After two big wins to end Boston series, O's scheduled to return to the field today

As the city of Baltimore tries to regain some sense of normalcy, so will its baseball team.

The Orioles are scheduled to take the field this afternoon at 2:05 p.m. against the Chicago White Sox even though no fans will be in the ballpark. It figures to be a strange and surreal scene.

Some challenges have been thrown the Orioles' way, but they pale in comparison to the challenges for the city and its residents. But for a baseball team, they will be challenging.

What was once a nine-game homestand, set to continue through this weekend at Camden Yards, has now turned into a four-game homestand with two postponements and this weekend's three-game series moved from Baltimore to St. Petersburg, Fla.

What was to be a six-game road trip starting next Tuesday is now a nine-game trip, counting the series in Florida against Tampa Bay.

Those are technically O's home games, we know, but they'll have to get on a plane and travel from Baltimore so it's fair to call this a nine-game trip. That is what it is.

I don't see manager Buck Showalter or his players getting too upset over any of this. They always take the "no one will feel sorry for you" attitude. They know their job is to win, no matter the circumstances. They've overcome plenty of injuries the last two years and now they have to overcome this disruption to the schedule.

They've been a good road team in recent years and they just have to go and win and not worry that things may have gotten a little more challenging. So be it, I expect to hear the Orioles say.

Now, we begin to find out if the end of the Boston series provided the team a bit of a lift. They won 18-7 behind 20 hits Sunday after the amazing 5-4 walk-off win on Saturday night.

Perhaps more significant, the O's rotation had a good weekend against the Red Sox. After O's starters went six innings or more just four times in the first 16 games, they did that in all three games against Boston. The rotation ERA was 3.92 over the weekend and 3.07 in the last two games. That is trending in the right direction.

The offense has put up 34 runs the last four games and 51 runs (6.4 per game) the last eight games. And the hitters have done that without Matt Wieters, J.J. Hardy and Jonathan Schoop. That is impressive.

The O's season resumes today, and maybe baseball will provide some entertainment and/or a diversion for some who need it.

In the minors: Zach Davies, a 22-year-old right-hander who is the fifth-youngest player in the International League, had another strong game for Triple-A Norfolk (11-8) last night in a 1-0 win over Buffalo. He threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings on five hits and is now 1-0 with an ERA of 1.25 through four starts.

Rated as the O's No. 6 prospect by Baseball America, Davies has pitched 21 2/3 innings, giving up 16 hits and three runs with seven walks and 21 strikeouts. Right-handed batters are hitting just .146 against him.

The Orioles are holding their Triple-A starters to pitch counts of around 90 or less right now as they ease into the season, which also provides them with more available innings later in the year when any of them could possibly be added to the Orioles roster. Davies threw 87 pitches last night, one off his season-high.

Pedro Beato got the win to go to 2-0 with an ERA of 1.80, and Chris Parmalee drove in the game's only run with an RBI single in the ninth. He is batting .329.

Double-A Bowie (10-9) beat Erie 8-2 as Mike Yastrzemski and Glynn Davis combined to go 5-for-10 with three RBIs, and Sean Halton was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Winning pitcher Branden Kline allowed two runs over five innings, and Mychal Givens struck out six in three scoreless frames. Givens has pitched to an ERA of 0.71 in seven games with 19 strikeouts over 12 2/3 innings.

Single-A Frederick (11-8) lost 4-3 at Salem after falling 4-0 in the third inning. Luis Gonzalez gave up four runs over five innings to take the loss. Jon Keller pitched three scoreless innings of relief to lower his ERA to 1.84. Johnny Ruettiger and Anthony Caronia had two hits each.

Single-A Delmarva (11-7) won 12-0 at Savannah in a game shortened to five innings by rain. Winning pitcher Matthew Grimes went the full five innings, allowing just one hit. He walked one and struck out a career-high 11 batters, improving to 1-0 with an ERA of 4.91. The 11 strikeouts are the most by a Shorebirds' pitcher since Parker Bridwell fanned 14 on Aug. 16, 2013. Catcher Jonah Heim went 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs, and is batting .313. Conor Bierfeldt drove in two runs for the Shorebirds.

TV coverage today: While fans will not be attending today's game, you can see it live on MASN. Our coverage begins with O's Xtra at 1:30 p.m., followed by the game live at 2:05 p.m.