The Orioles made it to Norfolk this afternoon, waited out the rain and appear set to play their exhibition game against the Triple-A Tides. Seth Smith is leading off and playing right field, with Norfolk sending right-hander Brandon Barker to the mound. We were told yesterday the opposing starter would be Joe Gunkel or Zach Stewart, but Barker is taking the ball. Adam Jones is batting second, a familiar placement for him in spring training. I'd expect the same slotting on opening...

As the Orioles look to upgrade their starting rotation during the second half, will they look first at internal options? There are just not many pitchers on the farm right now pitching to a level that is forcing their way onto the roster in Baltimore. But there may be some pitchers worth at least looking at. Odrisamer Despaigne is currently on the Orioles roster and has been pitching out of the bullpen. When he was starting at Triple-A, he was 1-6 with a 3.59 ERA over 12 starts. He pitched to...

If it seems like it has been a long time between games within the American League East for the Orioles, that is because it has. The Orioles just completed their longest stretch of the season between games against a division rival. They have played 21 straight non-AL East games since May 7, going 12-9. It was a stretch scheduled for 22 games, shortened by a rainout in Minnesota. Now the top two teams in the AL East meet for a four-game series starting this afternoon when the Orioles (28-20) host...

Out to quickly erase the memory of Saturday's 11-4 loss where Ubaldo Jimenez allowed six runs and the Orioles fell behind 7-0 after three innings, the O's play the series and road trip finale today at Cleveland. The Orioles (27-20) gave up runs in six different innings on Saturday, went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and made four errors. So yeah, they expect today to be better. After going 2-1 in Anaheim, 0-3 at Houston and 1-1 in Cleveland so far, the Orioles will have a losing...

HOUSTON - Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette sounds pretty high on all three of the pitchers the Orioles acquired last night. He provided some information on each hurler during a telephone interview this morning. In trading Brian Matusz to Atlanta yesterday, the club shed his salary and added two pitchers from the Braves. A third pitcher came in a deal with Cincinnati. The savings on Matusz can now be used in another way to the help the Orioles. The O's had to part...

The Orioles have traded left-hander Brian Matusz, their first-round selection in the 2008 draft, to the Braves for right-hander Brandon Barker and left-hander Trevor Belicek. Atlanta also will receive a Competitive Balance Round B pick (76th overall) in the upcoming draft. The Braves reportedly will designate Matusz for assignment, essentially making the deal in order to acquire the draft pick and take on the rest of his salary for 2016. Matusz was being paid $3.9 million in the final year of...