Lopez plus 2 relievers blank Cards

Orioles 4, Cardinals 0

In a matchup of probable Opening Day starters, the Orioles scored four runs off Matt Morris and received five solid innings from Rodrigo Lopez in a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The win ended a four-game losing streak. Lopez allowed three hits in five scoreless innings. Rick Bauer threw two hitless innings, and the Cardinals managed one single off Kerry Ligtenberg over two innings. Four of the first five batters had singles off Morris in the first inning, with Jay Gibbons driving in a run. Another one scored on Jeff Conine's sacrifice fly. Conine's bloop single in the fifth scored two more runs for a 4-0 lead. Jerry Hairston was 2-for-3 with a stolen base.

Who's hot

Rodrigo Lopez: Are we still pretending the Opening Day assignment is up for grabs?

Jerry Hairston: Some base-running issues in the first inning, but the Orioles gladly will accept two hits atop the order every time.

Brook Fordyce: Got his first hit of the spring. So what if the bat shattered. This guy will take any break he can get.

Chris Richard: Buried with the Orioles, he gets to breathe the thin air in Colorado.

Jack Cust: The Orioles' first true power prospect in the minors since Calvin Pickering. Hopefully, the hype isn't as inflated as Pickering's waistline.

Who's not

Sean Douglass: The only good news: The door didn't hit him on the way out.

Injury report

Pitcher John Stephens is receiving treatment for a sore right knee. The club also is keeping tabs on his surgically repaired right foot.

Box score

ST. LOUIS AB R H BI ORIOLES AB R H BI

Vina 2b 3 0 0 0 Hairston 2b 3 2 2 0

Hart 2b 1 0 0 0 Roberts 2b 1 0 0 0

Palmeiro dh 3 0 0 0 Mora cf 3 1 1 0

Haynes ph 1 0 0 0 Segui dh 3 0 1 0

Renteria ss 2 0 1 0 Conine 1b 3 0 1 3

Delgado ph 2 0 0 0 Gibbons rf 4 0 1 1

Pujols 1b 3 0 1 0 Batista 3b 2 0 1 0

Taguchi cf 1 0 0 0 Leon 3b 2 0 1 0

Dunwoody lf 3 0 0 0 Surhoff lf 2 0 0 0

Netwall dh 1 0 1 0 Bigbie pr-lf 1 0 1 0

Perez rf-1b 4 0 0 0 Cruz ss 3 0 0 0

Cairo 3b 1 0 0 0 Reboulet ss 1 0 0 0

Abbot ph 0 0 0 0 Fordyce c 3 1 1 0

Matheny c 3 0 0 0 Molina c 0 0 0 0

Rbnsn cf 3 0 1 0

Totals 31 0 4 0 Totals 31 4 11 4

St. Louis 000 000 000 -- 0

Orioles 200 020 00x -- 4

E--Conine. DP--St. Louis 2, Orioles 1. LOB--St. Louis 6, Orioles 7. SB--Hairston (2), Robinson (1), Dunwoody (1). S--Mora. SF--Conine.

St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO

Morris L, 1-1 4 1/3 9 4 4 1 1

Ohme 1 2/3 0 0 0 1 1

Levine 2 2 0 0 0 1

Orioles IP H R ER BB SO

Lopez W, 2-0 5 3 0 0 1 1

Bauer 2 0 0 0 1 1

Ligtenberg 2 1 0 0 0 0

T--2:08. A--4,308.

O's March schedule

Day Opponent Time Site

12 at Red Sox 1:05 Fort Myers

13 Reds 1:05 Fort Lauderdale

14 at Cardinals 1:05 Jupiter

15 Marlins 1:05 Fort Lauderdale

16 at Marlins 1:05 Jupiter

17 Mets 1:05 Fort Lauderdale

18 at Expos 1:05 Viera

20 at Cardinals 1:05 Jupiter

21 Devil Rays 1:05 Fort Lauderdale

22 at Marlins 1:05 Jupiter

23 Expos 1:05 Fort Lauderdale

24 at Twins 1:05 Fort Myers

25 Cardinals 1:05 Fort Lauderdale

26 Marlins 1:05 Fort Lauderdale

27 at Mets 1:05 Port St. Lucie

28 Mets 6:05 Baltimore

29 at Mets 1:10 New York