SARASOTA, Fla. - Before the Orioles decide whether to keep Rule 5 pick T.J. McFarland, they must figure out where to pitch him during these final weeks in camp. "There's two thoughts," explained manager Buck Showalter. "Do you pitch him against teams up here and let scouts see him so they claim him? Do you hide him out, but not get a proper evaluation and pitch him somewhere else? The whole idea is to get the best evaluation of him here against the best competition, so he'll continue to...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are off today, which means something is going on someplace else. The Ed Smith Stadium complex is closed, but the real action will take place over at Twin Lake Park, where Wei-Yin Chen is scheduled to pitch five innings in a Single-A game. I'll try to control my breathing. Chen is tucked away at the minor league complex again so he can build up his innings and pitch count in a controlled environment, one that doesn't include a division rival that's taking...

The Orioles today announced that they have optioned outfielder LJ Hoes to Triple-A Norfolk. With the assignment, the Orioles now have 48 players at major league spring training, including 14 non-roster invitees.

LAKELAND, Fla. - The catcher who played the final two innings in left field Sunday afternoon didn't look as out of place as you might expect. He ran fairly well, showed off a decent arm and made sure he didn't drop any of the three fly balls that were hit to him in his unexpected stint. Not that Jhonatan Solano had any experience playing left field before manager Davey Johnson looked down the bench, wondering who would be willing to take over for Micah Owings, who was dealing with a minor...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Gone are the days when Tyler Moore just hoped to make an impression on the Nationals. The soft-spoken first baseman/outfielder has accomplished that goal, though he's going to have to adjust to a much different role in the coming two weeks. With the Washington outfield set in stone and Adam LaRoche's big bat and slick glove manning first base, Moore is without a position. No amount of production in spring training will change the inevitability of his situation: In short...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Because the Nationals' 12-10 slugfest took 3 hours, 27 minutes to complete, and because effective pitching is at a premium in a game where so many runs are scored, it's easy to forget that left-hander Ross Detwiler started - and prospered. His 57-pitch effort - his first appearance since returning from Team USA and the World Baseball Classic, and following a seven-day layoff since his WBC relief stint - was still a positive step in preparing for the Nationals rotation. It...

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...