This is one time the Nationals are happy to beat a Gnat. Low Single-A Hagerstown cruised past Savannah in Game 1 of the South Atlantic League finals 6-1 behind excellent pitching from rookie Jake Johansen and three hits courtesy of Tony Renda. Johansen went five innings, allowing three hits, no runs and two walks while striking out two for the win. Renda and Stephen Perez provided two-run doubles. Perez's hit came with two outs in the eighth. Wander Ramos had two doubles and a run scored....

Over the last 15 years, the Orioles have not won a season series once against the New York Yankees. They lost 13 times and tied the season series twice - going 9-9 last year against New York and 9-9 in 2007. That is a lot of losing to the Yankees over the years. The O's are now 18-12 in their last 30 regular season games against the Yankees, but before that, they went 12-41 over a 53-game stretch. A lot of losing indeed. But if the O's win just one of the three remaining games in this...

So, does anyone have an extra ticket to the Buck Showalter-Joe Girardi steel cage match? Girardi was born on Oct. 14, 1964. He used to be a Libra, but Bobby Dickerson stole his sign. It figures that Showalter and Girardi would exchange words during the first game of a four-game series. There's lots of time left for more bad blood to boil. I wonder whether Showalter will bring out the lineup card before tonight's game instead of bench coach John Russell. He may want to make a statement by...

After the game, Nick Markakis was asked what he was thinking when he saw Buck Showalter charge out of the dugout after the last of the first. "I didn't think it was going to start this early," Markakis said. "But you have two teams battling for the same thing. Any little thing is going to set it off. Two competitive teams out there and things are going to happen but we got a big win and everything worked out good." Markakis was asked if the win was any sweeter coming against CC Sabathia,...

Yankees manager Joe Girardi reluctantly offered his side of the story concerning tonight's on-field exchange with Orioles manager Buck Showalter. What led to the dispute with Showalter? "The one thing that I've done, the whole time that I'm here, and everywhere I've been, is I'm going to protect our players at all lengths. That's what I'm going to do, and there was something that I saw and I'm just going to leave it at that." What was Showalter's objection? "I don't know." Did...

Chris Tillman became the first Orioles pitcher to record 16 victories since Mike Mussina won 18 games in 1999, but manager Buck Showalter couldn't heap praise on him until reporters were done grilling him about his heated exchange with Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Showalter confirmed that Girardi yelled at third base coach Bobby Dickerson, accusing him of stealing signs, after the final out was made in the bottom of the first inning. "He was yelling at the third base coach. Somebody's...

Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson said he had no history of bad feelings with Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who he said was yelling at him tonight almost from the start of the bottom of the first inning. Dickerson said that was a first for him. "Never (had that happen to me before)," he said. "Never heard of such a thing. "I was standing there coaching (third) in the first inning and I started hearing someone yelling at me and I looked in the dugout and Joe was yelling at...

Chris Tillman took the ball in the first inning and control of this game not long after. The right-hander retired 14 in a row before giving up a leadoff homer in the eighth. He left to a big ovation after that as he pitched the Orioles to a 4-2 win over New York tonight in the series opener before 17,456 at Camden Yards. Now 16-5 with an ERA of 3.66, Tillman gave up just four hits over seven innings-plus with no walks. His nine strikeouts tied his career high and he threw 110 pitches, 78 for...

At the start of Monday night's game, the Orioles were two games back in the wild card race with the Yankees on their tail, 2 1/2 games back. With the playoff race coming down to the wire, emotions were bound to spark. We saw that happen as Buck Showalter had to be retrained by the umpire while arguing with Joe Girardi before the second inning began. It is still unclear as to what exactly the altercation was about. Because we needed another reason to keep our eyes peeled to this series...

The Nationals' bats have made all the big noise tonight. But Gio Gonzalez quietly hasn't allowed a hit through six innings. Gonzalez has struck out seven and retired 17 straight as we go to the seventh. The only Mets hitter to reach base tonight was Daniel Murphy, who got on via a one-out walk in the first. Gonzalez has thrown 73 pitches, 52 for strikes. He's needed to sit through a couple long half-innings when the Nats have done some offensive damage, but it hasn't seemed to bug the...