>> gary: great play. big out. >> jim: he's not their regular shortstop. he's their utility guy. >> gary: on a lot of ball clubs if you had a good hitting offense, cora can be your every day shortstop. >> jim: he hits left-handed pitching being left-handed. i think you'd like to have him maybe be a switch hitter, but didn't matter. he knows, he really knows his identity. he knows he has to play well defensively, he knows he has to not overswing. >> gary: looks like we'll get another pitching change here. jerry manuel is on his way out again with reimold coming up. feliciano the left-hander on the mound. he doesn't want that match-up. they'll go to the bullpen yet one more time. ?

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>> gary: let's look forward tomorrow's pitching match-up. livan hernandez, opponents have gotten hits off him with that .295 average. jason berken, will make his fifth start. they will go against one another. >> the rookie and the veteran. livan said one year in the american league, i wanted to

come back here. he's given them a lot of innings. brian stokes, pretty good numbers. he's only been scored on in three of his 22 appearances. that's what you need right here to try to slam the door and come back against the orioles bullpen. >> gary: nolan reimold with a runner at first and two down. reimold will pop the first pitch up behind the mound. shortstop wants it. cora will put it away. éa,

>> gary: time to text in your vote for the at&t player of the game. here are your choices for tonight. text in your vote, a, b, or c. jim johnson on the mound, the benefactor of the run scored, right now he's the pitcher of record. as uehara again will be nondecision. bass a third of an inning. mark hendrickson came on and had a walk in 2/3 of an inning. now jim johnson.

gary sheffield is home run came in the sixth, 8th of the year. does have a couple of runs scored in the ballgame. down low to him. not what johnson wanted to do. >> jim: he started him off with a curveball. maybe 20% all year long. sometimes it's a mystery. but if you're throwing 98 and you're commanding your fastball, it's already to throw the breaking ball. do it when you're ahead. >> gary: that ball on the outside corner. >> jim: when i pitched for earl weaver with a two-run lead, he would make it very clear. >> gary: perhaps you'd like to use the language. 3-2 delivery. he rifles that one no the seats. >> jim: at the end of the day,

jimmy johnson, his sinker is his best pitch. if you're going to have to trick gary sheffield with a two- run lead, you're going to have some problems. i don't mean throw it down the middle. let it sink, get a ground ball, anticipating sheffield is going to pull the ball. >> gary: he goes right up the middle and has a base hit off the end of the bat. so gary sheffield gets on to lead off the 8th and the mets who have hung with it tonight, they've never had the lead in the ballgame, but they have come back to tie this game up repeatedly. now they've got the potential tying run at the plate in murphy with nobody out. >> jim: if you're a sinker baller, you don't want to hang around the belt. that's where this ball ends up. so is there a better, i know there's not a better 40-year- old high ball hitter, but he got on top of this ball. it's almost like he's always

chopping wood. >> gary: murphy has had a big night already. he's picked up an rbi and he's scored a run. daniel murphy now hitting at .247. he's trying to keep his job at first base. tries to convince the organization to they don't need to go out and make a trade for somebody the likes of aubrey huff. instead, use what they've got, murphy and tatis, and it was made rather clear that this three game set was going to be important in helping that decision along for the g.m. and the manager of the mets. >> jim: and he had a nice game last night. he had a sacrifice fly. really battled him. finally hit a line drive into right field for a sacrifice fly. you're two -- your two

righties. both of them are just a little out of sync so far. >> gary: so far. murphy, and the reason we tell you that, because bass came in with the orioles with a 4-2 lead and surrendered it. >> gary: looks fastball, gets it. takes it to left field. reimold meanders over and puts it away. so murphy retired as johnson comes back to get him. >> jim: the one thing you're to the going oh get from daniel murphy is a home run guy like delgado. >> gary: a lot of work if he can do that consistently. >> jim: because the mets come in, they're 6th in runs scored in the national league, but they're first in average, first in stolen bases. 14th in home runs out of 16 teams. you get the message. >> gary: on base percentage, moves people around. national league baseball. here's brian schneider. schneider has singled, rbi and

a sac fly and he's grounded out. another ballgame in which the offenses have taken charge. 10 runs, 21 hits and 14 runners left on base so far in the game. that will miss inside. it will go 1-1 on schneider. it's been true for this ball club, the mets all year, 75% of their runs come on something other than homers. tonight they've had the home run from sheffield for one of them. but the other three have been, this a ground out. jim johnson working his second inning, a very effective 7th as he set is the side down in order and in a hurry.

