CHICAGO - Gio Gonzalez won't benefit from the same wind blowing in from center that Stephen Strasburg did on Thursday, as it's a much milder day here at Wrigley Field than it was opening day. They're calling for a high of 67 degrees here today, and while the breeze might pick up later on, the flags above the center field scoreboard are barely waving back and forth. Manager Davey Johnson has written in the same lineup for today's ballgame that he did on Thursday, while Cubs manager Dale...

Tonight marks the first major league game that Tommy Hunter has pitched in the month of April. Hunter spent parts of four seasons in the bigs beginning in 2008, but he always was recalled or activated from the disabled list after April. He's faced the Twins three times, allowing eight runs and 13 hits over 14 2/3 innings, with four walks and 10 strikeouts. Joe Mauer is 3-for-6 against him with a home run and two RBIs. Hunter was going to be the second or fourth starter for the Orioles, and...

CHICAGO - After going hitless two days ago in their first rehab appearance of the season, both Michael Morse and Rick Ankiel homered last night for Double-A Harrisburg in the Senators' 5-2 win over Bowie. Minor league rehab assignment, major league power. Ankiel played center field yesterday for Harrisburg, while Morse served as the DH. Morse, who is recovering from a strained lat, will be eligible to come off the DL and return to the Nats as early as Tuesday, while Ankiel could rejoin the...

Nationals outfielders Rick Ankiel and Michael Morse slammed home runs as Double-A Harrisburg earned its first win of the season, 5-2 at Bowie on Friday night. Ankiel crushed a two-run shot off of Bobby Bundy in the first inning, and Morse hit a solo homer in the fifth. Ankiel is recovering from a quad injury, while Morse appears ready to go after a lat injury bothered him early in spring training. Morse also added a double, finishing 2-for-3. Morse was the designated hitter and Ankiel...

I guess right-hander Dylan Bundy could have had a better pro debut. He could have struck out all nine batters he faced. He didn't quite do that, but he was very impressive nonetheless when he took the mound last night in Asheville, N.C., for his first game in the O's organization. Scheduled to pitch three innings, Bundy retired the Tourists in order three straight times with six strikeouts to pitch Delmarva to a 7-2 win in the Shorebirds South Atlantic League season opener. Bundy's debut...

Orioles 2006 first-round draft pick Billy Rowell, who has struggled the last few years as a hitter, has agreed to take a shot at pitching. He has been taking part in the beginnings of a throwing program the last two days in Sarasota and will continue with that for about a month. At that point, the Orioles will decide if he has made enough progress to pitch in extended spring training games. If he advances past that, he could possibly join a minor league affiliate as a pitcher later this...

Nick Markakis got the Orioles off to a fast start today, delivering a two-run homer off Carl Pavano in the last of the first inning as the Orioles beat the Twins 4-2 on opening day. Markakis went 2-for-3 and had a triple and three RBIs and it was a great sign to prove he is healthy for the season after being limited early in camp. He had abdominal surgery in January. He said hitting the homer was nice, but also noted that he hit it out to left center field. Nick Markakis talks with Gary...

Jake Arrieta said he doesn't feel he should be called the Orioles' No. 1 pitcher, but he sure looked like one today. Allowing just two hits - both singles - over seven, at times, dominant innings, Arrieta pitched the Orioles to a 4-2 win over Minnesota in front of a sellout crowd of 46,773 at Camden Yards. Arrieta walked two and fanned four. He faced the minimum three batters in five of his seven innings. Jake Arrieta talks about his strong outing in the Orioles' opening day win "My...

I asked manager Buck Showalter how impressed he was with starter Jake Arrieta following today's 4-2 victory over the Twins. Showalter thought I said "frustrated." "I thought I'd stepped into a different game," he said. Nope. We watched the same one, which included Arrieta shutting out the Twins on two hits over seven innings. Buck Showalter meets with the media following the O's win over the Twins "He was really good," Showalter said. "He pitched maybe a little better than he did...

It took the Orioles a long time to name their opening day starter. It looks like Buck Showalter made the right decision. Jake Arrieta blanked Minnesota on just two hits over seven innings as the Orioles beat the Twins 4-2 to win this afternoon in front of sellout crowd of 46,773. Arrieta's strong outing came 20 years to the day Rick Sutcliffe blanked Cleveland 2-0 in the first regular season game at Camden Yards. Josh Willingham's two-run homer off Troy Patton in the ninth ended the...