SARASOTA, Fla. - Catcher Matt Wieters still expects to be back in the Orioles lineup Monday night at Ed Smith Stadium. Wieters is being held out of today's game against the Yankees while continuing to receive treatment on his sprained right ankle. He wouldn't have made the trip to Dunedin on Sunday regardless of his health situation. "In spring training, you don't want to hurt anything else or make it worse, so a couple more days, try to completely knock it out, then be good to go," he...

VIERA, Fla. - Stephen Strasburg takes the hill against the Marlins today at 1:05 p.m. in Jupiter, and he'll have a lot of regulars behind him at Roger Dean Stadium. Both Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman return to action, but only Harper will play in the field. Zimmerman, who has been battling general soreness, is listed as the designated hitter. Here is the Nationals lineup for today's game: 2B Anthony Rendon SS Danny Espinosa DH Ryan Zimmerman LF Bryce Harper C Wilson Ramos 1B Adam...

SARASOTA, Fla. - David Lough is out of the Orioles lineup today after being scratched yesterday with neck stiffness. Lough had a 3 p.m. doctors appointment yesterday after leaving Fort Myers. I'll pass along an update later. Alexi Casilla is unavailable today due to a hyperextended left knee. Matt Wieters continues to receive treatment on his right ankle and should play on Monday. Nick Markakis, who has been bothered by shoulder tendinitis, is the designated hitter today. Nelson Cruz is...

SARASOTA, Fla. - As soon as the Orioles signed Alexi Casilla to a minor league contract in January, I penciled him onto the 25-man roster as a utility infielder. No doubt in my mind. Casilla would back up at second base, short and third. He was a necessity with Ryan Flaherty projected as Brian Roberts' replacement at second. He offered more versatility than Jemile Weeks. What could possibly go wrong? Well, let's start with the injury to Casilla's right hamstring and continue with his...

VIERA, Fla. - It's hard to believe any pitching coach or manager would look at the sheer force behind the unorthodox delivery employed by Nationals lefty reliever Michael Gonzalez and whisper to a young hurler, "Just do what he does." That's because what Gonzalez does is so unusual, such a tangle of arms and legs in perpetual and powerful motion, that it hardly seems possible that it's successful. But there was Gonzalez on Friday in his first Grapefruit League game of the spring, taking...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles right-hander Steve Johnson is seemingly among a long list of pitchers pitching well at spring camp and fighting for one of the club's last roster spots with opening day approaching. The 26-year-old Baltimore native is trying to put 2013 in his rear-view mirror. He had four stints with the Orioles, but also two DL trips and injuries were a factor as he pitched to a 7.47 ERA over 15 2/3 innings. For the playoff-bound 2012 O's, Johnson pitched some big games late in the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Pitcher Hunter Harvey, the Orioles' first-round draft pick last June, now has one exhibition game outing in the books. The 19-year-old right-hander pitched two innings on Thursday against Tampa Bay. He threw 40 pitches and gave up one run and had three strikeouts. "It felt good to throw to hitters and get back to a live game," Harvey said. "They've said I may add an inning every outing and I will probably throw three innings on Tuesday." Harvey went 0-1 with a 1.78 ERA...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Starting pitcher Taylor Jordan struggled with his command and said he wasn't helped by an umpire's strike zone that forced him to elevate pitches. The result was three-inning outing and four runs allowed, not exactly the kind of production a guy challenging for the final spot in the Nationals rotation can hang his hat on. Reliever Luis Ayala looked like he was throwing batting practice, as the Tigers hung five runs on him in 2/3 of an inning, inflating his spring ERA after...

LAKELAND, Fla. - On a day when he watched his mound staff get battered for 22 hits and 12 runs, Nationals manager Matt Williams got a dose of good pitching news. Right-hander Doug Fister, who has been sidelined since March 2 with inflammation in his pitching elbow, threw a bullpen session without any problems this morning in Viera. While the Nationals will wait to see how Fister feels tomorrow before plotting out next steps, this morning's bullpen represented a step in the right direction for...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Orioles had enough pitching to play the 10th inning today, but the Twins were running short due to split-squad games. They also were playing the Rays in Port Charlotte. Former Orioles farmhand Brandon Waring homered off Orioles left-hander Troy Patton with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to account for the 2-2 tie. Patton walked the leadoff hitter and got a double play. Patton has pitched twice for the Orioles this spring and allowed two home runs in two...