SARASOTA, Fla. - For the visiting Orioles: Xavier Avery CF Matt Antonelli 2B Nick Johnson DH Taylor Teagarden C Joe Mahoney 1B Jai Miller LF Josh Bell 3B Scott Beerer RF Steve Tolleson SS Armando Galarraga RHP For the home Orioles: Endy Chavez RF J.J. Hardy SS Wilson Betemit DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 3B Chris Davis 1B Nolan Reimold LF Robert Andino 2B Wei-Yin Chen LHP Position players summoned from the minor league camp include Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, Buck...

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Jayson Werth's back spasms are a problem no more, and he'll start in center field Sunday when the Nationals open their home Grapefruit League season against the Astros at Space Coast Stadium on Sunday, according to the lineup posted Saturday morning. But questions about Werth's recovery and his ability to move from right field to center were met with some resistance by manager Davey Johnson before today's first game of the spring at Osceola County Stadium. Johnson...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Most of the regulars had left the Ed Smith Stadium complex by the time yesterday's intrasquad game ended and the clubhouse reopened to the media, so there wasn't a chance to speak with third baseman Mark Reynolds until this morning. Reynolds made two sparkling plays at third yesterday, charging a ball and throwing out speedy Xavier Avery, and diving to his left to rob Taylor Teagarden of a hit. It's fair to point out that those gems occurred in a "meaningless" intrasquad...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles will try to run their winning streak to two games today with another 1:05 p.m. intrasquad game against the Orioles at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Luis Ayala and Armando Galarraga are scheduled to start today, though manager Buck Showalter indicated a few days ago that Wei-Yin Chen could get one of the assignments. Either way, they're all scheduled to throw. So are Chris Tillman, Pat Neshek, Oliver Drake, Jon Link, Dylan Bundy and Steve Johnson. Chen and Bundy...

VIERA, Fla. - How many blog entries can one reporter write about one specific player in one spring training? Get ready to find out. I've been here two days and somehow I already feel like I've typed Bryce Harper's name a thousand times. It's certainly no secret that Harper is the story of this year's Nationals spring training. I wrote about the 19-year-old phenom following his 0-for-2 effort (which included a four-pitch walk) in yesterday's exhibition opener, I'm writing about him...

So Major League Baseball will have 10 teams in the playoffs in October after adding a second wild card team in each league. I like this move for a variety of reasons. It puts a real premium on winning the division championship and no longer will a late-season game, say between the top two teams in the American League East, not mean much because both squads will be in the playoffs anyway. Now a division that is so tough like the AL East can get a third team into the postseason. A division...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Double-A Bowie outfielder LJ Hoes tripled off Greg Burke in the top of the eighth inning to score the tie-breaking run and give the visiting Orioles a 2-1 victory over the home Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. "I knew we were going to win today. That's for sure," manager Buck Showalter said. Cover the lockers in plastic and pop those champagne corks. "It was very fun, just to get the jitters out and get out there and get active and get acclimated to playing baseball again,"...

VIERA, Fla. - Nationals fans might be eager to see Bryce Harper mash home runs and rack up RBIs in spring training, but leading off the third inning in today's exhibition game against Georgetown, the Nats' top prospect decided he wanted to drop down a bunt. It might not be Harper's forte, and the Nats sure don't expect the power-hitting right fielder to make bunting a major part of his game, but, hey, this is the time to work on those kinds of things, I guess. "In the on-deck circle, I...

VIERA, Fla. - Matt Purke sprinted off the mound after freezing Justin Leeson with an inside pitch that went for a called third strike to end the second inning. The left-hander, a third-round pick of the Nationals in June's draft, thought his day was over. But he'd been so pitch-efficient that he wound up working the third inning and still didn't reach his 40-pitch limit. If Purke was nervous in his spring debut, it didn't show. A guy who should be a senior at TCU dominated college hitters...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Mark Reynolds has made two sensational plays at third base today, charging one ball and making a diving stop to his left on a sharp grounder. Other highlights include Brian Matusz's second inning, when he retired Adam Jones on a soft liner to first base and Matt Wieters on a fly ball to right, and struck out Reynolds. Pedro Strop disposed of his three batters so quickly, he was allowed to face a fourth. He retired Wilson Betemit on a fly ball to center, Jones on a bouncer...