SARASOTA, Fla. - Left-hander Zach Britton knows what's coming. It isn't necessarily fair, but he's heard enough chatter to know that he's going to be optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Britton talked about today's outing, and eventually, the likelihood that he'll begin the season in the minors. "In the fourth inning, I was trying to do a little bit too much, but I was happy to minimize damage in both (the fourth and fifth) innings, and I think that's big, too," he said. "I thought that...

A quick note to pass along on NatsFest. The third annual NatsFest will take place rain or shine on Wednesday afternoon. More details can be found here. Also, for those of you western Maryland, the Hagerstown Suns are hosting a "Meet the Suns" event Monday, April 4 from 6-9 p.m. at Cancun Cantina. While Suns season ticket holders will participate in an exclusive autograph session, the public can meet and greet Suns players between 7-9 p.m. Bryce Harper is expected to be in attendance....

SARASOTA, Fla. - Left-hander Zach Britton is expected to be optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after today's game. If so, he'll leave camp having allowed three runs in 20 official spring innings. Britton gave up two runs and eight hits in six innings today, walking one and striking out four. The Orioles lead the Tigers, 13-2, heading to the top of the seventh inning. Britton threw 94 pitches, 58 for strikes. Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis and Vladimir Guerrero each have three hits. Luke Scott has...

The Washington Nationals today optioned left-handed pitcher Ross Detwiler, right-handed pitcher Collin Balester and outfielder Roger Bernadina to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League and re-assigned infielder Brian Bixler to minor-league camp. Additionally, the Nationals placed right-handed pitcher Henry Rodriguez on the 15-Day Disabled List and right-handed pitchers Chien-Ming Wang and Elvin Ramirez on the 60-Day Disabled List. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Nick Markakis just doubled off Tigers reliever Enrique Gonzalez in the third inning to drive in two more runs and complete the line for starter Max Scherzer. Scherzer is charged with 12 runs, 11 earned, in 2 1/3 innings. Vladimir Guerrero followed with his second single and RBI. Orioles 13, Tigers 0. Luke Scott struck out to end the inning. Bench him. Zach Britton has allowed two hits in three scoreless innings, with no walks and three strikeouts. He's thrown 41 pitches,...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Luke Scott kept fouling off pitches from Tigers starter Max Scherzer in the first inning. Adding to the drama - the bases were loaded. Scott finally got hold of a ball that didn't slam against the screen behind him, and he drove it over the left field fence for a grand slam and a 4-0 lead. Scott has endured a terrible spring at the plate, but his RBI total climbed to 10 today. He began the day batting .185 with two homers. Brian Roberts led off the inning with a double....

SARASOTA, Fla. - We're ready for today's game, which seems like the least important thing happening in camp today. The Orioles added a bunch of minor leaguers, including Jeff Fiorentino, Rhyne Hughes and Blake Davis. Here are some leftover pregame quotes from manager Buck Showalter: On starting the year with one lefty reliever: "It's not the conventional, but .... with so many young pitchers in our rotation, we're going to err on the side of length there. Like I told you, Clay (Rapada),...

The Orioles today announced eight spring training roster cuts, bringing their spring roster to 30 players. The Orioles optioned outfielder Nolan Reimold to Triple-A Norfolk and outfielder Randy Winn asked for, and was granted, his unconditional release. Non-roster invitees left-handers Clay Rapada and Mark Hendrickson, right-handers David Riske, Ryan Drese and Pat Egan, and infielder Nick Green have been assigned to minor league camp. With the moves, the Orioles have 30 players in camp...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brad Bergesen said he threw about 30 pitches off a bullpen mound today and is scheduled to pitch one or two innings on Wednesday. He's not sure whether that will take place at Twin Lakes Park or during the workout at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. "I threw all my pitches, regular bullpen, and I felt good," he said. "The plan is Wednesday throw one inning, two innings. I don't know exactly. But everything felt good. I feel fine to throw in a game." Bergesen threw only...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Outfielder Nolan Reimold was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk this morning, so you can add his name to the list of roster cuts. Reimold batted .315 with three doubles, three homers, 10 RBIs, a .448 on-base percentage and a .537 slugging percentage. Felix Pie made the team over Reimold, as expected. He's out of options and he's the backup center fielder. Pie is batting .254 with three doubles, one triple, one homer, eight RBIs, a .254 on-base percentage and a .390 slugging...