I sense that on the wall in his office near the O's clubhouse, Buck Showalter has these items on his to do list. -Win more than we lose - Check -Motivate players - Check -Get solid starting pitching - Check -Convince Matt Wieters he's good - Check -Use Koji in the ninth, but don't call him closer - Check -Take in some minor league games - Check -Find some nuggets - Working on it, partial check -Remind the players to stop giving the other team too much credit - Check -Have my own T-shirt...

I began listening to the game on 105.7 The Fan on my ride home from Ocean Pines with the Orioles leading, 2-1. Manager Buck Showalter had pushed the right buttons again. He started Jake Fox behind the plate, and Fox delivered an RBI triple and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. He started Robert Andino at shortstop, and Andino singled. The easy part was handing Chris Tillman the ball. Tillman held the Tigers to one run and one hit over 6 2/3 innings, but those six walks jacked up his...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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

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...