With the game on the line in the last of the 10th Sunday, the Orioles had their home run and RBI leader at the plate vs. Jonathan Papelbon. Not Nick Markakis, or Matt Wieters or even Miguel Tejada. It was Ty Wigginton at the plate and a Papelbon error had moved Markakis, who drew a leadoff walk, to second base. Ty Wigginton gets a pie in the face after his walk-off hit in the O's 3-2 win Two innings earlier, manager Dave Trembley had Wigginton drop a sac bunt. He said he did not expect to...

Manager Dave Trembley knew the Orioles were going to win today. We'll have to take his word for it, since he didn't write it down earlier or record his thoughts. "Sometimes, you come to the ballpark and you don't know what you're going to get," he said after a 3-2, 10-inning victory over Boston. "Today, when I walked through the clubhouse, I felt like we were going to win. I really felt like we were going to win. And I like what I saw today out there." Dave Trembley talks with the...

How do you like them apples? Ty Wigginton wasn't bunting in the 10th inning. Nick Markakis walked to conclude an outstanding at-bat and took second on an errant pickoff throw from Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon, and Wigginton kept swinging and kept fouling off pitches until he lined a double into left-center field to give the Orioles a 3-2 victory. That's an unearned run, if you're scoring at home. The Orioles have swept the Red Sox in a home three-game series for the first time since...

Ty Wigginton, who has been getting big hits throughout the season for the Orioles, drilled an 0-2 pitch deep to center field for a game-winning RBI double in the the last of the tenth as the Orioles beat Boston 3-2 today. The O's have their first three-game home sweep of the Red Sox since 1974. They also beat nemesis Jonathan Papelbon. He entered today with a career 0.87 ERA vs. the Orioles, the lowest for any pitcher with 30 or more innings against the O's. The Birds have now won five of...

Here we go again. Everyone in the press box expected manager Dave Trembley to bring Matt Albers into the game with two outs, a runner on first and Adrian Beltre stepping to the plate in the top of the ninth. I said, "Let Will Ohman pitch. Stop passing the baton." But I'm not sure I really believed it. I just wanted to be the contrarian. I do know that Ohman has retired a few righties in his day - including Mike Lowell, who struck out after J.D. Drew's leadoff single. Trembley stepped...

Each game brings another friendly debate in the press box. That's part of the fun. Did manager Dave Trembley stay too long with Kevin Millwood? I say no. Should a right-hander have been warming in the bullpen alongside lefty Will Ohman? I say yes. Millwood gave up a two-out single to Dustin Pedroia that could have given Boston the lead - except Red Sox manager Terry Francona didn't pinch-run for catcher Jason Varitek, who would lose a race to a snail, though it might bring a photo...

Today's attendance: 34,255. I remember going on O's Xtra last summer and proclaiming Luke Scott the Orioles' first-half MVP. No question in my mind. So what the heck happened? Am I a distant relative of the SI cover? Scott has bounced to the mound and struck out twice today against Red Sox starter Josh Beckett. His average is down to .189, with a .268 on-base percentage and .378 slugging percentage. Here's the real concern: Scott is batting .203 (59-for-290) since the All-Star break....

I find it amazing, but the Orioles last three-game sweep over the Red Sox in Baltimore, was from September 2-4, 1974. Now the O's last swept four from Boston at home in July of 1998. But the last three-game home sweep came during the 1974 season when the O's had Al Bumbry and Rich Coggins at the top of the lineup. Here is something also pretty amazing. That three-game sweep in 1974 came via three consecutive, complete-game shutouts. In game one of a doubleheader on Monday, September 2,...

The Orioles loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth inning, but Luke Scott struck out on three pitches and Nolan Reimold bounced to third. We've seen this act before. Turns out, the rally didn't go to waste. Adrian Beltre fielded the ball and looked to tag Ty Wigginton and possibly throw to first, but Wiggy slammed on the brakes. Beltre froze up and eventually took the out at third, after much internal deliberation, as NicK Markakis scored. I was waiting for Beltre to call time and use...

Manager Dave Trembley was prepared to live without Brian Roberts as his second baseman once president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told him "it was no longer days, it was going to be weeks." That meant finding a new second baseman and leadoff hitter. Just not the same person. Ty Wigginton remains at second, and there's no reason to move him, considering he began today batting .324 with eight homers, 14 RBIs and a .721 slugging percentage. And Trembley seems intent on keeping Adam...