF Daniel Nava...

The Cardinals' hottest hitter connected with a big hit to start the second inning against Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg to open the scoring. Matt Adams' double led off the second frame, and was followed by a Yadier Molina single. Strasburg got back in the inning by getting Jhonny Peralta to ground into a double play, but Adams scored from third to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. After a Mark Ellis single, Peter Bourjos struck out to end the threat. Bryce Harper started Sunday, the...

BOSTON - The Orioles led the majors in home runs last season with 212, and they signed Nelson Cruz during spring training. Power didn't figure to be in short supply. Go figure. The Orioles rank 29th in home runs with nine in their first 16 games. Only the Royals (five) have hit fewer in the majors. The Angels rank first with 29, followed by the Braves and Pirates with 23. Matt Wieters leads the Orioles with three homers, followed by Cruz with two and Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Jonathan Schoop...

Manager: Mike Scioscia, 15th year Record: 8-10 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: CF Mike Trout (.307/.373/.613, 5 HR, 13 RBIs); 1B Albert Pujols (.280/.349/.587, 6 HR, 14 RBIs); RHP Garrett Richards (2-0, 2.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP); RHP Jered Weaver (1-2, 4.74 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats (2013): Did not play Pitching probables April 21: Garrett Richards vs. Tanner Roark, 7 p.m., MASN HD April 22: Tyler Skaggs vs. Taylor Jordan, 7 p.m., MASN HD April 23: Jered Weaver vs. Gio Gonzalez, 7...

It hasn't been an ideal season for Stephen Strasburg thus far, as the Nationals right-hander enters Sunday 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA and just one quality start in four games. In his last start, the 25-year-old surrendered six runs in four innings on Tuesday at Miami. Strasburg gets another chance to turn things in the right direction on Sunday when he starts against Shelby Miller and the Cardinals. Strasburg has a strong, but limited track record against St. Louis. He is 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA, 16...

Anytime there's a story involving Bryce Harper, the sports world takes notice. When that story is related to Harper getting benched for a lack of hustle, the sports world really takes notice. Matt Williams' decision to pull Harper from yesterday's game for not running out a ground ball back to the pitcher is one of the lead stories on ESPN's Web site, was all over MLB Network and has been discussed on countless blogs over the last 17 hours. The Nationals will try to move past this story...

BOSTON - If the benches empty tonight at Fenway Park, it's only because both teams realize they have an 11 a.m. game the following morning and are in a rush to get out of there. Seriously, who made up this schedule? What's next, a night game at Camden Yards followed by breakfast at Wimbledon? It's probably too soon to put heavy emphasis on a start, but Ubaldo Jimenez could use a quality one. He's 0-3 with a 7.31 ERA in his first three outings, with 13 runs and 23 hits in 16 innings....