BOWIE - Double-A Bowie manager Gary Kendall has set his season-opening pitching rotation as the Baysox are working out today in the wind and cold at Prince George's Stadium before they open on Thursday at Harrisburg. Mike Wright will start on Thursday and pitch the opener and be followed by Jake Pettit, Kevin Gausman, Eddie Gamboa and Julio Rodriguez. "Mike Wright was here last year and threw a big game for us in the playoffs last year," Kendall said of his game one starter. "I know he...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Manny Machado will become the fourth Oriole to start on opening day at 20 or younger, joining Brook Robinson, Ron Hansen and Boog Powell. Robinson was 19 on April 15, 1957. Did anyone here attend that game? Hansen (1958) and Powell (1962) were 20. The last Oriole to play on opening day at 20 was pitcher Wally Bunker in 1965. Brian Roberts is making his ninth opening day start at second base, passing Rich Dauer for the most by an Oriole at the position. Adam Jones...

Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg made a compelling case on opening day to be considered the two best talents ever to play Major League Baseball in Washington, D.C. Facing a depleted Miami Marlins roster, Strasburg seemed to hardly work up a sweat as he breezed through seven innings on 80 pitches without allowing a run. On a day when Ricky Nolasco had his good stuff, Harper hit two laser shots that bored through a slight incoming breeze to easily reach the right field stands. The final score...

Opening day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Second only to Christmas, if we're being honest. Yes, I know that opening day technically isn't a holiday, but for me it's the day that not only indicates that warm weather is around the corner (whether you believe it or not), but also a time of hope for 30 different fan bases across North America. I celebrate its meaning this time every year. Each team takes the field tied for first place on opening day, full of optimism about the the...

It's hard, after seeing what we saw yesterday at Nationals Park, not to think big picture. It's hard not to think about what could be happening two or three years down the road, possibly more. It's hard not to envision Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg putting together dominating performances like Monday's in front of consistently packed houses, with fans clamoring for tickets to watch the dual phenoms in person. Despite their relative lack of big league experience, we still got to see...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Finally, the games count. No more Grapefruit League action. No more Team Spain and State College of Florida. No more torturous drives to Dunedin and intimate candle-lit gatherings in Bradenton - at least until 2014. The Orioles begin their regular season this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. We're still in Florida, but now it matters. Manager Buck Showalter feels as though he's been at spring training for, roughly, an eternity. Yet, to him,...

These are fearless predictions because, if I am wrong, the sun will still come out. Well, unless it rains. But here are my American League East predictions for the 2013 season, where I am predicting a one-game difference at the top and only an 11-game difference from top to bottom with every team at .500 or better. Baltimore: 92-70 Tampa Bay: 91-71 Boston: 86-76 Toronto: 85-77 New York: 81-81 I was feeling pretty confident about the Orioles and then the words of Buster Olney and Jayson Stark...

With his mom and dad in attendance along with 45,272 others, Bryce Harper put on a show in the Nationals' regular season opener. Harper crushed two home runs in his first two at-bats of the season, scored the Nationals' only two runs of the day and started a dramatic double play in the seventh inning that brought an end to a would-be Marlins rally and preserved a two-run lead. Talk about an impressive start to a season in which some are projecting Harper as one of the favorites for the...

Davey Johnson probably couldn't have drawn up a more perfect game if he tried. Johnson and the Nationals got two home runs from Bryce Harper, seven exceptional innings from starter Stephen Strasburg, a couple tremendous defensive plays, a strong eighth inning from Tyler Clippard and a perfect 1-2-3 ninth from Rafael Soriano. Add it all up, and it's a 2-0 Nats win. There was plenty for Johnson to like about today's effort, but Strasburg and Harper were paramount in his mind. "Oh, Stras...

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg had a seamless start to the 2013 season, going seven innings and allowing no runs in a 2-0 Nationals win over the Marlins. Strasburg allowed a hit to Juan Pierre to lead off the game and then recorded 19 consecutive outs. He walked none. But probably his most impressive feat to begin a long season? He struck out just three batters. That's right, just three. He got comebackers and weak grounders. He relied on stellar defense by Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper and...