ST. PETERSBURGH, Fla. - I'm heading to the visiting television booth at Tropicana Field for my O's Xtra segment on MASN2, but I wanted to pass along a few pre-game quotes from manager Buck Showalter. On Luke Scott: "He's day-to-day. Hopefully, we got ahead of it a little bit. He was feeling it a little bit earlier. He said it wasn't a big deal. He got it wrapped. When he came out of the batter's box on the potential double play, he was a little tender with it. We hope we kind of caught...

The Orioles today announced that they have placed LHP Brian Matusz on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 30, with a strained left intercostal muscle. The Orioles have recalled LHP Zach Britton from Triple-A Norfolk and he is scheduled to make his major league debut this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays. Britton, 23, won the Jim Palmer Prize as the Orioles' Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2010. He will wear uniform number 53.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles officially placed left-hander Brian Matusz on the disabled list today with a strained left intercostal muscle. Zach Britton takes his place on the roster and in the rotation. Pitcher Justin Duchscherer will undergo an ablation this week on his lower back, which is a procedure that uses radio frequency to heat up the nerves, interrupts the nerve signals and decreases the pain. It's not an invasive procedure, and a player usually is shut down for four or five...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Third baseman Evan Longoria is out of the Rays' lineup after leaving last night's game with a strained oblique. Zach Britton must be smiling. For the Rays: B.J. Upton CF Johnny Damon LF Ben Zobrist 2B Manny Ramirez DH Kelly Shoppach C Sean Rodriguez 3B Elliot Johnson SS Dan Johnson 1B Sam Fuld RF Wade Davis RHP Luke Scott told reporters this morning that he felt some tightness in his groin over the last few days, but it worsened last night as he left the batter's...

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...