Adam Jones on Wieters: "He gave his blood, sweat and tears here"

After playing 882 games in an Orioles uniform, catcher Matt Wieters is back as a visiting player for the first time tonight. His new club, the Washington Nationals, and the Orioles begin the first of a four-game, home-and-home series.

Wieters played in four All-Star games and won two Gold Gloves as an Oriole. He was part of the core group of players that turned the franchise from a losing team into a winner. For that and many other reasons, O's center fielder Adam Jones hopes Wieters gets a huge ovation here tonight.

"I would hope so," Jones said. "He gave his blood, sweat and tears here. It's not his fault at all with the reason he is not here. Things happen in this business. I would hope they give him a very good ovation. He bled black and orange for (eight) years."

Jones figures it will be strange when he steps in the batter's box with Wieters behind the plate. But baseball life goes on and there are changes to deal with every year.

"It's part of the business. His locker was a few down from mine for seven years. I'm glad to see he's doing well and in a good place in Washington. We've had difficult situations moving on from former players that have been here for significant amounts of time. It is just another of those cases where you appreciate what he brought to the team for many years and wish him all the best.

"He was the leader for our pitching staff and controlled our pitching staff for many years. That is a void that will be missed. But we have veterans on our staff that understand what they need to do. He did a lot of studying for them and helped them out. He's a due-diligence player with an attention to detail when it comes to catching. I'm sure our pitchers miss it but understand it's a business. You have to put your big pants on yourself and do it yourself," he said.

Wieters is batting .274/.365/.476 with four homers and 12 RBIs for baseball's highest-scoring team. He's hit better at home than on the road, where Wieters is batting .178 with one homer in 12 games.

As for this series, it's another Baltimore-Washington battle. The Orioles are 17-7 versus the Nats since the 2012 season and won the season series 3-1 last year.

"Generally, we have this Battle of the Beltways in June or leading up to the All-Star break. Early May is a little early for any sort of speculation about how we are going to finish. But it's good to see them and it's good for the area. I wish it was later, like August, when it's a bit warmer. Play it on a weekend, instead of a weekday. But, hopefully, the four-game set - two here, two there - we are entertaining to both crowds and the Orioles win four in a row," Jones said.