ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Zach Britton already knows the dangers of walking batters, but he got another reminder today. Britton opened the third inning by walking the last two hitters in the Rays lineup, Matt Joyce and Sam Fuld. Joyce scored with one out on Elliot Johnson's safety squeeze bunt. Joyce didn't break for home until Johnson laid down the bunt, so it wasn't a suicide squeeze. Britton caught two breaks in the inning. B.J. Upton appeared to drop a single into right field after the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter had to change his lineup today with Luke Scott unable to play because of a strained groin muscle. One of the adjustments raised Matt Wieters from eighth to fifth in the order. Wieters was hitting .167 with no homers or RBIs after the first two games of this series, but Showalter played a hunch. Wieters responded with a bloop single into left field with two outs in the first inning that scored Brian Roberts and gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead. I'll...

The minor league rosters for the Orioles four full season affiliates are not officially set yet but it appears that second baseman Ryan Adams and outfielder Tyler Henson are likely to begin the year with Triple-A Norfolk. Adams hit .298 with 43 doubles, 15 homers and 68 RBI at Double-A last summer. He had ten hits in 19 at bats in Major League spring training games. Henson, a fifth-round pick in 2006, batted .278 with 12 homers, 37 doubles and 60 RBI at Bowie in 2010. O's 2010 Minor League...

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...