After being completely inept for most of the season, the Orioles entered September hit with injuries and facing some of the toughest competition of the season. The team was fielding a Triple-A lineup on most nights and the losing looked to get out of hand. That may not have been a bad thing. Instead, the Orioles have taken their spoiler role seriously and gone 10-10 in September and 10-4 since Sept. 7. How? Although the team as a whole has not played well, there have been some guys who have...

When the Orioles acquired power hitting Mark Reynolds, some suggested he could become the first Oriole with 35 homers since Albert Belle hit 37 in 1999. Tonight, Reynolds hit No. 35. It was a solo shot in the second off Josh Beckett that gave the O's a 1-0 lead. That is three homers in the last four games for Reynolds and four in 16 games this month. He has hit 27 of 35 against right-handed pitchers. He has hit 17 at home and 18 on the road. He has 15 since the All-Star break after hitting...

Mark Reynolds homered off Josh Beckett with two outs in the top of the second inning to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Reynolds pulled a 91 mph cutter to left field, easily clearing the Green Monster after Beckett got ahead, 0-2, in the count. Reynolds sat out two games after being drilled in the helmet by an Ervin Santana pitch Saturday night, but he's 6-for-11 in his last four. He's homered in three of those games and driven in seven runs. He won't get much love in the Most Valuable...

The Orioles are looking to win their first four-game series at Fenway Park since Aug. 8-10, 2003, when they took three of four. Their last series win in Boston was Sept. 20-22, 2010, when they took two of three. The Orioles are going for their fifth road series win of the season. A win tonight would give the Orioles their third consecutive series win, a feat they haven't accomplished since Sept. 3-15, 2010, when they won four straight series (vs. Tampa Bay, at New York, at Detroit and vs....

Adam Jones and Mark Reynolds are making back-to-back starts after returning to the Orioles' lineup last night. Matt Angle gets the start in left field. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 1B Chris Davis 3B Matt Angle LF Tommy Hunter RHP For the Red Sox: Ellsbury CF Aviles 3B Gonzalez 1B Ortiz DH Pedroia 2B Reddick RF Crawford LF Scutaro SS Varitek C Beckett RHP

The first week of instructional league is under way in Viera, Fla., with the team going through batting practice, fielding drills and bullpen sessions prior to its opening game against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 23. Nationals director of player development Doug Harris checked in from Florida and told MASNsports.com he is excited about the players they have assembled. We went over several field positions including the outfield, where several of the Single-A Hagerstown players are in...

To say that Brian Matusz has had a rough season is probably an understatement. The injury to start the year; the June return and subsequent shellacking, resulting in a trip down to the minors; the August call-up and subsequent shellacking. It was all capped off by his recent starts in New York and Boston (wasn't there a way to work Matusz in so that he wasn't facing two of the majors' best offenses on the road?) in which he didn't get out of the second inning in either start and allowed...

There's a lesson I learned while I was kid watching ballgames at Wrigley Field: Get there early and stay until it's over - no matter what. That lesson tried my patience for years. Non-baseball fans would ask me, "Why watch such a boring game, especially if the team you're watching isn't making a run for a playoff spot?" Years later, watching baseball in Washington, I know why getting to a game early and staying until it's over (no matter what) makes sense. The game on the field is the...

This is just the way an Orioles fan probably envisioned it several weeks ago. Rick VandenHurk would not make it into the fourth inning. But Willie Eyre would come on to get the win. Pedro Strop would pitch a shutout eighth inning. Jim Johnson would get a save and, of course, Jo-Jo Reyes would pitch three key shutout innings. To top if off, Robert Andino would end Jonathan Papelbon's 22-inning scoreless streak and 25 straight saves run with a three-run double. To the off field. Yeah, that's...

The Boston Red Sox asked Jonathan Papelbon, a pitcher that had converted a career-best 25 straight save chances since May 13, to try and get a five-out save on Tuesday night against the Orioles. He couldn't do it. With Boston leading 5-4, Papelbon came in with two on and one out in the top of the eighth. He fanned Chris Davis for the second out, but Nolan Reimold's single to left loaded the bases. Robert Andino came up and the count went full. Andino then ripped a three-run double down the...