>> bob: some of the young men manny acta was able to visit with from boystown in our nation's capital. i feel like father flanagan with these two up here, jim palmer there, rob dibble. despite a lot of glitches by both pitchers, both are still in the game. >> jim p.: the score is similar to what it was going in the middle innings last night, then that eight-run inning the orioles were able to come up with. >> rob: this kind of performance, just what the doctor ordered. shairon martis going out throwing 90-mile an hour fastballs. shairon martis has the change- up and the fastball, keeping the orioles off balance. >> jim p.: you know this is a

game of adjustment. when martis pitched against the orioles, adam jones hit a home run in washington. he is better tonight than he was back then. i know he struggled, but that's what i think you want to see in a 22-year-old pitcher. are you better as the season progresses even though you're going to struggle. that's part of learning the game. that's what steve mccaddie who has come on as a pitching coach said. >> rob: you have to make mistakes on your own to learn at this level. we have so many guys, he's got less than 20 starts in the big leagues. he's still got to go out there not knowing these hitters so well. >> jim p.: brian roberts last night in a game the orioles win 11-1, went 0-4, tonight they've been able to keep him off the bases. >> bob: martis came in bottom of the fifth with right around 80 pitches, so this ballgame based on pitch counts will be decided by the bullpens eventually.

washington leads 3-1. fastball up and away, and there is alberto gonzalez. >> rob: well, just like we saw with melvin mora, athleticism. this is just a reaction, almost like a third baseman right here. this is a line shot off the bat going away from him. brian roberts hits towards the middle. he jumps up. all great timing right there by alberto gonzalez. we talked about this. defense really gives you confidence as a pitcher. >> bob: i don't think we can count that as an adam ball. >> rob: that's an adam rocket. >> bob: the kid can really play some short. he replaces cristian guzman as the shortstop tonight and guzman has had all kinds of problems this year going to his left of all places. not going into the hole, but going up the middle on balls. >> jim p.: if you're manny acta, you're saying, okay, we need to have more offense so we leave guzman in. unable to come up with it. you have to hurry, but you hope

that you help yourself defensively, but you still have guzman to help your offense. so, again, very tough play there. i know that he knew he had to hurry, just couldn't make the play. >> bob: it appeared that ball took a funny hop on him. >> rob: i think that's a hit. that's why he tried to rush it. i think the official scorer will know that is rookie out there at shortstop. >> bob: they have it as a base hit. >> rob: hey, i should be an official scorer. okay, maybe not. >> bob: shairon martis attacking nick markakis. throws him an 89-mile an hour fastball. a little bit outside for strike one. markakis is one for two on the night with a single back in the third inning. now with a guy on first though, a little different. martis in the stretch. >> bob: markakis having a good series with four hits. that ball driven to left, willingham is well in front of the track to put it away for

the second out. so martis finding a way here in the middle of the game to get outs. and getting them a whole lot quicker than he was earlier. >> rob: once you start showing them you have such a good change-up right there, he sped up the bat of markakis and he couldn't get around on an 89- mile an hour fastball, he flied out to left field. >> bob: and because the shift is on, it's a base hit, that gives the orioles runners at the corners. in a conventional defense, the defense is heading back to the dugout. >> jim p.: but they didn't really shift the shortstop over as far as they normally do when they put it on. if he's over a little bit more, you can see gonzalez can't get it, belliard can't get it. jones just doesn't even hesitate. it was a good pitch. did not hit it very hard. but he's able to find a hole. if you were with us last night, this is a much faster infield

than it was a couple months ago. orioles again leading the american league in hitting at home. one of the reasons. >> bob: big spot for reimold. last time up he was batting with a man at first and two outs. and he bounced into a fielder's choice. tying run at first base here for the o's in the fifth. >> rob: first pitch was a get me over slider that he missed. so he threw the get me over slider at 1-0. >> bob: and a high fly ball to left, willingham does not see it. he has no idea and the ball leaves the ballpark anyway. >> jim p.: it appeared that he had a home run swing. that's one thing he doesn't get

cheated. this kid, again, i haven't seen too many kids with under 100 at- bats make the kind of adjustments he's able to make. looks like a change-up. a perfect pitch to hit. >> rob: yeah, he threw three pitches the same speed right there. reimold makes the adjustment and just crushes that up into the very tough sky, but that was home run anyway. when came down. >> jim p.: this is a very short swing. looked like he had a home run swing. >> rob: i thought it was a home run. >> bob: maybe 345 or 350 where that ball went out. about halfway from the 333 to the 364 mark. josh willingham, even if he saw it and got back to the wall, it probably lie was too high for him to make any kind of play on it. >> rob: it's still hazy here. it's not even the black night sky and he lost it, but that ball was crushed. that is one strong kid.

