It began April 6th with a one-run loss on the road vs. Tampa and ended this afternoon with a two-run, home loss vs. Detroit. In between, the Orioles did have some fun this season, especially since August 3rd. The Tigers beat the Orioles 4-2 in the regular season finale as the Orioles finish the 2010 season with a record of 66 and 96. Even in pitching well today and giving his team a quality start, Brad Bergesen gave up three runs, one more than the O's starters had given up in the first...

Today's attendance: 23,914. The season total of 1,733,019 in 80 dates is the lowest in Camden Yards history. The Orioles just gave up a critical run with two outs in the ninth inning when Brandon Snyder, inserted into the game at first base, failed to catch Robert Andino's throw, increasing the Tigers' lead to 4-2. Andino moved to shortstop after Corey Patterson pinch-hit for Cesar Izturis in the bottom of the eighth, and Ty Wigginton moved to second. I expected Julio Lugo to replace...

Cesar Izturis committed his ninth error today, bobbling Austin Jackson's ground ball leading off the top of the fourth inning. Jackson stole second, but held as Brad Bergesen retired the next two batters. Ryan Raburn followed with a grounder up the middle that looked like it would produce the Tigers' first run, but Izturis ranged far to his left to make the pickup, and his throw narrowly beat Raburn for the final out. Raburn is the only Detroit baserunner. Bergesen has thrown 42 pitches, 27...

My favorite Kangaroo-brand pita chips, homemade chocolate chip cookies... Many thanks. Now I'm really sad that the season is ending. Too bad Peter Schmuck isn't here today. I usually rely on him to eat the crumbs off my shirt. Third base umpire Jerry Crawford is working his last regular season game. He's retiring after the playoffs. Manager Buck Showalter took the lineup card to home plate, which is unusual after the first game of a series, because he wanted to honor...

Over the last few days, the O's players have been asked a lot about the team's strong finish under Buck Showalter and what it could mean for the club's future. Here are some player opinions. Nick Markakis: "It shows you what we have and what we're capable of doing. I've said all along we've got a great group of guys and we have great talent. It's just a matter of putting it together. When we put it together, we can play with anybody." Markakis on the 14-13 record vs. the AL East...

Robert Andino 2B Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Luke Scott DH Ty Wigginton 1B Felix Pie LF Matt Wieters C Josh Bell 3B Cesar Izturis SS Brad Bergesen RHP Longtime umpires attendant Ernie Tyler is resting comfortably at University of Maryland Medical Center after being diagnosed yesterday with a benign brain tumor. Tyler's son, Jimmy, the home clubhouse manager, joked that his father is "still running the place." Surgery is pending, but an exact date hasn't been set.

...The O's will: *Finish with a record of 67-95, topping last year's win total by three. *End the second-half of the season as they ended the first, with a four-game sweep. The O's won four straight at Texas from July 8-11 right before the All-Star game. *Have their seventh series sweep of the year of three or more games. *Finish the year with a .500 record combined at 36-36 in games vs. AL Central and Western division foes. *Finish the second-half with a winning record of 38-36. *End...

On a night when he had some of his best stuff of the season and produced a career-high nine strikeouts, Brian Matusz continued the O's starting pitching roll tonight in a 2-1 win over Detroit. He gave up just two hits and one run over six innings, throwing 100 pitches to finish his year at 10-12, 4.30. Over his final eight starts, the 23-year-old lefty went 6-0, 1.57 and tied his career-high with a six-game win streak. "All my pitches were working today. I was using them all in different...

Brian Matusz fell behind, 1-0, on Brandon Inge's home run in the second inning before clamping down on the Tigers and turning over the game to the bullpen after the sixth. Matusz went 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA in his last eight starts, allowing eight earned runs and 29 hits in 46 innings. "We've had two games in a row where a young starter gave up a home run early to go down and came back and pitched effectively, and that's impressive," manager Buck Showalter said. "I thought he was as crisp...

For the Orioles it was a case of another night and another outstanding performance from a starting pitcher. Brian Matusz had the honors on Saturday night, allowing just one run over six innings as the Orioles tamed the Tigers 2-1, in front of 35,332 at Camden Yards to take the first three games of this series. Matusz gave up just two hits and one was a solo homer by Brandon Inge in the 2nd. He improved to 10-12, 4.30 and won for the sixth time over his last eight starts. The O's three...