More notes on tonight's game

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - To avoid any confusion, the Orioles are playing on the road this weekend, but they're considered the home team. The statistics will count as road games. However, in real time through Sunday, the stats may appear as home for the Orioles until updated on Monday on all platforms.

All three games will reflect home attendance for the Orioles despite the games being played at Tropicana Field.

Got all that?

Major League Baseball and the Elias Sports Bureau are driving this bus. I'm just passing along the information provided by the Orioles.

When you also factor the zero attendance for Wednesday, it's probably best to put an asterisk beside the final figure for 2015.

The Orioles will use the visiting clubhouse and dugout at Tropicana Field. The Rays aren't going to move all of their stuff to the other side.

Basically, the importance of the home/road designation lies in the Orioles batting in the bottom half of each inning. The color of the uniforms, the mascots and the choice of music are just details.

Steve Pearce is probably fine with the change in venues, considering that the Lakeland native is a career .314/.426/.667 hitter in 16 games at Tropicana Field, with three doubles, five home runs and nine RBIs.

First baseman Chris Davis hit a three-run homer in the first inning of Wednesday's game. Davis has two homers and six RBIs in 13 plate appearances in the first inning this season. According to Elias, he had two homers and 10 RBIs in 62 plate appearances in the first inning in 2014.

Center fielder Adam Jones leads the American League and ranks third in the majors with a .400 average, going 30-for-75.

The Orioles are 10-0 when leading after the seventh inning and 10-0 when ahead after the eighth. They're 10-3 when they score first and 0-7 when their opponent takes the first lead.

Down on the farm, Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Cesar Cabral, who appeared in 12 games with the Yankees over the past two seasons before signing a minor league deal with the Orioles over the winter, has turned in seven scoreless appearances to begin his Tides career. He's allowed only four baserunners in seven innings, holding opponents to a .120 average (3-for-25) with seven strikeouts. Left-handers are 0-for-7 against him.

Steve Johnson has allowed one earned run in 12 1/3 innings at Norfolk, with six consecutive scoreless appearances. He's walked three batters and struck out 18.