ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Luke Scott remains sidelined with tightness in his right groin, but he's fairly optimistic that he'll avoid the disabled list. Scott, who left last night's game with the injury, is aiming for a Wednesday return. Unfortunately, that means being out of the lineup for tomorrow's home opener. Here's today's lineup vs. the Rays: Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Derrek Lee 1B Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 3B Felix Pie LF J.J. Hardy...

As lefty Zach Britton gets ready to make his major league debut today, I am reminded of the fact that Britton has been written about an awful lot on my blog over the last few months. He has always been available for interviews and there are plenty of others that I have interviewed to get their opinions about the 23-year-old prospect. Just about a week ago, I interviewed ESPN's Tim Kurkjian and got his thoughts about Britton. In a February interview, Baseball America's Jim Callis said...

*Today the Orioles go for a three-game sweep at St. Pete vs. Tampa. They have not swept three from the Rays in their home park since September 30 to October 1, 2005. The Orioles have now won six of their last seven games vs. Tampa and are 4-1 at the Trop during that stretch. They now lead the all-time series, 113-111, vs. the Rays. *The Orioles have won these two games despite scoring just seven runs on 11 hits and with a team batting average of .175 to date. But O's pitching has allowed...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles were lucky to escape Tropicana Field with one win in last year's opening series. They'll go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon. Oh, how times have changed. "This has always been a tough place for us and I think for a lot of people in the last three or four years," said second baseman Brian Roberts. "You start to have flashbacks to other years. You just know how difficult it is to win here. The atmosphere, the way their team sets up, they always play...

From 2 and 16 to 2 and 0. Pitching, defense and a three-run homer. Somewhere Earl Weaver must have enjoyed tonight's 3-1 win over Tampa. For someone like me that enjoys pitching and defense more than a high-scoring game, these have been two very fun games to watch. Yes, like many of you I will bet, I thought Ben Zobrist had hit a game-winning, three-run homer. But it didn't happen and Nick Markakis, maybe the best fielder in the game today without a gold glove, made a superb, game-saving...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Chris Tillman threw six hitless innings, Brian Roberts broke a scoreless tie with a three-run homer, and everybody wants to talk about Nick Markakis. I'm fine with it. Markakis made one of the most outstanding, clutch catches you'll ever see, taking away a game-tying extra-base hit from Ben Zobrist with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to preserve a 3-1 victory over the Rays. Markakis leaped for the ball, caught it at the top of the fence and crashed into the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Luke Scott is listed as day-to-day after straining his right groin muscle during tonight's game. Felix Pie pinch-ran for Scott in the seventh inning after the veteran reached on a fielder's choice. It proved to be a key substitution, as Pie threw out B.J. Upton at the plate to end the bottom of the seventh and keep the game scoreless. Pie had replaced Scott in left field. We weren't aware of the injury until after the Orioles' 3-1 win. It just looked like sound...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Rays made things interesting in the eighth. And by "interesting," I mean heart-pounding. Michael Gonzalez returned to his little dome of horrors and walked the first two batters he faced, including Ben Zobrist on four pitches. He fell behind, 2-0, to Johnny Damon before retiring him on a foul pop. Gonzalez was done. In his place came Koji Uehara, who didn't walk a batter in his last 32 appearances of 2010. Uehara got a called third strike on pinch-hitter Sam...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Well, it was fun while it lasted. B.J. Upton singled to center field off Orioles reliever Jeremy Accardo with two outs in the seventh inning to break up the collective no-hit bid. I could have sworn I ordered the combination no-hit platter tonight. It was a clean single, and it came after Brian Roberts made a nice backhanded stop and off-balance throw to retire Dan Johnson. Upton stole second despite a pitch-out, with catcher Matt Wieters bobbling the ball and making...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Rays have two baserunners through five innings against Chris Tillman, both coming on walks. That's it. TIllman has thrown 80 pitches, so getting him through the ninth will be quite a challenge. But hey, he wasn't even supposed to start tonight. Kelly Shoppach swung through a 92 mph fastball to end the fifth, the 10th consecutive batter retired by Tillman. Tillman had to fight to make the club out of spring training, and it mostly happened because Justin...