ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Brian Roberts stepped to the plate with runners on the corners and two outs in the fifth and the Orioles trailing by two runs. He swung at the first pitch and flied to shallow center field. Roberts is 0-for-3 tonight, making him 3-for-42 since May 1. Mark Reynolds reached on an infield hit after almost striking out for the second time. Plate umpire Ron Kulpa ruled that Reynolds got a piece of the Jeremy Hellickson pitch, which catcher John Jaso couldn't hold. On the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It all started so innocently. Jeremy Guthrie retired the side in order on 11 pitches, nine for strikes, in the bottom of the first inning. He induced a bouncer to third base from Rays cleanup hitter Evan Longoria leading off the second. This is the end of the innocence. Mark Reynolds tried to make a barehanded grab, but the ball deflected off his fingers and rolled down the left field line. The official scorer here ruled it a hit, but he easily could have given...

Here are some notes on Jeremy Hellickson, the right-handed Tampa Bay pitcher the Orioles will try to beat tonight. * He is 3-2 on the year with an ERA of 3.72 in six starts with a batting average against of .236. He gets more air outs with a ground to air out ratio of 0.74. * His last start was last Saturday when he got the win in Baltimore against Jeremy Guthrie. He went five scoreless innings, but walked five and allowed three hits, throwing 92 pitches. In three games, two career starts,...

Normally, going for a light run is not big news. Unless, of course, you are an All-Star third baseman and the face of the franchise, recovering from abdominal surgery, it becomes a much bigger deal. Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman went jogging today and he said his abdominal muscles "felt OK," 10 days out from surgery. Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list April12a nd had surgery to repair his torn abdominal muscle May 3 in Philadelphia. Zimmerman stayed back in...

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...