It's extra innings here at Ripken Stadium. In his fifth at bat, with a chance to win the game in the last of the ninth, Brandon Snyder flew out to center on a 2-1 pitch with runners on second and third and two out. The game is tied 5-5 heading to the top of the 10th. Snyder's solo homer in the last of the 8th had tied this game at 5-5. He is 2 for 5 with two RBI tonight as he begins what is expected to be a three-game injury rehab assignment with the IronBirds. Catcher Joe Oliveira,...

In his fourth at bat tonight at Aberdeen, Brandon Snyder homered to left field to tie this game 5-5 in the last of the eighth. Leading off the inning, Snyder ripped a 1-1 pitch from Tri-City reliever Brandt Walker over the fence near the visiting team clubhouse to knot the contest. It's his sixth homer of the year counting five earlier at Triple-A Norfolk. Snyder is now 2 for 4 tonight with a double and homer in his first game at Aberdeen since August 2, 2006. This was his first Aberdeen...

It happened at Double-A Bowie, too. Joel Guzman, Joe Mahoney and Brandon Waring homered in succession in the fourth inning at Prince George's Stadium. Has such a thing ever occurred at two levels of the same organization on the same night? Guzman hit his 20th, Mahoney his fourth and Waring his 17th. Unreal. Brian Roberts, serving as the designated hitter tonight, is 3-for-4 with a double and run scored. He's batting .556 with the Baysox. Steve Johnson has allowed two unearned runs and...

Brandon Snyder grounded into a 5-4-3 double play on a 2-2 pitch in his third at bat for Aberdeen tonight. That ended the fifth inning with the IronBirds leading 4-2 vs. Tri-City, a Houston affiliate. Earlier in this game, Snyder doubled to deep center in the first and he had an RBI groundout to short in the third inning. This is Snyder's first game with Aberdeen since August 2, 2006. Meanwhile, Aberdeen's starter, righty Scott Copeland, this year's 21st-round draft pick, has allowed two...

In his second at bat tonight in Aberdeen, Brandon Snyder drove in a run with an RBI groundout to short. He came up with Austin Knight on third and one out in the last of the third. Snyder's hard hit ball to short, with the infield playing back, plated the run for a 3-1 Aberdeen lead. Micheal Rooney led off the frame with an infield single and Knight then tripled to deep center for a 2-1 lead, before Snyder batted. Snyder is now 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI and Aberdeen leads 3-1 after...

Three straight Orioles homered in the second inning, the first time it's happened in 15 years. Luke Scott led off the inning with a 352 foot shot off Rays starter Matt Garza. He rounded the bases carefully, making sure his hamstring held up. Up stepped Ty Wigginton, who launched a ball 382 feet. Up stepped Adam Jones, who beat them all with a 408-foot shot. Scott Moore grounded to second and was booed. That's the first time the Orioles have hit back-to-back-to-back homers since Jeff...

Orioles starter Jake Arrieta picked off Tampa Bay left fielder Carl Crawford in the first inning. If given the choice, Crawford wouldn't have picked this particular method. Arrieta's throw nailed Crawford in the, um, protective cup. And I mean flush. Crawford collapsed to the ground, no longer worried about keeping his foot on the bag. Ty Wigginton applied the tag, and Rays first base coach George Hendrick frantically motioned for the head athletic trainer to come out of the...

In his first at bat tonight with the IronBirds, Brandon Snyder hit a booming double to deep center field. Batting against Tri-City right-hander Bobby Doran, Houston's fourth-round pick last month, Snyder ripped a 2-1 pitch out near the warning track in center for an easy double. It was his first game at bat since June 17 while with Norfolk. Snyder, batting third and playing at first base, came up after Trent Mummey struck out and Austin Knight lined out. Snyder scored on a Kipp Schutz RBI...

The Orioles today announced that they have optioned RHP Chris Tillman to Triple-A Norfolk. Tillman, 22, is 1-4 with a 7.92 ERA (25.0IP, 22ER) in six starts with the Orioles this season. He made two starts after being recalled for the second time this season on July 10, going 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA (10.0IP, 8ER), including a victory in which he pitched a career-high 7.1 innings on July 10 at Texas. A corresponding roster move will be announced prior to tomorrow's game against Tampa Bay.

Well, that didn't take long. The Orioles just optioned pitcher Chris Tillman to Triple-A Norfolk. A corresponding move will be announced tomorrow. I'm heading down to the clubhouse. More to come. Here it is: Kevin Millwood will be activated tomorrow and start on Thursday. Tillman wasn't available for an interview, but I joined The Sun's Jeff Zrebiec in interim manager Juan Samuel's office. "Tillman isn't going to pitch for five days, so why not do it now and get him on his way?"...