behind it. >> jim: wieters goes down on strikes. orioles go three up, three down in the second. xw@t@t@@@@@h

 . >> jim:  here is morneau ba in the line-up. buck mentioned he missed four games, the lingering effects from the inner ear infection and the medication that was prescribed for the inner ear infection. >> jim: i think one thing that i would like to see against good hitters like morneau and mauer, just use the fastball until they prove that they're going to get after it. go ahead and challenge it away.

trying to move that breaking ball to the outside corner. >> jim: you made an interesting comment at our production meeting today about how when young pitchers come to the major leagues, they have a vision in mind that they have to throw everything for a strike including the breaking ball and the change-up the fastball, that because they have it, they have to use it. >> buck: well, you have to throw everything for a strike, but don't have to do it to every batter. that's the rob, they want to come out and three everything all the time, but they need to just utilize that fastball. show a batter everything in the first at bat, and then you have to face him in the 7th inning with two on, and you have no surprises. you can't trick him, surprise him, catch him off guard, because you've shown him everything through throughout the course of the early part of the game. >> jim: 3-2 on morneau. and that's outside, ball four, and there's a lead-off walk.

>> buck: well, that's a rookie pitcher, against a veteran all star, and the rookie pitch. er didn't get the call. that's a good pitch. >> jim: that was a close pitch. >> buck: used the fastball very effectively throughout this at bat, and that ball just drifted over the plate. hard to lay off of. >> jim: here is jason kubel, who is dh'ing. he is 27 years old now. already been through a major knee surgery in his career. good numbers over his last 11 games. and another strike. >> buck: two good curveballs to start the at bat. and tillman has the ability to throw that get me over breaking

ball effectively. so now he hasn't shown kubel the fastball whatsoever, so he can really catch him off guard with he fastball now. >> jim: wieters wanted it high. kubel came up as an outfielder, but gets the ma jot of his at bats now as a dh, and it's kind of a growing trend. ground ball hit slowly to second. the double-play. 4-6-3. second double-play turned by the orioles, and two men down. good idea to face this guy with nobody on base, michael cuddyer. >> buck: well, in kansas city, something that no other between had ever done. hit two home runs in the same inning. first time in his franchise history, since they've moved to minneapolis, that a player has gone deep twice in the same

inning. cuddyer on the season has 22 home runs. he's driven in 63. . so many grade great sluggers for this team, and he is the only one who has ever hit two home runs in the same inning. >> jim: 1-1 on cuddyer. cuddyer one of the several first round draft picks of minnesota that's on the current roster. this is a franchise that has prided itself on player development, because as soon as any of the players become stars, they tend to leave as free agents, or are traded before they leave as free agents. >> buck: and because of that, they've had to have a steady stream of minor league prospects coming together, and they don't miss a beat, they

just keep running them through. >> jim: plays the hop, straightens and throws, and another good inning for chris tillman. a walk and none left. we've played two at the dome. no score. 

 . >> jim: in this division, lack of power at that position is something that you definitely would notice. a tremendous fielder. not a lot of power, but can hit and get on base. there's a base hit up the middle. has a fur-game hitting streak. there's the orioles first hit. comes with one down in the

third inning. >> buck: obviously depends on the makeup of your ball club. as you mentioned, this division, american league, they're all about power corner guys. >> jim: here is feelission pie who came off the bench yesterday and hat had good game. good strike at the knees.

>> jim: pie toward i this gap in left center field. a long run for span, and he runs it down. aubrey down to second, will hustle back to first. >> buck: great speed in the outfield in center and left. span is a center fielder by nature, and he can really cover a lot of ground, and he got a gate jump on that ball. looked like he had a chance to get up the gap, but span ran it down very easily. >> jim: that will turn the line-up over. here is brian roberts for his

second at bat. brian roberts has been getting on base 25 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the american league. joe mauer also on that list. markakis had a 38-gamer earlier this year. ball one outside.

>> jim: michael aubrey heading to third. there will be no throw to the plate, and on on rbi double by brian roberts, the orioles have a 1-0 lead!

>> buck: jim had mentioned earlier the importance and significance of five runs, what a good ball club this is.

when they score five runs or more. and certainly against scott baker, you're off to an encouraging start. baseballer has been awfully tough in the first three innings, and then after 4, he's had a tough time keeping the 0 opponent from scoring. >> jim: izturis too late on the swing.

>> baker checks reporters, not likely to go with two counsel. cuddyer has a play moving over towards the line, and he has it for the out, but the orioles get a run.  our 737s fly to over 65 cities across the country every day. pa announcer: final boarding call... all passengers... each with an average speed of 590 mph... almost as fast as you. nothing's gonna hold you down. grab your bag . it's on™west so our low fares stay low. ( ding ) book now at southwest.com. what is it to lead?

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 . >> buck: i like the way tillman has used his fastball tonight. matt wieters has really emphasized the fastball early, and particularly bottom third in the line-up.

>> jim: here is adam on the bench, which he wasn't sure he would be tonight, becausuoof his bad back. left field to reimold, backs up a couple of steps, for the out, and two men down.

