ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter said his bullpen is in "pretty good shape, all things considered." Unfortunately, he still had to use it last night despite getting nine scoreless innings from rookie Zach Britton. "I've got a couple guys I'll stay away from tonight if I can," Showalter said. One of them is closer Kevin Gregg, who's been used in the last three games. "Kevin's reminded us that he's pitched nine out of 10 days (in the past)," Showalter said. "Somebody...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - I promised you one more quote from Brian Matusz, and I won't go back on my word. "It's not hard for me to pump myself up and get excited," he said. "I am excited. I've been excited for a while. It's been tough these last few weeks, being in Sarasota, going out there and feeling good every day. It's been tough because I feel good, I feel healthy, I feel strong, and I want to get out there, but I realize this is my spring training process to get myself ready, so...

It appears the return of shortstop Manny Machado to the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds' lineup is at least a week away at this point. The Orioles' first-round pick in last year's draft suffered a dislocated left kneecap May 5. The swelling in the knee has gone down and Machado is close to returning to baseball activities. When he shows club officials he is 100 percent, they may still give him a few days to get back up to speed after that. Machado is batting .333 with six doubles, two...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Brian Matusz said he felt "real good" during today's bullpen session, and he's looking forward to Monday's injury rehab start at Single-A Frederick. Matusz threw three innings Wednesday in an extended spring training game before joining the Orioles today at Tropicana Field and throwing on the side for bullpen coach Rick Adair. He'll fly to Baltimore on Sunday and pitch the following night for the Keys. "I felt really good. I felt loose and I was hitting my...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Felix Pie is starting in left field tonight against Tampa Bay right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. Luke Scott is serving as the designated hitter. For the Orioles: Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Derrek Lee 1B Luke Scott DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C J.J. Hardy SS Felix Pie LF Mark Reynolds 3B Jeremy Guthrie RHP For the Rays: Fuld CF Zobrist RF Damon DH Longoria 3B Joyce LF Kotchman 1B Rodriguez 2B Brignac SS Jaso C Hellickson RHP

Meet MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski at Hightopps Backstage Grille in Timonium on Monday, May 16 from 7-8 p.m. He'll be at HIghtopps, 2306 York Road (just north of the Timonium Fairgrounds) to meet and greet O's fans, watch some of the 7 p.m. Orioles-Red Sox game airing on MASN/MASN HD and give away some prizes. HIghtopps boasts some of the frostiest cold beverages and tastiest food this side of Camden Yards, and the atmosphere is decidedly family friendly, so feel free to join in the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz threw his bullpen session earlier this afternoon at Tropicana Field after driving over from the minor league complex in Sarasota. Matusz threw 38 pitches, with bullpen coach Rick Adair keeping a close watch. Adair is serving as pitching coach again tonight while Mark Connor attends his son's graduation from the University of Tennessee law school. Manager Buck Showalter came onto the field to watch the last half of Matusz's...

By just about any standard, Zach Britton's start to his rookie season has been pretty amazing. He is 5-2 with an ERA of 2.42 and that now ranks as the seventh best ERA in the American League. Only three pitchers, Trevor Cahill of Oakland, Detroit's Max Scherzer and Jered Weaver of Los Angeles have more wins with six to his five. Britton's WHIP is now at 1.02 and that is 9th best in the AL. He has now pitched 52 innings and that ties for 13th in the league. Here is how Britton ranks...

It's Friday night in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are in town to start a series against the Florida Marlins. If this was 2010, there would be fireworks to look forward to. But in 2011, there are no more fireworks at Nationals Park. In April, fans found out about the change. According to Dan Steinberg at the DC Sports Bog, there had been some complaints from neighbors about the noise and some fans said their children were scared by the noise. Nationals Chief Operating Officer Andy Feffer...

The third-place Orioles head to Tampa Bay this weekend looking to avenge last week's three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays. Thirteen years ago, the Birds flew south for their first-ever series in St. Petersburg from May 8-10, 1998. The O's took two of three at The Trop that weekend behind their veteran players. Baltimore batted around and scored five runs in the seventh inning of the series opener to break open a tight ballgame they ultimately won 8-2. Eric Davis got things started with...