ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts said he "felt something kind of pop" in the back of his right knee today on his stolen base in the top of the ninth inning. Being unfamiliar with hamstring injuries, he's uncertain of its severity and will await the results of his MRI on Friday. "Somewhere in the last couple of steps, I felt something kind of pop in the back of my knee. I don't know what happened exactly," he said. "I don't know at this point. We'll just...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts will undergo an MRI on his right leg Friday in Baltimore after being carried off the field in the top of the ninth inning. Roberts said he felt something pop behind his right knee as he was about to dive into second on a stolen base. Dr. John Wilckens will examine him in the morning. "Just the bottom part of the hamstring, where he felt it," Showalter said following the Orioles' 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. "It's early....

Davey Johnson was asked before today's game whether he feels he needs to monitor Jayson Werth's left wrist, which doctors expect won't be full strength until after the season ends. That's the wrist Werth broke last May, the one that he says limited his power stroke upon his return to the lineup last year. Johnson said Werth felt like the wrist was pretty weak coming into spring training but that it's gaining strength lately. Given the home run Werth just crushed into the left field...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts appeared to injure his right knee in the top of the ninth inning and had to be carried off the field. Roberts dived head-first into second on a stolen base after leading off the inning with a single. He beat the throw, but had difficulty standing up and eventually crouched as head athletic trainer Richie Bancells ran onto the field. Bancells and first base coach Wayne Kirby carried Roberts to the dugout, and Alexi Casilla entered the...

The Nationals will not play an entire season without allowing a run. The Marlins will not go the whole year without having a runner touch home plate. The dreams are dead. After pitching a scoreless first inning this afternoon, Nats starter Jordan Zimmermann allowed a leadoff homer to Miami center fielder Justin Ruggiano, ending the Nationals' streak of consecutive scoreless innings to begin the season at 19. Stephen Strasburg, Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano combined for a shutout on...

Three Orioles minor league affiliates play season openers tonight, while Single-A Frederick is set to open Friday night at home against Salem. Zach Clark, who was added to the Orioles' 40-man roster over the winter, pitches tonight at Harbor Park as Triple-A Norfolk hosts Durham with Chris Archer on the mound. The Tides have lost five straight season openers. Clark went 3-1 with an ERA of 0.36 in four home starts for the Tides in 2012 and Norfolk went 44-30 at home last year. Norfolk used...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Chris Davis remains on pace to hit 162 home runs this season. Davis muscled up again today in the top of the second inning, launching a changeup from Rays starter Robert Hernandez over the fence in right-center field to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Adam Jones led off with a single and Davis homered for the third time in three games. He's homered in his last 10 regular-season games. Davis is now 6-for-9 with two doubles, three homers and nine RBIs. The Orioles may...

The Orioles today announced that they have claimed right-hander Josh Stinson off waivers from Oakland and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada has been transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list, retroactive to March 31. Stinson, 25, is 0-2 with a 4.43 ERA (22.1IP, 11ER) in 20 major league games with the New York Mets (2011) and Milwaukee Brewers (2012). In seven minor league seasons in the Mets and Brewers...

Earl Weaver used to wonder how many games constitute a good start to a season. Is it just a few games or maybe 10, 20 or 40? Well, for two games, the Orioles' offense has certainly been clicking. In their first two games in St. Petersburg last June, the Orioles scored two total runs off the talented Rays' staff and they have 14 in the first two games of this series. Last year in nine games on the road against Tampa Bay, the Orioles scored 16 runs total. At this early stage, the Orioles...

Clichés, Crash Davis counseled Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh on a "Bull Durham" bus ride through baseball's bushes, are our friends. Learn them, know them, use them - and they'll return your faith in kind. Sportswriters know this, but try their best to avoid clichés, and the players that favor them. It's nothing personal, mind you., but someone who doesn't offer a pithy observation isn't much use to a scribe. I've been thinking a lot about clichés lately, trying to...