VIERA, Fla. - As if it wasn't clear that Doug Fister felt just fine physically when he came out to start the fourth inning today, after the initial plan had him working just three frames, Fister confirmed following his outing that he didn't have any abnormal post-start discomfort. The right-hander hadn't appeared in a Grapefruit League game in 20 days due to inflammation in his right elbow, but he worked 3 2/3 strong, scoreless innings today, throwing 47 pitches, allowing just two hits and...

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Alfredo Aceves retired the Rays in order in the bottom of the 10th inning, and today's game ended in a 3-3 tie. The Orioles are 12-7-2 this spring. Aceves refused to pitch until the Rays' grounds crew repaired the mound, causing a lengthy delay. Manager Buck Showalter actually took a rake to speed up the process and carried it off the field. "It was the rubber," he said. "It had been that way for two or three innings. In fairness to Alfredo, there was no place to...

ORIOLES QUICK WRAP Score: Orioles 3, Rays 3 (10 innings) Recap: Ubaldo Jimenez allowed two runs and five hits over six innings and retired 10 of the last 12 Rays that he faced. James Loney hit a two-run homer off him in the first. Delmon Young hit his first spring home run. Rule 5 pick Michael Almanzar had a tie-breaking RBI single in the fifth after Alexi Casilla's gift double on a ball that left fielder Brandon Guyer lost in the sun. Almanzar was 7-for-33 with nine RBIs after the hit. Rays...

NATIONALS QUICK WRAP Score: Nationals 6, Marlins (ss) 5 Recap: Danny Espinosa hit two homers, including a walk-off shot to the opposite field in the bottom of the ninth. Rafael Soriano served up a solo shot in the seventh, Ross Detwiler allowed three runs in the eighth and Michael Gonzalez blew a save in the ninth but the Nats picked up the win. Need to know: Doug Fister worked 3 2/3 strong innings in his first appearance in 20 days, and most importantly, he came out saying that he felt no...

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Delmon Young is getting the start in left field today as he tries to win a spot on the Orioles' 25-man roster. May as well make the most of it. Young hit a ball off the scoreboard in left-center field in the top of the second inning for his first home run of the spring. Before today, Young was 8-for-33 with no home runs and one RBI. He was in a 1-for-19 slump before collecting five hits in his last 10 at-bats. Young connected off Rays right-hander Alex Cobb, who...

VIERA, Fla. - You already know that Doug Fister will be making his first spring start in 20 days today. You don't know what Matt Williams will specifically be watching for today when it comes to Fister, who is working back from inflammation in his right elbow. But that's what I'm here for - to pass along such information. Williams says he mainly cares about how Fister feels during and after his start today. He won't mind too much if Fister's command is off or if he doesn't have great...

For the last two seasons, Darren O'Day has been a rock in the Orioles bullpen. Dependable, reliable and talented. Over those two years, he is a combined 12-4 with an ERA of 2.23. During that time, he has averaged 8.9 strikeouts per every nine innings with just 2.0 walks. But last season - when he went 5-3 with a 2.18 ERA - one area stood out on his stat sheet and that was his numbers against left-handed hitters. In 2012 for the Orioles, lefty batters hit just .207 with an OPS of .664...

For the last two seasons, Darren O'Day has been a rock in the Orioles bullpen. Dependable, reliable and talented. Over those two years, he is a combined 12-4 with an ERA of 2.23. During that time, he has averaged 8.9 strikeouts per every nine innings with just 2.0 walks. But last season - when he went 5-3 with a 2.18 ERA - one area stood out on his stat sheet and that was his numbers against left-handed hitters. In 2012 for the Orioles, lefty batters hit just .207 with an OPS of .664...

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter indicated that third baseman Manny Machado could run on Sunday to test his left knee and calf. Machado had been shut down because of scar tissue breaking up in the knee and a mild strain in his calf muscle. "He was telling me the two days really did the calf well," Showalter said. "I would bet he'd probably test that tomorrow." An assignment to the disabled list can be backdated to today if Machado doesn't play in a Grapefruit...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles third baseman Manny Machado received the news that he expected Thursday in Los Angeles. Dr. Neal ElAttrache lifted the physical restrictions after re-examining Machado's surgically repaired left knee. Now what? "I got taken off restrictive on my knee, so that's good news," Machado said this morning. "We're just going to, at this point, take it day by day, how we've been doing. Obviously, haven't ran in a while, so I'll progressively continue doing that, get...