>> bob: martis has given up two homers tonight, 11 on the year. he continues to get punished with the off-speed pitch. the orioles lead for the first time 4-3. >> rob: well, the location was awful, it was up. you throw three pitches the same speed, the hitters will adjust. they're painful lessons to watch, but for these kids when they get to 100 starts under their belt, they won't be doing this anymore. >> jim p.: it's the same as the change-up to ortiz. a lot more at-bats for david ortiz, but you speed up the bat. you keep away from the big part of the ballpark. >> rob: the one thing i told you last night that these young hitters maybe aren't realizing, situational baseball. what's this guy looking to do. he's looking to drive the ball. he's got a couple of outs in the inning. the one pitch i can't give him is let him get his arms

extended to hate home run. so you're either going to throw him fastballs or you're going to throw stuff down and away to him.  geico's been saving people money on car insurance for over 70 years.

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 >> bob: jeremy guthrie, 95 pitches, 58 strikes. he could now be the winning pitcher. he leaves as the pitcher of record, as brian bass replaces him with dunn, willingham and bard coming up top 6. >> jim p.: bass has got four pitches, he's got a change-up, curveball, slider, and a pretty good sinker. i tell you what, would you have predicted that guthrie would have lasted five. >> rob: the way he started the game? no. but he can thank ronny belliard for that in the first inning. >> bob: on a 3-2 pitch, a 6-4-3 double play ended that inning. washington got only two runs after having the bases loaded

and nobody out for three different hitters. so he's got a chance to be 6-7 if the bullpen can do the job. here's adam dunn who has walked, has an rbi and a fly ball to center. >> rob: i see a lot of guys wearing the mouth piece nowadays. i've seen more than just a handful of pitchers. is there a reason for that? >> jim p.: because you grind your teeth, and -- >> rob: i grind my teeth when i sleep, but i don't think i really need a mouth piece. >> jim p.: but i think it's, again, with the man dib lahr where you grind your teeth that causes tension and headaches and neck problems. which is why a lot of people wear mouth guards when they sleep. >> rob: my pitching coaches used to teach me breathing exercises it relax. >> jim p.: yeah, listen to your arts. we were talking between innings, catfish hunter used to -- he used to just lay his hat on the top of his head when he

was do his stride because if he jerked his head because he overthrew the hat would come off and he always kind of knew. earl weaver, he'd just run out and say, will you please relax? by the way, get somebody out. >> bob: 3-2 to dunn who has walked 58 times this year. >> jim p.: i think the one thing with brian bass, he drops his elbows so the ball doesn't sink. when he gets on top, he's got the good sinker. >> bob: adam dunn will take another walk. nationals have the lead-off man aboard. for our national fans, it's never been easier to take in a ballgame. back here tomorrow. on to florida for three on masn 2, then a short three-game home stand commences with the braves

coming in for the fourth of july weekend. that's a fastball inside to josh willingham. >> jim p.: of course brian bass, somebody walked up to him the other day, they said, do you think bass who has been very good when he's come in in games behind, do you think he pitches better when he's behind than when he has leads? i said, the numbers indicate that he is more relaxed when he's behind than when he's ahead, that's when he's struggled lately. but that's the one thing you have to battle as a reliever. until you change those numbers, you're going to be labeled. >> rob: you're going to be in a role. >> jim p.: exactly. but again, everything sinking down and n so you have to change your perspective of where your release point is. he's been real consistent about two, three inches off the inside corner. the pitching coach's father-in- law passed away so he will not be back until monday, and alan

