SARASOTA, Fla. - Jason Hammel didn't complete the third inning today, leaving after 2 1/3 with the score tied 1-1. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four. Mark Hendrickson replaced Hammel with two runners on base, issued a two-out walk and escaped the jam. The Orioles scored five runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-1 lead. Toronto committed two errors that accounted for four of those runs. Steve Pearce contributed a run-scoring double that raised his spring RBI total to...

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Ideally, Gio Gonzalez would have worked four or five innings against the Astros this afternoon, allowing him to build up arm strength while getting a chance to face as many live hitters as possible before leaving to pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Instead, Gonzalez worked just three innings against Houston, throwing 42 pitches (27 strikes) before giving way to Ross Ohlendorf. Gonzalez was being kept to under 50 pitches today because the Nationals and Team...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles have been scouting Los Angels Dodgers pitchers Aaron Harang, Ted Lilly and Chris Capuano, figuring that at least one of them will become available in a trade. The Dodgers' rotation is overflowing and the Orioles haven't closed the door on acquiring another veteran starter, though there's no shortage of arms in their camp. Harang, 34, went 10-10 with a 3.61 ERA in 31 starts last season. He's due to make $7 million this season, and his contract includes a $7...

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The World Baseball Classic has established fairly strict pitch-limit rules in order to avoid pitchers getting overused during the tournament. Some of these rules are incredibly tough to understand. The language is very dense, and even after reading over the pitch-limit restrictions a few times, I still don't completely have a grasp of how they should be interpreted. It sounds like Team USA's coaching staff and the Nationals might be in the same boat that I am. Nationals...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Manny Machado is starting at third base again today, but he will have a root canal later this afternoon. Manager Buck Showalter will remove him from the game after a few at-bats. Getting Machado out of the lineup this spring has been like pulling teeth, so it seems appropriate. Machado won't make the trip to Bradenton on Friday, but he will likely play Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers. Showalter wants Machado to face Red Sox left-hander Felix...

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Jayson Werth chose not to get into the Nationals-Phillies fray this morning. I swung by the Nationals complex at Space Coast Stadium before making the drive here for this afternoon's game against the Astros, and checked in with Werth to see if he had anything to offer after yesterday's incident involving Stephen Strasburg, Chase Utley, Roy Halladay and Tyler Moore. Werth, who spent four years with the Phillies before joining the Nats in 2011, opted to stay out of it all,...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The next time reliever Darren O'Day pitches in a spring training game, he doesn't expect the Orioles to hold a 13-run lead against a largely anonymous opponent in winds that could lift a house off its foundation. O'Day made his spring debut yesterday against Team Spain and allowed two runs and three hits in the seventh inning. "The goal yesterday was to get out there in a game and throw and be healthy and make sure everything works," he said. "It was a tough game to...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles' outfield for today's game against the Toronto Blue Jays will consist of Steve Pearce in left field, Nate McLouth in center and Conor Jackson in right. Nolan Reimold is batting leadoff and again serving as the designated hitter. He may return to the outfield on Sunday. For the Orioles: Nolan Reimold DH Brian Roberts 2B Conor Jackson RF Matt Wieters C Chris Davis 1B J.J. Hardy SS Nate McLouth CF Manny Machado 3B Steve Pearce LF Jason Hammel RHP Mike Wright,...

VIERA, Fla. - At one point late yesterday afternoon, after the Nationals-Phillies game had ended, interviews had been completed and reporters had all made our way back up to the press box to work on our postgame stories, I turned to another local writer and asked him if he had any idea what the final score of the game was. About five minutes later, one of the Phillies beat writers, sitting a row in front of me, turned to his left and asked another writer a similar question. "Who the hell won...

I'll save the final predictions for the end of this blog, but let's just say the MLB Network's "30 Clubs in 30 Days" feature last night on the Orioles was real positive. The network spent some time recently with the Orioles in Sarasota and several interviews were featured on the broadcast last night. Analysts Sean Casey, who was in Sarasota, along with Al Leiter and Bill Ripken back in the studio all took turns with positive comments and observations about the club. Here is a sampling...