It was the sixth inning last night at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury. The Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds trailed the Savannah Sand Gnats by a 2-1 score. Orioles 2010 first-round draft Manny Machado came up to bat. He had homered the last two nights. The count went to 3-0. Shorebirds broadcaster Bret Lasky then called the play-by-play for what happened next on 960 AM The Sports Animal. Machado hits tape-measure homer by smelewski Bret tells me that long-time followers of the Shorebirds say...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter and Terry Francona of the Red Sox seem to be taking different approaches with some hitters in their respective lineups these days. For instance, Showalter is staying the course with his hitters. Even though various players have struggled and slumped this year, most nights the Orioles' lineup has remained the same. Derrek Lee has batted third every game this year and the first four in the order - Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, Lee and Vlad Guerrero - have batted...

Over the past few months, fans and sports pundits have wondered whether or not Matt Wieters is a bust - despite the Orioles catcher only having played in the major leagues for less than two full seasons. I remember the Friday night of his major league debut like it was yesterday. It was a warm one in June 2009 and 42,000 fans jammed Oriole Park at Camden Yards to get a glimpse of a man who could potentially become the next Baltimore legend. We all cheered wildly for the young man. The...

I peg manager Jim Riggleman as a whiskey man. I don't base this off much of anything or know if he actually partakes in the American firewater, but let's pretend a little bit. He just looks and carries himself like a whiskey man: staunch, regal, a touch of book-smart intellect mixed with barroom pugilism. A lover and a fighter. It is the sort of thing you want in a baseball manager running a team of bosky greenhorns and slightly fossilized gray-hairs. I've always imagined Riggleman walking...

Jeremy Guthrie was the latest Orioles starter to put together a solid outing in a stretch where the club is getting some real solid starting pitching. In this series versus Boston, Guthrie and Zach Britton have combined to allow just one run over 12 innings. Over the last eight games, Orioles starters have posted seven quality starts and pitched to an ERA of 3.26. That has lowered the ERA for the starters on the year from 4.68 to 4.11. Four different pitchers have contributed to the run and...

I had to remind myself that the Orioles won last night. It felt a little bit like a loss after the Red Sox scored four runs in the top of the eighth. Fortunately, there also was a bottom of the eighth. This was the type of game that normally would have ended in defeat. We've lived it too many times over the last 13 seasons. But the Orioles are a feisty bunch, and that's one of my favorite qualities. Manager Buck Showalter brought a resume and attitude when he walked through the doors last...

The Nationals had worked their way into a chance to win it in the ninth inning on Wednesday. After scoring a run on a sacrifice fly by catcher Wilson Ramos, Washington led 3-2. Heading into the top of ninth inning, the Mets had hitters five, six and seven coming up next. The Nationals manager Jim Riggleman elected to give the ball to lefthander Sean Burnett to get three outs. Sean Burnett discusses his blown save with the media after the Nats' 6-3 loss New York had a different idea,...

So what does tonight's 5-4 win say about the Orioles? Let Luke Scott answer that one. "That we have a lot of heart," he said. "We've got to continue to play that way, as far as never give up, play the game nine innings hard, and at the end of the day if we're on top, great, let's celebrate, enjoy it for the night. If we don't, let's get ready for tomorrow. "You look around this clubhouse, these guys don't give up. There's a lot of heart on this team. We've taken our licks. We...

Manager Buck Showalter could be excused if he felt dizzy from riding that roller coaster in the eighth inning. The Orioles lead by four. The game is tied. The Orioles lead by one. The Orioles win by one. Showalter was impressed with the way his club handled the adversity. Buck Showalter meets with the media following the O's 5-4 victory over the Red Sox "I think it started a little bit with that extra-inning game against the Yankees," he said. "Our guys didn't panic and we saw some...

The Orioles lost the lead, but not the game. I feel bad for Jeremy Guthrie, who just can't seem to get a win, even when he doesn't give up a run. After losing a late 4-0 lead, the Orioles picked up the tiebreaking run on a Vladimir Guerrero RBI single to center in the last of the eighth to edge Boston 5-4 at Camden Yards. Guthrie pitched six scoreless innings tonight, left with a 4-0 lead and still did not win. What else can the guy do? Koji Uehara as closer talk could cool after he gave...