Let’s sum this up quickly, because I don’t think any of us want to think about the second game tonight.

That said, let’s start with the first game: Zach Britton is LEGIT. 7 2/3 innings against the undefeated Texas Rangers in your second Major League start is honestly pretty impressive. The kid can pitch, people. He’s also clearly a quote machine: “I’m happy we won.” Last August, I was concerned that he was going to be rushed up in September because there were fans clamoring for him left and right, but after seeing him keep up in Spring Training and these two starts, he’s proven that he’s definitely ready now. I think he’s earned a place on the roster.

The second game…well, let’s just not discuss that too much. Let’s just say that Arrieta and Fox didn’t really ever get into sync with each other and they ended up struggling. The game ended to the tune of 13-1, with the only Orioles run coming on an Adam Jones homer in the second. At that point, we were leading, but that didn’t exactly last too long.

Jakubauskas pitched today in relief of Arrieta and Rupe, which means that Guthrie will be starting tomorrow. Good news.

Oh, and I did mention the injured, yes? Well, J.J. Hardy has an oblique strain, which means he’ll probably land on the disabled list. Not cool, I know.

(I was in Harrisburg tonight catching the Bowie Baysox cinch a 2-0 win over the Senators. There’ll eventually be a little recap here when I have more time! Stay tuned!)

I’m going to utilize Cover It Live tomorrow night to provide you all with Orioles coverage! It’ll likely be sporadic from 7:00 until 8:15 or so, since I’ll be in class and taking notes, but I’ll also make sure that I get updates in there. I don’t like to disappoint.

A few Orioles notes on this off-day:

• Guthrie’s been diagnosed: “Initially thought I had BieberFever but turns out I have pneumonia. Feeling better but got myself an overnight stay at hospital.” He’ll probably just miss one start. This is why you don’t give long harangues in the rain.
• Matusz is checking in with his wart doctor in Philly today. For whatever reason, this gave me the mental image of all of the baby pitchers going on a road trip together. Maybe Matt Wieters can come along to supervise them and stop the car at McDonalds so all the little pitchers can get Happy Meals.
• Drese, Ballard and Jakubauskas are waiting in the wings in Norfolk to fill in Guthrie’s spot in the rotation if necessary.
• Luke Scott is hoping to return tomorrow. (I like how Pie’s been playing, though.)

That’s it for now.

Look, baseball, everyone! Here are the lineups for today’s split-squad game, via our awesome friend Roch Kubatko:

Team 1:
Matt Angle RF
Randy Winn DH
Felix Pie CF
Nolan Reimold LF
Josh Bell 3B
Joe Mahoney 1B
Ryan Adams 2B
Craig Tatum C
Pedro Florimon SS

Chorye Spoone RHP

Team 2:
Cesar Izturis 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Luke Scott LF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Mark Reynolds 3B
Adam Jones CF
J.J. Hardy SS
Matt Wieters C
Brandon Snyder 1B

Chris Jakubauskas RHP

LOOK, EVERYONE, IT’S STEPH’S FAVORITE ORIOLES PROSPECT, MATT ANGLE! WATCH HER GET OVERLY-EXCITED NOW!

Ahem.

Anyway, there are some other pitchers scheduled to throw today, too. Here they are: Ryan Drese, Adrian Rosario, Wynn Pelzer, Mike Ballard, Raul Rivero, Nick Bierbrodt, Troy Patton, Armando Gabino, Pedro Viola, Chris George, Alberto Castillo and Mark Worrell.

Tomorrow is the first official game of Spring Training, so I fully expect you all to check out the game thread and watch with me.

Here are a few little news bites from today:

• Brittany Ghiroli caught up with Kevin Gregg. Check out their question-and-answer session here.
• The family dropped the civil suit against Alfredo Simon, but he was denied bail for a second time. The prosecution is claiming that there is evidence against him. They have until April 9th to formally charge him.
• INTRASQUAD GAME ON SUNDAY. BASEBALL. (This article also has the pitching rotations for this week, so if you’re curious as to when your favorites will be starting, check this out. Prospect fans can catch Zach Britton on Wednesday against the Phillies.)
• Brian Roberts is not yet back at practice, but he’s recovering.
• Derrek Lee has taken batting practice and says he feels good!

Regarding that intrasquad game on Sunday, here’s what you can expect to see:

The schedule calls for Ryan Drese, Adrian Rosario, Wynn Pelzer, Mike Ballard, Raul Rivero and Nick Bierbrodt to pitch for one team, with Chris Jakubauskas, Troy Patton, Chorye Spoone, Armando Gabino and Pedro Viola to take the hill for the other.

No names that are astoundingly huge now, but there’s quite a few top prospects in there. Baseball America ranked Wynn Pelzer 6th, Chorye Spoone 24th, and Adrian Rosario 30th. As you can imagine, I’ll be keeping tabs on this to see what goes down. I’m also going to start my prospect previews in a few days based on BA’s rankings, so stay tuned for those – one prospect for every day in March!