and went after it and missed it. two down. >> jim: good sinkatory a low ball hitter. gets him to chase. it's 89 miles per hour. most guys, the ball goes straight down. thoon last road trip out west, jim johnson, we talked about the percentage on the curveball is not where he'd like. starting to throw the change-up and it was very effective. >> gary: now luis castillo with a runner at first. comes at him with a fastball and gets it in there for a strike. trying oh get the order turned over. more importantly to get sheffield moved up and get a couple on base here. ground ball to short, force at second base. 

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>> gary: good ballgam rocks along here as we go to the bottom half of the 8th inning. brian stokes will stay on. stokes now will work to wieters, andino and roberts. matt wieters, his first major league home run second inning, two rbi's. he's walked and flied to center field. wieters takes that one to center field as well. that one got in on the hands. >> jim: the line drive to center, then got him jammed a little bit. the guy you said may even hit .400, he just did the same. he just popped up to center field. wieters and mauer. stokes actually quite a story. tommy john back in 2003. they picked him up for cash consideration. with an e.r.a. over 7 runs a game for tampa

bay. before they started winning. that was back in 2007. last year as we look at the orioles closer george sherrill getting ready to protect this two-run lead, then last year stokes pitched down at their triple-a affiliate, and had a terrific year. >> gary: he earned himself a spot in this bullpen. andino has had an 0 for 3 in the ballgame. batting at .241 now in the ballgame. that was big home run by huff. that one shot up the middle, andino is on. he's got a one out single here in the 8th. both teams have 11 hits in the ballgame. >> jim: a little page right out of gary sheffield's book right

there. >> gary: the top of the order, brian roberts. brian still looking for his first hit against the mets. he's had an 0 for 4 in this game, 0 for 9 in the first two. orioles love to get something here in the bottom of the 8th to increase that 6-4 lead. stokes however would like to get a new baseball first. stokes's 23rd appearance. opponents hitting .284 off him on the year. he's pitched with base runners on. andino back into the bag. >> jim: this mets bullpen reminds me of what davey johnson used to say. we had benitez and myers to

finish the game. he said it's one of those national league bullpens, everybody throws in the mid 90s. >> gary: comes in, strikes people out. roberts taking. it is a strike on the outside corner from stokes. the orioles trying to set up the rubber match for tomorrow night's game. they can get the victory here after losing last night by a 6- 4 score. they have a 6-4 lead here in game two. way outside, down to second base goes andino with one away. >> jim: you want to make it easier for george sherrill. get on those tack on runs. right here, a little bit breaking ball down and in. you could see the slide step. maybe anticipating that andino was going to steal a base. didn't need to. >> gary: stokes's first wild pitch of the season puts andino

into scoring position for brian roberts. >> jim: it insures unless brian roberts lines into a double play that we'll see mr. bobblehead another time. >> gary: mr. jones. roberts takes it away. and it will go to 2-1. this has been a ballgame with the pitchers have really had to work at it. there have just been runners all over the place in this game. all but two innings the mets have had people on. the orioles all but one. that will even the count up at two balls, two strikes. the orioles, if they can win this one will be 4-4 in the home stand and give themselves a chance at a winning home stand tomorrow. cora, the shortstop, trying to hold him a bit, but not real

tight. roberts fights it off. >> jim: we think of brian as a guy that steals bases, a switch hitter, but he's, there it is, rsvp, the -- all right, risp, over .300. that's better than his .293 batting average. >> gary: brian has had great luck in interleague play. this is his 142nd interleague game. he and aubrey huff have exactly the same number. melvin mora is the orioles leader with 161 interleague contests.

