Bats

The Orioles' success of last year earned them a spot on the national stage at Yankee Stadium, the team's first nationally televised Sunday Night Baseball game since 2008. Being the only game on the schedule at that time, the baseball world was watching. But the spotlight did nothing to warm the Orioles' bats, which went cold in a 3-0 loss to the Yankees on a chilly night in the Bronx. In their first game on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball since the last game at the old Yankee Stadium five seasons ago, the Orioles managed just five hits - all singles - against Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who recorded the first complete-game shutout against Baltimore since the Mets' R.A. Dickey tossed a one-hit complete game shutout last June.

Even though Chris Davis and Adam Jones have carried the majority of the offensive load in the Orioles lineup through the first 11 games, right fielder Nick Markakis has quietly had a solid start to the season. Markakis' go-ahead solo homer in the third inning of yesterday's 5-3 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium gave him hits in nine of the first 11 games. He's also homered in two of his past four games. "That's where I like to be,” Markakis said after Saturday's game. “I like to be under the radar.

Glenelg senior shortstop Leah Allen has to go way back to recall her first memory with a bat in her hand. When she was 2 years old, Allen would go to the backyard with her father, Harold, and play with a Wiffle ball and bat. She signed up for an organized softball league as soon as she was old enough. A four-year starter, two-year captain and returning All-Metro first-team selection, Allen is the do-it-all catalyst who has led the No. 2 Gladiators to an 9-0 record so far this season.

Through the opening week of the new season, the Orioles have delighted their fans with an offensive cornucopia and a handful of exciting victories over the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins, which is just the kind of first impression they were hoping to make after last year's uplifting playoff run. It was also just what they needed to overshadow what has not exactly been a smooth start for the pitching staff that was primarily responsible for...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Manny Machado was as surprised as anyone. He figured he would open the 2013 season in pretty much the same place he was when the Orioles ended their unlikely playoff run last October. Playing third base every day. Batting deep in the order. Learning on the job. So, what was a 20-year-old semi-rookie supposed to think when manager Buck Showalter announced Monday that he will bat second against 2012 Cy Young Award winner David Price when the Orioles open the regular season Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field?

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter won't announce his Opening Day starting lineup until after today's workout at Tropicana Field, but he did reveal some interesting tidbits about the batting order that he plans to send out to face reigning AL Cy Young Award winner David Price. In his first Opening Day start, third baseman Manny Machado will hit out of the No. 2 spot, a place we've seen Machado hit over the final week of spring games. With a left-handed hitter, either Nick Markakis or Nate McLouth, leading off tomorrow, it will allow Showalter to flip sides with right-handed hitting Machado.

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, who, when healthy, has been a staple atop the team's batting order for more than a decade, will bat in the No. 9 spot on Opening Day and beyond. Roberts said he wasn't sure how permanent the move would be, but said he'd be hitting ninth “moving forward.” Orioles manager Buck Showalter met with Roberts before Thursday night's game -- in which the Orioles were facing their Opening Day opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays, and ace David Price -- to tell him. “It could be 162 games for all I know,” Roberts said.

Having been cleared to resume baseball activities Thursday, Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis said he's confident he will have enough time -- and at-bats -- to be ready for the regular season. Markakis hasn't played since March 1, when he was scratched from the starting lineup with neck stiffness. After an MRI, Markakis was diagnosed with a small disk herniation in his neck. On Friday, he will take swings off a tee and do some light throwing. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said the progression, which is slated to take three to four days, will include soft-toss hitting, long-toss throwing and live batting practice thrown by coaches.

The Orioles' top position prospect, Jonathan Schoop, had been away for most of the spring while representing the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. He finally returned Wednesday and, on Friday, he led the Orioles to a 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The 21-year-old started at shortstop and had three hits in his first three at-bats, including a RBI single in the fifth and a two-run homer in the sixth against Rays starting pitcher Jeff Niemann. Steve Pearce also homered as the Orioles improved to 16-6-3 in Grapefruit League action.

Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis, who has been out of action with a small disk herniation in his neck since he was scratched from the starting lineup on March 1, was cleared to resume baseball activities Thursday and could play in a Grapefruit League game by Monday, if all goes well. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Markakis will begin hitting off a tee and start throwing on Friday as part of a three- to four-day progression that will include soft-toss, light swinging and coach's batting practice.