FORT MYERS, Fla. - About 30 Orioles, including manager Buck Showalter, are leaving Friday afternoon's game against the Phillies at 3 p.m. and taking a charter to the Virginia area to attend a memorial service for Monica Pence Barlow, who passed away Friday morning after a long battle with Stage IV lung cancer. The group will return to Sarasota later that night. Bench coach John Russell will manage the rest of the game in Showalter's absence. Players attending the service include Adam Jones,...

VIERA, Fla. - The guys at the back end of the Nationals' spring training roster were the ones doing the heavy hitting today, as the Nats put up nine total runs in their final two turns to the plate en route to an 11-5 win over the Mets. Ian Desmond homered early on for the Nats, but they got the bulk of their offense from minor leaguers and non-roster invitees, as Brian Goodwin, Sandy Leon and Matt Skole all homered in the seventh or eighth innings and the Nationals pulled away late. "The...

The Baltimore Orioles announced today that Tag Day, originally scheduled for this Saturday, March 8, will be postponed due to snow and ice in the ballpark seating bowl. A make-up date is scheduled for next Saturday, March 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Tag Day gives fans interested in purchasing either a full or partial Season Plan for the 2014 season the opportunity to "try out" their seats before they buy. Available seats will be tagged with pennants, and...

NATIONALS QUICK WRAP Score: Nationals 11, Mets 5 Recap: Four Nationals smacked home runs - Ian Desmond, Brian Goodwin, Sandy Leon and Matt Skole - and the Nats scored nine unanswered runs in the late innings to come back from a 4-2 deficit. Need to know: Gio Gonzalez was solid in his spring debut, throwing two scoreless innings. Tyler Clippard worked a scoreless fifth. Jerry Blevins was sharp in a scoreless seventh. On deck: Thursday, at Braves in Lake Buena Vista, 6:05 p.m. VIERA, Fla....

SARASOTA, Fla. - Ryan Flaherty is moving around the infield again tonight, starting at third base against the Twins in Fort Myers. Flaherty started at shortstop last night and also has played second base. Nolan Reimold is serving as the Orioles' designated hitter. For the Orioles Quintin Berry CF Jemile Weeks 2B Xavier Paul RF Steve Pearce 1B Johnny Monell C Nolan Reimold DH Ryan Flaherty 3B Alex Gonzalez SS Julio Borbon LF Chris Tillman RHP Other pitchers on the trip include Zach...

VIERA, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez has completed two scoreless innings of work against a Mets split squad in his spring debut, allowing one hit and striking out one. It was an easy two frames for Gonzalez, who surrendered a Kirk Nieuwenhuis single through the hole on the left side with one out in the first, only to then get Andrew Brown to tap out to catcher Jhonatan Solano and Brandon Allen to fly out to center. In the second, Gonzalez got Wilmer Flores to fly out to right, then struck out Eric...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Johan Santana threw off flat ground today, lifted weights and walked over to his new locker with an ice pack on his left shoulder. He was introduced to each reporter who stood in front of him, then was challenged to go backward and recite the names. "It's going to take time," he said, smiling. Santana won't be rushed learning names or pitching in games. The Orioles signed the two-time Cy Young Award winner to a minor league deal yesterday and hope to get him back into...

VIERA, Fla. - I've got all kinds of notes for you this morning on the Nationals' middle infield options. Prepare yourselves accordingly. Danny Espinosa has started spring by going 0-for-10 with an RBI and a hit by pitch, numbers which don't exactly demonstrate that the middle infielder is clicking offensively. It's important to note that this is still a very small sample size, however, and that spring training statistics can be misleading for any number of reasons. The way Matt...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Left-hander Johan Santana walked through the clubhouse this morning. He's got a locker set up and will talk to reporters following the workout. Approximate time is 12:30 p.m. Infielder Alexi Casilla will test his hamstring by hitting outdoors today. He's making slow progress. First baseman Chris Marrero, who's been sidelined with an oblique injury for most of camp, will take some dry swings today. He attempted to throw recently and still experienced discomfort on his...

VIERA, Fla. - Zach Walters has played just 11 games at second base in his professional career. He'll play second today as the Nationals host the Mets for the first time this spring. Gio Gonzalez will make his spring debut today, and the Nats lineup features many regulars. Anthony Rendon and Danny Espinosa are both out of the starting lineup, however, and Walters is getting a rare start there. I asked manager Matt Williams about the decision to play Walters at second today, and I'll have...