big battle here. stokes, the long look. down to first and fouled off again. >> jim: i think it's a chance. with a did dave trembley say, he said anything that's going promote the game and all that. but when i used to pitch spring training games in the national league, when you played a national league team, you wanted to let them know that you were talented, that you were going to be at your best. i think the same thing applies when you play during the regular season. it's the american league against the national league. >> gary: he takes that one to right center field. hauled in, runner tagging, beltran's throw will come into second base. so roberts retired on the long fly ball out. andino will move over to third and there are two down here in the 8th inning. there's the bobblehead given away to the first 25,000 that were in the ballpark here

tonight. a great collector's item. he'll get one more shot at it here. he started the day 7th in average in the league. there are some of those bobbleheads that will be taken home as souvenirs tonight. >> jim: if you can blow bubbles when you're hitting, when you're running the bases, you're not uptight. that's the way you want to play the game. >> gary: he does that. >> jim: they tell you if you throw the ball, don't put a death grip on it. blowing bubbles, maybe that's adam's way of relaxing. it's worked so far this year. >> gary: sure has. he's got a three-game hit streak. a walk and a run scored. that will even up the count on

the foul ball. >> jim: there's been a tendency just to chase a few pitches out of the zone. if you take that pitch, you're going to be hitting 2-0. if you swing at it, it's 1-1. >> gary: andino off third base. grounded to third. wright tosses it over in time to get the out. 

>> gary: gary thorne, jim palmer, amber theoharis as the orioles and mets go to the ninth. each team with 11, but the orioles have the lead. that will bring the closer on in the save situation. george sherrill. >> jim: he's been awfully good. changed his windup. better arm angle. more direct. fastball, curveball guy. one earned run in his last 14 games. 12 out of 14 when it comes to saving games.

george wants to get them out. >> gary: jim johnson with the chance to be a winner looking to even his mark at 3-3. pedro feliciano on the other side could suffer the loss in this ballgame. feliciano would go 2-2. but there are three outs to be had, and the top of the order. cora leads it off against sherrill. he has delivered a single, reached on a walk, lined out and struck out in the ballgame. >> jim: george just lights out against lefties, but tatis who came in for martinez right- handed on deck, then beltran, then wright. that's why they want to get somebody on. >> gary: cora's got that big average against left-handers at .333. one ball one strike count. and cora will work sherrill, 1- 1 deep into the count if he

can. and he goes to 2-1. >> jim: the one thing george sherrill has been much better this year is command. walks were a problem last year. 23 strikeouts, so almost one per inning. >> gary: cora will go to left. reimold coming and not quite. it was in the seats and he was almost there with it. george sherrill has made things interesting in many of the save situations this year with people ending up on base with a base hit or something to start it. then he's found a way to get it done. >> jim: don't you think a little bit over the last maybe 10 saves, a little less dramatic? >> gary: much less dramatic. >> jim: of course that's not to say that that won't be the case

tonight. i call him mr. excitement, he just laughs. >> gary: another attitude you've got to have if that's going to be your job. and got it in, fouled it away. >> jim: that's the deception we were talking about. he used to have to swing his leg to get closed like that. they decided you swing it back, you swing it forward and the arm gets down, so not as much stuff, not as much command. >> gary: again. >> jim: he's going to throw every ball pretty much to the middle of the plate and hope that cora has to put a swing on the ball. last thing he wants to do is the base on balls. >> gary: cora very tough to strike out. >> jim: seems like every at-bat tonight has been six or seven

pitches. >> gary: loops that one to left right where reimold is playing. got him. one down. ninth inning. >> jim: so they're going with the bonus boy. >> gary: so far. >> jim: that's what they used to call. >> gary: don't hear that term anymore. that used to be a common term. >> jim: now since the millionaire. >> gary: or multi. >> jim: the first time i ever warmed up for instructional league, they taught me, used to throw, he looked at me and he says, you can always tell the bonus boys, they never want to throw 60 feet. that's all it took.

>> gary: fernando tatis has had one at-bat. tatis hit into a double play as he pinch-hit for martinez in the sixth inning. >> jim: that was after base on -- bases loaded walk, and hendrickson made a great pitch. >> gary: got him on the inside corner raising his arms. >> jim: hit it right back up the middle. cora at first, andino almost side armed him right in the forehead. made him get down and they turned the double play. >> gary: tatis down to third, fair ball, it went over the bag. he'll go to second base. reimold over to play it, touched by a fan, it will be a double. so tatis delivers. that will allow the mets to get the potential tying run