The Maryland Sports Blog

Baltimore Orioles first basemen, Ty Wigginton, exploded after an obvious blown call by first base umpire, Gary Darling. The play involved Twins shortstop J.J. Hardy and his fingers and arms being tagged out before reaching first base.

Wigginton’s reaction signaled a failed call by the umpire. Sunflower seeds sprouted out of Wigginton’s mouth and a ball was nonchalantly tossed into the crowd after Ty was corralled by his manager. It appeared Wigginton had experience at being thrown out be the was it was so perfectly executed. In a game a few years back, in which I had seats behind third base, I remember Ty being thrown out right in front of me, while his Tampa Bay hat was tossed into the stands.

Later in the game, pitching coach, Rick Kranitz and manager, Juan Samuel followed their All-Star into the clubhouse after being ejected one by one. Samuel tried to match Wigginton’s intensity, and without a doubt he did.

It was very entertaining game to watch. The Orioles may have been shut out but we were treated to fireworks of another kind.

Thanks to Harry Hammel for editing this post.

The Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays battled back and forth for nearly five hours on Tuesday night, but it was the O’s that ended up on top with an 11-10 victory in 13 innings at Camden Yards.

The Birds jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with three consecutive solo home runs in the second inning…after Luke Scott got things started, Ty Wigginton and Adam Jones followed with blasts that put the O’s on the board and brought the crowd to its feet. It was the first time the Orioles had hit back-to-back-to-back homers since 1995. Scott connected for another round-tripper in the third inning.

Tampa Bay hit solo home runs off starter Jake Arrieta in both the third and fourth innings, and with the O’s ahead 4-2, all six runs had come from solo shots…Tampa Bay added another run on the eighth inning on yet another solo homer. Strangely enough, all seven long balls hit on Tuesday night came with the bases empty…

The two teams battled back and forth over the later innings…the O’s lost the early lead in the sixth inning but continued to keep the game close with timely hitting. Down 9-7 heading into the ninth, Miguel Tejada connected for his second two-run double of the night, knotting the game at nine and sending it into extra innings.

After the Rays scored a run in the top of the 12th, the Orioles answered right back with a run to keep the game alive. Koji Uehara shut down Tampa in the 13th and picked up his first win after the Birds methodically took down Lance Cormier (remember him?) in the bottom of the inning…

Cesar Izturis led-off with a walk, and Felix Pie advanced him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Julio Lugo, who had entered the game in the ninth as a pinch-runner for Tejada, slapped a single to right field to score Izturis and give the O’s a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

With the win, the Birds are now 30-63 for the season and have won their first game of the second half. After playing until almost midnight, both teams will take the field early Wednesday afternoon for the series finale. Brad Bergesen gets the start for the O’s…

Adam Jones- The power has been there but sometimes he looks like a catcher playing center field. He has regressed in the field and has not improved at the plate. He swings at too many balls to be elite. Grade: D+

Nick Markakis- Markakis has done everything he can for this team. The home run numbers have dropped but he is still hitting doubles and has a career high in batting average. Grade: B+

Corey Patterson- Who would’ve thought Patterson would be intentionally walked so the pitcher could face Miguel Tejada; this happened against the Texas Rangers several nights ago. Patterson has provided more than a spark, he has been one of the best hitters for the Orioles. Grade: A

Ty Wigginton- Ty might’ve been the lone Orioles All-Star, but his offense has dropped since the start of the season. He has been a great team player for the Orioles and provided power. Grade: B

Luke Scott- Stats-wise, Luke may be hitting well, but he does not always show good plate discipline. He is a veteran that should know what pitches to swing at and in what counts. Striking out after getting a 3-0 count makes it hard to give Scott a high grade. Grade: C

Matt Wieters- His defense has been great but his offensive numbers have dropped from last year. He started off the season well so maybe his offensive struggles are from wear-and-tear. Grade: C

Cesar Izturis- He gets a higher grade than some players that have higher offensive numbers because his job is to play good defense. His bat has been better than I expected and he has had to work with a lot a variety of second basemen. Grade: C+

Miguel Tejada- Miggy’s defense has been terrible and his offense has not been consistent. Not the player he used to be. Grade: C

Nolan Reimold- This one hurts, I almost want to give him a pass with all the things that have been going on with him. Grade: F