works with him because he's the bullpen coach. the roving catching instructor is i think out in the bullpen. hey, wait a minute, remember when we started staying closed. otherwise everything gets side to side, the ball stays on the same plane, it doesn't sink, you can't throw strikes. >> rob: he's probably saying also, you shouldn't start nibbling in an 0-0 count. try to get the first pitch over for a strike, then maybe go to the nibbling. but right now he's trying to hit the corners with the first and second pitch and he's behind 2-0. >> bob: good point. adam dunn, willingham doesn't hit the ball the other way very much, so them holding the runner, the orioles, doesn't make much of a difference in this situation. he pull that is one down the line. fair ball into the corner, hitting near the 333 mark. dunn to third, willingham to second. and the nationals have the tying run at third base immediately here in the sixth.

>> jim p.: lead-off walk, then the 2-0 count to a guy that can pulverize the fastball. >> rob: and he gets it up and in instead of maybe down and in. check out the x-mo, 500 frames per second. shows you the bad location as gregg zaun goes up to try to catch it. josh was out on bereavement, his younger brother was killed in a car accident. >> jim p.: i read about that. that's a horrible story. >> rob: this kid has come back and been amazing. >> bob: he has more extra-base hits than singles now, doubles and home runs combined. here's josh bard. if you're manny acta, who would you rather have up in this situation than this switch hitting catcher. >> jim p.: it's a perfect hitting situation because of the 1-1 orioles lead. they're going to play the infield back. as matt albers will get loose again.

>> rob: i might even walk bard to get to belliard. >> bob: they might be about to do that, 2-0. >> rob: no, unintentional intentional walk here. you just pitch around him. i'm saying that because i've watched belliard for the last couple of months. he will not cut down on his swing. he's going it try to hate grand slam, and i'd rather trying to -- try to face a guy trying to hit a home run, than try to strike him out and get a double play. but bard has been on fire. >> jim p.: if you're dave trembley, you're saying, i've got a struggling pitcher, he's struggling enough, top of the sixth, i don't want to put somebody on because even if they get a base hit here, we'll only be a run down. so there's another way of looking at it. but i don't think it really matters the way brian bass is struggling. and that's pretty much where you've got to aim it. because you're trying to hit the corner, it's not.

it's the variable chance deviation. if you're throwing to the corner, it's a ball. >> rob: but you said his sinker is his out pitch, but you can't throw your out pitch on pitch number one. you have to get something over to get to your out pitch. >> bob: and bard out ahead of that one. the count goes full. >> rob: does he have a get me over four-seamer? can he three slider for strike one? >> jim p.: no, his best pitch is the fastball. he has a breaking ball. doesn't command it west i think the advanced scouts would say he's more of a sinker ball type guy or a running fastball. >> bob: bard will step out. he's 0 for 1 with an rbi walk tonight. hitting nearly .400 in june, with an on base average just under .480.

he stays with it. >> jim p.: with 0 or 1 outs, hitting .365 coming into this game, that's impressive. >> rob: it is. you can not try to pull that 93- mile an hour sinker. you're going to have to try to take that into left center. >> bob: nationals trying to answer immediately here, top 6. way outside, bases loaded, nobody out. ronnie belliard, 0-2. there's been one visit to the mount -- mound tonight, now the other. they're not showing much patience here with a quick hook in a one run game.

matt albers pitched a scoreless 8th giving up two hits and a walk last night. got out of it with strikeouts to dunn and dukes. it's on. - it's on. - oh, it's on, all right. - it's on. - it is totally on. jimmy, it's on. it's on. oh, yeah, it's on. pilot: affirmative, it's on.

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 >> bob: beautiful sky on a saturday night in baltimore as we near the end of june, on a gorgeous night. teams trading punches here in the middle innings. it will be ronnie belliard against matt albers with the bases loaded, nobody out. >> rob: can i do the honors? ronnie belliard, four for his last 37. in his last 19, now 20 games played. >> jim p.: so he's due. >> rob: you talked about austin kearns, all he had to do was get a base hit. he did. albers, an 0 for 2 belliard against him. of course the orioles are trying to cleep it close. the nationals are taking advantage. >> bob: that was good pitch to lay off for belliard who often first pitch swings, but tonight he's getting three or four at- bats, so maybe a little more patient. it was a 3-2 pitch earlier when he hit into the double play.

