CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Orioles' reserves tried to produce some magic in the top of ninth today, scoring two runs. But the rally came up short as the Phillies beat an O's split squad 5-3 in front of a record crowd of 11,100 at Bright House Field. In the ninth, Adrian Marin, Steel Russell and Danny Valencia singled to load the bases. One run scored on a Luis Exposito sac fly before an LJ Hoes RBI double made it 5-3 and put runners on second and third. But John Ruettiger's groundout to short...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles optioned outfielder LJ Hoes to Triple-A Norfolk today after he collected a hit and an RBI against the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater. Hoes, 23, was 8-for-25 this spring. The cut leaves the Orioles with 48 players in their major league camp. "I'll tell you the thing I was most impressed with was how far he's come defensively," said manager Buck Showalter. "He played a good outfield here. That's encouraging to see. If our guys hadn't figured it out...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - After throwing 60 pitches in his last outing, which was a simulated game at camp, Jason Hammel gave up four runs today as he bumped his pitch count up to 77 against the Phillies. He went 4 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and four runs, with one walk and three strikeouts. He gave up a two-run homer on a change-up to Freddy Galvis in the last of the fifth and left the game after recording one more out. Hammel was happy with his two-seam fastball today, but definitely not happy...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning, giving him two more hits on the spring, and Lew Ford drove in two runs with a single in the sixth. Orioles 7, Twins 0. Two of the club's hottest hitters have stepped up again today. Wieters is 12-for-24 with three homers and 12 RBIs. Ford is 14-for-29. Jim Johnson and Darren O'Day have each thrown a scoreless inning today. Johnson walked a batter. O'Day gave up an infield hit. Jair Jurrjens...

LAKELAND, Fla. - One time through the Tigers' lineup and it's been a mixed bag for Nationals lefty Ross Detwiler, who's holding his own in his third spring start. Two batters into the order, Detwiler was down 1-0 after yielding a mammoth home run to Torii Hunter, who cleared the berm in left field on a 1-1 fastball, sending patrons at the Hooters tiki bar scattering. Other than that, Detwiler's effort has been pretty positive. There have been a couple of hard-hit balls - before Hunter's...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Matt Wieters seems to get most of the attention for his work behind the plate, but has anyone noticed what he's doing beside it? Wieters singled leading off the bottom of the second inning today and later scored the game's first run on Chris Dickerson's infield hit. Wieters is 11-for-22 with two doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs and six runs scored in 10 games. The Orioles collected four hits and scored twice in the second inning against Minnesota Twins starter Vance Worley....

CLEARWATER, Fla. - An Orioles split squad has taken the early 1-0 lead on Philadephia at Bright House Field in their second meeting this spring with the Phillies. Jason Hammel is making just his third start in an official spring game, but he also pitched in a simulated game earlier to get his innings in. He has retired six of seven batters faced through two frames on just 23 pitches, 17 for strikes. He could pitch five innings or so here today, maybe more depending on the pitch count. With...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Talk about your basic frying pan-fire conundrum. Nationals left-hander Ross Detwiler might not be facing the best international hitters in the World Baseball Classic now that Team USA has been eliminated. Instead, he gets one of the toughest lineups in the majors today, when the Detroit Tigers trot out what could be their opening day order. "They've got some of the best hitters in baseball on this ballclub," said manager Davey Johnson, a smile crossing his face. "I...

SARASOTA, Fla. - While Dylan Bundy has been officially sent to the minor leagues, the other half of the O's duo of top pitching prospects is still on the roster. Right-hander Kevin Gausman will get at least one more outing with the Orioles and is next scheduled to pitch on Tuesday in Fort Myers against Boston. "I'm not trying to look into anything. I don't really know what to think of it," Gausman said of Bundy being optioned out ahead of him. Manager Buck Showalter said one reason for...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Nolan Reimold won't return to left field until Wednesday or Thursday, according to manager Buck Showalter. Reimold will continue to work out in the field. "He's really going to let it go and see how he responds," Showalter said. Adam Jones will return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays in Sarasota. Brian Roberts, Chris Davis and Nate McLouth are tentatively scheduled to make the trip to Fort Myers on Tuesday for the game against the Boston Red...