Nationals left-hander John Lannan (8-7, 4.61) is looking for his ninth win of the season as he takes to the mound tonight against the Houston Astros. If he can secure the victory tonight at Nats Park, it will mark the third consecutive campaign in which he has won nine games in a season for Washington. Lannan has experienced an incredible surge the last half of the season after struggling out of the blocks. Since August 6, Lannan has won six of eight starts and has struck out 19 batters...

I've had this discussion in the press box with a friend and fellow scribe on multiple occasions. OCJ touched on it in his most recent comment. The last month of the season usually brings pain and suffering. It's like jamming toothpicks underneath your fingernails, watching Sidney Ponson dress at his locker or taking the Saints -5 1/2 last night. (Who dat? The team that didn't cover for me. Nice defense, fellas. And don't be shy about punching it in from the 1.) So here we are, down to...

Since he gave up that three-run homer to A-Rod on Friday night, Koji Uehara has pitched scoreless innings vs. the Yankees and Red Sox, fanning five of six hitters. His split-finger pitch has returned. He threw several nasty ones Sunday vs. New York and it looked like he mixed in one or two in Monday's quick save vs. Boston. That's two innings, 21 pitches, 17 strikes and strikeouts vs. Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Curtis Granderson, J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek. For a while it looked to me...

Ty Wigginton and Luke Scott, who teamed up to get the Orioles a win over the Yankees in the 11th inning on Sunday, combined for three RBI tonight as the O's beat Boston 4-2 in game one of a three-game series. Wigginton drove in the run that ended Sunday's game and tonight gave the O's a 3-2 lead in the seventh with his 70th RBI of the year, his most since recording 79 in 2006 with Tampa. The Orioles have won seven of 10, 11 of 15 and 15 of their last 22 games. They are 12-3 in...

I guess that 38-pitch first inning didn't take too much out of left-hander Brian Matusz. Matusz blanked the Red Sox over the next four innings. He's allowed three hits, walked three and struck out four. Unfortunately, his pitch count is up to 102 because of that early workload and David Hernandez has replaced him. Matusz falls an inning short of a quality start. If you want to get under manager Buck Showalter's skin, suggest that a young pitcher is getting stronger as we approach the end...

When he needed 38 pitches in the first inning tonight, it pretty much insured that Brian Matusz would not get too deep into his start this evening at Fenway Park. But Matusz pitched well, allowing just three hits and one first-inning run over five innings. He threw 101 pitches, 61 for strikes. Matusz left with a 2-1 lead so he still has not lost a game since August 14 at Tampa. In his six starts since then, he is 4-0, 1.91. He could get a win tonight. If he does, it will be his ninth...

All three outs recorded by Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka in the first inning came on long fly balls into a strong wind. Ty Wigginton looked like he had a three-run homer, but the ball died near the wall in left-center field as Brian Roberts tagged up and took third base. Luke Scott followed with a drive to center field that scored Roberts and produced his 68th RBI. And Matt Wieters ended the inning by coming within a few feet of a home run to right field, former Oriole Darnell McDonald...

For the Orioles: 2B Brian Roberts RF Nick Markakis 1B Ty Wigginton DH Luke Scott C Matt Wieters CF Adam Jones LF Felix Pie SS Cesar Izturis 3B Josh Bell LHP Brian Matusz For the Red Sox: 2B Marco Scutaro RF Darnell Mcdonald 1B Victor Martinez 3B Adrian Beltre DH Mike Lowell SS Jed Lowrie LF Bill Hall C Jason Varitek CF Ryan Kalish RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka

Since B.J. Ryan allowed a three-run walk-off homer to David Ortiz on June 2, 2005, the Orioles are 10-36 at Fenway Park and have lost 17 of their last 20 on Yawkey Way. No way! The Orioles have not won consecutive games at Fenway Park since taking four in a row from Sept. 23, 2004 to May 30, 2005. In Brian Matusz's last five starts covering 28 innings, only 17 runners have reached second base - including seven in a Sept. 6 game in New York. He's 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA in those...

As the O's depart from the Yard for their last road trip of the 2010 season, we'll stick around Oriole Park a little longer here in the Orioles Buzz for another round of 'Where in the Yard?'. This week's image is something I've probably walked by a hundred times without noticing until I found myself on a hunt for more unique images from around the Birds' ballpark. So we'll see if you're more observant than I was... As always, take a look at the photo below and let us know what the...