>> jim p.: that running fastball that matt had trouble with last night. so and you talked about it the one inning, two hits and base on balls. now you're back in the same situation where you're trying to make good pitches and you're not. you've got to aim for the middle of the plate and hope that that movement. he is a sinker baller with a curveball and a change-up. >> bob: belliard rips one at the third baseman, mora comes home and gets the force out. he was thinking double play, but he still got the lead runner. >> jim p.: i think that's because he doesn't catch it cleanly. >> rob: he may have hurt his leg. this is a shot right here coming up. threw see two running fastballs on the inner half, then 2-0 pitch. a little bit up in the zone. good pitch, he hits the ground ball which is what you're trying for. mora couldn't come up with it, but he goes to home for the force. still grabbing at that right knee. >> bob: that was a great angle on that replay.

you saw zaun with adam dunn coming, catching that ball on the plate, then getting out of dodge. >> jim p.: that was your brooks robinson impression where you make sure that it doesn't go by you. >> bob: here's kearns who has already driven in one run tonight. >> rob: it's not like you're rooting against ronnie belliard, it's just after his struggles, you'd like to see him try to make an adjustment. try to hit the ball the other way, try to hit the ball up the middle. >> jim p.: you know who he reminds me of, a guy now is in san francisco, juan uribe, who aired it out on every swing. over the course of a career, just doesn't work. >> rob: he did go to right and right center quite a bit. but he's upset he's not starting every day, he's not an every day player. you have to know your limitations. i talked to eric davis. >> bob: kearns to short, can the orioles turn it?

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 >> bob: we're back here, orioles lead 4-3 over the washington nationals. in the fifth inning, melvin

mora running towards the foul line in left field, sees reimold out of the corner of his eye. he just makes an amazing athletic play right here. he catches the ball over the shoulder. there you see it. unbelievable over the shoulder catch by melvin mora in the fifth inning. your coors light freeze cam. >> jim p.: you saw the smile on andino. and who is leading off. melvin mora against we'll cacal m ththk ttttle ol 17 yrs in tthe sw, s so n i thnk is jujulien. >> m p.p.: i membmber en hehe ar eaed run in his last 15 apearances.

so he's the guy out of the bullpen. >> bob: mike mcdougal idoing well himself. he's not getting many save opportunities. >> rob: you won't get a better opportunity than bases loaded, no outs. >> bob: fe at-bats tonight with the bases loaded and nobody out and they have two rbi's to show for it on walks. that's has n tting in situations to tte or if you're a pcher, what do i hto do right here to help the club. not what can i do to help the name on the back. >> bob: jim johnson yet to appear in this series. after albers pitched st nit and just got three huge outs, that may be a one inning for him. it's mora, zaun and andino for the orioles, bottom of the sixth. >> jim p.: he picked up the

entire orioles ball club with that inning. >> dave trembley confirmed today, that koji uehara will not make his scheduled tomorrow tomorrow against the nationals, it is likely he'll be put on the 15-day disable list. we will -- who will get the t? l's takok ou evdúlúeúdadú hernandefotheorioles. we did see david walking around the park today, so it's not too hard to put two and two together. once the move becomes official, the orioles will confirm that. he goes up against john lannan for the nationals. >> bob: thank you, amber. will that be a bber game the series ill the orioles be going for the sweep? >> jim p.: i like john lannan. i still remember the 2-1 victory he had over the orioles i don't know if it was last year or the year before.

how about that earned run average. >> rob: he's definitely become our ace. another hit by gregg zaun. great night for him. already a home run. >> jim p.: i told him, i, he was hitting .118 early on. he said jokingly, i was overexposed. i told him, i said the good news, you can't stay at .118, not if you keep playing. >> rob: to finish that story about eric davis at the end of his career, he knew he couldn't play 140, 150 games a year but he knew he could contribute and maybe the last three, four years he had some great years with some ball clubs and it was more of a contribution, but he didn't complain, he didn't mope, avenues great professional ballplayer. that's what you have to do as you get older. >> bob: zimmerman charging, well done as he loses his balance while making the throw. he'll get a big second out for washington. zaun down