No sweep:  Tigers score 5 in the 8th to beat the Birds
No sweep: Tigers score 5 in the 8th to beat the Birds
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Just like on Wednesday at New York, the Orioles came within a few outs of sweeping a series, but could not get it today at Comerica Park. Miguel Cabrera's three-run double off David Hernandez in the last of the 8th gave Detroit the lead as the Tigers beat the Birds 6-2 this afternoon as the Orioles wasted a very strong start by Chris Tillman. Detroit came up in the inning down 2-1, but Will Rhymes singled and Ryan Raburn doubled to left vs. Mike Gonzalez putting runners on second and...
Pitchers duel in Detroit
Pitchers duel in Detroit
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Maybe I am watching this game through Orange and Black glasses, but I thought Chris Tillman was squeezed on some pitches early in this game today by home plate ump Derryl Cousins while Justin Verlander was not. Verlander blanked the O's through four, but they just scored two in the 5th to take a 2-1 lead. Jake Fox scored Felix Pie with a triple to right center and later scored on a wild pitch. It was the first career triple for Fox, who now has a double, triple and homer in this...
Riggleman pleased with progress on defense
Riggleman pleased with progress on defense
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Danny Espinosa makes a diving stop towards the second base then gets up and throws the runner out, saving potentially two more runs and keeping the Nats in game. Ryan Zimmerman grabs a hot shot out of the air and throws to first to get the hitter. Adam Dunn quickly fires back across the mound to the shortstop who nabs the runner at third trying to take an extra base for a unique 5-3-6 double play. These may have been plays that would not have been made when the team was struggling to...
Desmond to lead off Sunday's finale; Espinosa day off
Desmond to lead off Sunday's finale; Espinosa day off
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Manager Jim Riggleman shuffled the top of the lineup for Sunday's final game of the season against the Florida Marlins, placing Ian Desmond in the lead off spot and Adam Kennedy batting second. Riggleman said, "I am not going to play (Danny) Espinosa today. I am going to get Adam Kennedy some at bats. He has been sitting for a few days. I would like to get him some at bats. Espinosa has been leading off. "I know eventually we are not going to have Nyjer (Morgan) so I would like to...
Potomac advances to league finals
Potomac advances to league finals
Byron Kerr
Nationals
The Potomac Nationals have advanced to the Carolina League championship series which begins tomorrow in Winston-Salem. It is the second time in the past three seasons the team have reached the Mills Cup Championship. The franchise is going for their fourth league title. The P-Nats defeated Frederick 10-3 in Woodbridge to win the series 3-1. Bill Rhinehart went 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI, while Nick Moresi, Chris Curran and Tyler Moore each added a pair of RBI and Marcos Frias went five...
Snyder gets first start
Snyder gets first start
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Brian Roberts 2B Ty Wigginton 3B Nick Markakis RF Luke Scott DH Adam Jones CF Felix Pie LF Jake Fox C Robert Andino SS Brandon Snyder 1B Chris Tillman RHP Snyder gets his first start against Justin Verlander. Best of luck. Josh Bell is out of the lineup after taking a shot off his bare hand at third base last night that turned into a 5-6-3 putout.
Tigers lineup
Tigers lineup
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Still waiting for the Orioles lineup. In the meantime... For the Tigers: 2B Will Rhymes RF Ryan Raburn LF Don Kelly 1B Miguel Cabrera SS Jhonny Peralta DH Brennan Boesch 3B Brandon Inge CF Casper Wells C Alex Avila RHP Justin Verlander
Hoping to break out the brooms
Hoping to break out the brooms
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The Orioles picked up their first series win at Comerica Park since August 5-7, 2008 and have won back-to-back games at the ballpark for the first time since June 4-5, 2005. So far, so good. The Orioles are looking for their first sweep in Detroit since May 28-30, 2004. They've won 11 of their last 17 road games after winning 14 of their first 54. Last night's victory assured them of a winning record on this road trip. The Orioles went 4-2 on their last trip, marking the first time...
Riding the Koji train
Riding the Koji train
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Buck Showalter certainly has his ticket punched. He has used Koji in six of the last seven games and 10 of the past 16. Uehara has saved nine of the last 12 Orioles wins. He is two outs away from being 10 for 10 in save chances. Perhaps more surprising than his success, is how he does it. By pumping seemingly nothing other than 88 mile per hour fastballs that look pretty straight on a TV monitor. What is Koji's secret? His 88 MPH fastball seems to produce hitter's swings as if they are...
Guthrie pitches the O's past Detroit, 5-3
Guthrie pitches the O's past Detroit, 5-3
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Jeremy Guthrie continued his second-half pitching success tonight. Max Scherzer kept his going, for a while. The O's finally broke through with a four-run 6th to give Guthrie the lead and eventual 5-3 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park on Saturday night. Down 4-0, the Tigers pulled within one, scoring three in the 8th vs. Matt Albers. Felix Pie came up with a big RBI single in the ninth for an insurance run as he went 3 for 5 with two RBI. Adam Jones went 4 for 4 with a double and run...