dustin pedroia

The general belief is that players recovering from hamate bone surgery -- as the Orioles' Nick Markakis is now -- have a short recovery time, but it can take a while for them to regain their power at the plate.

His right arm in a sling after morning surgery to remove a broken bone in his wrist, Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis said he hopes to be back in the lineup before the estimated three to four weeks of recovery time.

As an usher for the Baltimore Orioles at Memorial Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Gordon Huggins has witnessed six World Series, Cal Ripken Jr.'s record-setting 2,131st consecutive game, and many of the best players in the game's history.

Nick Johnson had his first multi-homer game in nearly six years, but the Orioles allowed homers to the bottom three hitters in an injury-plagued Red Sox lineup in a 6-5 loss.

The most impressive thing about 22-year-old Orioles outfielder Xavier Avery is the maturity and patience at the plate he has exhibited.

Orioles bullpen falters in 8-6 loss to the Red Sox. Boston scores two off Kevin Gregg in the seventh and another off Troy Patton an inning later.

Matt Wieters advises the Nationals' Bryce Harper to "just be himself." The Orioles' star catcher says the 19-year-old phenom "can't worry about" what is said about him.

As an usher for the Baltimore Orioles at Memorial Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Gordon Huggins has witnessed six World Series, Cal Ripken Jr.'s record-setting 2,131st consecutive game, and many of the best players in the game's history.

J.J. Hardy has done plenty to help the Orioles this season with his glove, but it wasn't until Sunday when he felt his bat was catching up.

Orioles' bullpen shuts down the Red Sox in extra innings

Pre-game: Orioles vs Red Sox (split squads)

Right-hander Chris Tillman pitched three scoreless innings Sunday in the Orioles¿ 6-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Boston Red Sox before a sellout crowd of 8,316 at Ed Smith Stadium.

In his first Grapefruit League game, Orioles top prospect Dylan Bundy settled in and set down the Red Sox. The 19-year-old right-hander issued one walk in one scoreless inning against the top of Boston's batting order.

Orioles top prospect Dylan Bundy made his professional spring debut Tuesday afternoon against the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. Bundy threw a scoreless fifth inning, overcoming an early four-pitch walk to retire the top of Boston¿s order.

Brian Roberts said he had just experienced his first pain-free two weeks since the concussion. Friends were telling him he looks completely different from the way he did as recently as September. He and his doctors say he'll be recovered by spring and in the Oriole lineup for 2012.

What a fine job ESPN did of offering all three key games. And what a terrific performance in the booth by MASN's Jim Palmer and Gary Thorne in the Baltimore Orioles comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox.