ben francisco

The Baltimore Orioles waste no time jumping into the thick of the American League East race, that's for sure.

The Orioles¿ goal in the last few games of spring training is to get out of Sarasota healthy. In an 11-8 loss to the New York Yankees, the Orioles saw two players leave the game with injuries.

Manny Machado's key defensive play and Nate McLouth's walk-off single gave the Orioles a thrilling victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

Steve Johnson (3-0) won again for the Orioles on Tuesday night, entering the game in the fourth with little warning after Jason Hammel had to leave due to a knee injury.

Right-hander Jason Hammel limped off the mound in the fourth inning of the Orioles' 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays and left the game with what the team announced was a right knee injury.