The Orioles look pretty aggressive on the bases for a team working on 17 minutes sleep. David Lough collected his first hit as an Oriole with a one-out single in the first inning. He stole second and scored on Chris Davis' double to right field. Adam Jones also came around from first base after drawing his second walk in four games. He had 25 last season, folks. Lough went 0-for-4 and popped up a bunt attempt in the second game. He only cracked the lineup once at home because the Red Sox...

The Orioles play their road opener this afternoon in Detroit where Miguel Gonzalez will make his season debut. He went 11-8 with a 3.70 ERA during a very solid 2013 season. Here is a good Gonzo stat: When he has started over the last two seasons, the Orioles have gone 26-17 for a .605 winning percentage. Here is one stat that needs work: In the first four innings of his starts in 2013, he pitched to an ERA of 2.49. From the fifth inning on, that went up to 6.22. In 2012, that was not an issue...

Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner said before Friday's home opener against the Atlanta Braves that his team will not seek a temporary home for spring training while the club tries to work out a deal with the Houston Astros on a possible future joint facility in Florida. "No, I don't think that is the right move," Lerner said. "I think you do it, we do it, and we move on to our permanent spot. It seems painful to go through the last three years what we did to try to find it. The economy...

Manager Matt Williams said opening day in Washington, D.C., is just as special - or even more so - because it is the team's home opener in front of Nationals fans. Monday in New York was the season opener, of course, and Williams said because the team played so well in a series sweep, it makes today even more distinctive for the players. "It is probably even more magnified because you have already played and you have experienced that road atmosphere," Williams said. "Today is a nice thing...

When they acquired catcher Jose Lobaton from the Rays on Feb. 13, the Nationals added an experienced backup backstop with good defensive skills who brought with him a reputation for preparedness and working hard. The Nationals wanted someone with substantial major league experience ready to strap on the gear in case something happened to injury-addled starter Wilson Ramos. Ramos injured his left hand in the season's first game and had surgery earlier this week to remove the hamate bone. He'll...

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is on the bench today for the series opener in Detroit. Matt Wieters isn't starting, but that's no surprise. Steve Clevenger figured to catch a day game following a night game and delayed departure. Jonathan Schoop makes his first start at third base, with Ryan Flaherty shifting to shortstop. Steve Lombardozzi is starting at second base. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF David Lough LF Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Nelson Cruz DH Steve Clevenger C Jonathan...

While Jordan Zimmermann is listed as the starting pitcher for the Nationals' home opener this afternoon, manager Matt Williams has a backup plan ready to go, just in case the right-hander hasn't completely shaken the flu-like symptoms that caused him to be scratched from yesterday's assignment at the Mets. Zimmermann reported to Nationals Park around 9:35 a.m. on Friday and told manager Matt Williams and the team's training staff that his fever broke around 11 p.m. Thursday night. But...

The Orioles begin a stretch of five consecutive day games this afternoon, their longest stretch of the season. According to Elias, it's the longest since they played five in a row from April 9-14, 1994. I hope they got more sleep before that first game. Chris Davis ranked second in the majors last season with 25 road home runs. Manny Machado was tied for second with 26 road doubles. Adam Jones led current Orioles in road batting average at .279 (95-for-341). Darren O'Day led the Orioles...

The Nationals just posted their lineup for today's home opener and Jordan Zimmermann is listed as the starter. Things could change if the right-hander is still too sick to pitch, but as of now, Zimmermann is set to start this afternoon against the Braves after being scratched from his scheduled season debut Thursday. As for the Nats lineup, Anthony Rendon is starting at second after Danny Espinosa played yesterday. Bryce Harper is batting sixth and Jose Lobaton is back behind the plate after...

Happy home opener, everybody. Hope most of you are either able to make it out to Nationals Park this afternoon or sneak away from the office for a few hours and catch today's game against the Braves on MASN HD. Tell your boss you have to attend a lunch meeting with a Mr. Kolko. That should do the trick. They're calling for a high of 65 degrees today, which I like. They're also calling for 30 percent chance of rain during the afternoon, which I don't like as much. We still don't know who...