Felix Pie- He would be getting a solid A+ if he could stay healthy. Grade: B

Kevin Millwood- He started off the season pitching great, but was let down his teammates lack of run support. Who knows, his inability to secure a win early on might have worn on him. With that being said, he has been good at eating up innings. Grade: C+

Craig Tatum- For a backup catcher Tatum has done everything anyone could ask of him. Grade: B+

Jeremy Guthrie- He has pitched better than I thought he would and like all the other Orioles pitchers has had little run support. Grade: C+

Brian Matusz- Again, in what seems like a recurring theme: has had very little run support. Matusz has had his ups and down but for the most part, he has been average to above average. Grade: C+

Jason Berken- Is there a higher grade than A+? I’ll admit it, I wrote this guy off last year after getting rocked as a starter. Without a doubt, he has found his niche in the bullpen. Grade: A++

David Hernandez- Much like Berken, he could not make it as a starter but has found a home in the bullpen. Grade: B

Alfredo Simon- For a starter to be thrown into the closer’s role right after Tommy John surgery, you can not ask for much more from Simon. Grade: B+

Chris Tillman- He showed huge improvement in his last start, taking a no hitter into the seventh inning against a vaunted Rangers offense. If this success continues in the second half, an A might in store for him. Grade: D+

Julio Lugo- This guy represents everything that is what is wrong with the Orioles. His attitude has got to change. Grade: F

Mark Hendrickson- In short, he is worse than last year. His responsibility is to be an innings eater and has failed to do so many times this season. Grade: D

Garrett Atkins- It pained me to even type his name. If it was a number rating it would be in the negatives. Power hitter that can not hit for power or average. Grade: Z

Matt Albers- If only he could pitch the way he eats. In all honesty, Fatt Alb…I mean Matt Albers has pitched better lately. Grade: E+

Brad Bergesen- Two freak injuries have really messed up his mechanics. What a shame. Grade: D

Jake Arrieta- He has had his struggles but has also shown great potential. Grade: B

Just kidding…we all still know who Cliff Lee is. But Chris Tillman and the O’s offense stole his thunder on Saturday night, as the Birds beat Texas for the third straight game, 6-1.

In Lee’s debut as a Texas Ranger, Tillman out-pitched his mound counterpart. Tillman took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and took the win, allowing one unearned run through 7 1/3 solid frames, walking one and fanning three.

The Birds welcomed Lee to Texas with home runs in three consecutive innings…Nick Markakis went deep in the fourth, Cesar Izturis blasted a solo shot (his first round-tripper of the season) in the fifth and Adam Jones hit a two-run bomb in the sixth inning to give the O’s a 5-0 lead. Jones’ 14th homer ties him with Ty Wigginton for most on the club this season…

Believe it or not, this marks the first time the Birds have won a road series all season! The two teams go at it again Sunday afternoon…Jake Arrieta takes the mound for the Orioles, who have a chance to sweep Texas before heading into the All-Star Break.

The Orioles overcame three errors and a four-run deficit to beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 on Thursday night.

Jeremy Guthrie was sloppy, allowing four runs and five walks over 4 2/3 innings, but the bullpen backed him up with 4 1/3 scoreless frames.

The offense slowly chipped away, and scored six unanswered runs in the final five innings. Scott Moore put the Birds on the board with a solo shot in the fifth, and Felix Pie launched a solo homer in the seventh.

Texas slowly unraveled in the top of the eight inning…Nick Markakis led-off and reached first on a fielding error before stealing second. Ty Wigginton singled to put runners on the corners before Adam Jones was plunked by a pitch on an 0-2 count to load the bases. The game was tied after Pie was hit by a pitch, and back-up catcher Craig Tatum drove in the go-ahead run with a walk. Julio Lugo singled with one out to give the Birds a 6-4 lead…

Let’s recap: two hits (both singles), a walk, an error and two batters hit by a pitch…sounds like the Birds got lucky, huh? I’ve seen it happen to us too many times before, so it was nice to see the “baseball gods” smile down on the O’s for a change…

While the offense chipped away, the bullpen was impressive, allowing just two hits and a walk through the final frames…David Hernandez (4-7) took the win, though he allowed both hits in relief. Alfredo Simon picked up his 11th save in 13 attempts.

The Birds look to make it two straight on Friday night…Brian Matusz takes the mound for the O’s.