>> buck: he's going to go play winter ball this winter, in the dominican republic, and try to get regular at bats and continue his improvement at the plate with plate discipline and a level swing and so i think he's excited about the prospects of finishing up strong and momentum into winter ball. he plans on playing every day. >> jim: here is casillas, who hahad a tough year at the plate. .195 overis all. >> brian drive, that's going to fall, base hit. there's the second base hit for minnesota.

>> buck: till map did a good job of holding the ball, and casillas got anxious.

>> we've seen two guys square to bunt, just to put the idea in the rookies head that they may do that. we saw one attempted stolen base on a foul ball. as far as tillman's ability to handle that, trembley said he's in the big leagues now, everything he does is new. he just has to play like he's been here before, and this is just yet another learning experience for him facing a fast team on a fast track. back to you. >> jim: all right, viv. well, casilla is a perfect 8 for 8.

this one is outside. ball 4. 4 pitch walk. two on with two down. down to second is casillas, on

the first is span. here is kranitz making notes. two outs, the number 9 batter. singlele to keep it going. turn the line-up over. knew another breaking ball check swing. in there for a strike anyway. >> buck: it's the first time the twins have seen chris tillman, of course, and they're not really sure whether or not he would throw back to back curveballs, and cabrera just

found that out. >> jim: 1-1 the count. check swing. it's another strike. three consecutive breaking balls. >> jim: 1-2 the count on cabrera. down and away. is that pitch the hardest pitch to get a call on because of where you catch it? it looked on that replay that it came through the strike zone in the zone, but by the time wieters caught it, it was almost on the ground. >> buck: because it brains so much, often types umpires will give up on it. >> jim: 2-2 is outside. ball 3. this gives minnesota a

huge break. full count with two down. the runners will be off, and thee both have good speed. casillas from second, and span from first. tillman needs a big pitch here. runners go. the 3-2 is fouled back. well, cabrera now with the twins, they have averaged two more hits per game. team batting average has gone up. runs per game have gone up, and the slugging percentage has gone up. >> buck: he's just added another veteran bat, that presence in the lineup, obviously stretching out the depth of the line-up that much more effectively. >> jim: the 3-2 pitch is popped up foul near the oriole dugout. michael aubrey is over, and he runs out of room.

back in the crowd. so tillman got ahead of cabrera 1-2, and now the count full, will have to make another 3-2 pitch. 21 pitches already here in the their inning after very efficient first and second innings. >> buck: well, and it got away from him after two were out. got the 7th and 8th bat per the line-up, and casilla flared a base hit into the left field, and span walked on four pitches. >> jim: the 3-2 is popped up foul down the right side. that's heading back towards the crowd. and of course the situation here for chris tillman not only is orlando cabrera, but who is on deck. and now he's 3-2, because mauer, the league's leading batter, is waiting to hit next. tillman has allowed minnesota

to get a two-out rally going. the 3-2 to cabrera is popped up. wieters now picks it up and makes the grab! good team work there. wieters had no idea where it was, and it was right over his head. tillman gets out of it. 1-0o's. come on people, we gotta focus. we're not leaving until we've met our budget. we need ideas. we could cut back on marketing. we could eliminate bonuses. how about we stop buying bud light for every meeting? [ sfx: glass crashing, man screaming ] it's the only beer with just the right taste. bud light. the difference is drinkability. it was a joke!

 . >> jim: this is the final the orioles will play at the dome, and chris tillman has been helped out by a couple of double-plays, and brian roberts with an rbi double getting the orioles on the board in minneapolis, minnesota, near the mississippi river. the twin cities, st. paul on the other side. it's a very nice city, minneapolis. folks are real friendly. it's a lovely place to come and visit. luke scott takes a strike, 0-1. markakis and reimold follow. luke flied out to right his first at bat. he is now 0 for his last 10, and has just three hits in 19 at bats on the road trip. >> buck: what terry crowley is trying to do is to remind luke scott to maintain a rhythm at the plate. often times you'll see a batter get stagnant where they can't generate the bat speed, so he wants luke to kind of keep a

little movement going, little rhythm in his body as he approaches the ball, and just another reminder of how fluid you need to be to be effective. i'll tell you what, to his credit, luke has tried everything. >> jim: it's kind of amazing how when you think back earlier this year, when they couldn't get him out, bond up left side of the infield, cabrera, the shortstop taking charge,, and has it for the out, one down, he was so hot, a swing was as perfect as you can get it, and then all of a sudden, it just disappeared, and he still can't get it back. just shows you how hard it is to hit.

you never know when he's going to get hot. the only way to find south to keep him in the line-up. and it was difficult, and he was really anxious, and obviously got off to a great start, because he was playing every day. >> jim: here is tonight's ford

trivia question. we'll see what the committee has for us tonight. how many first round catchers are in the major leagues. 6, 2, 15, or 10? well, we have two in this game, so it's at least 2. >> buck: i'm going to say two is the number. >> jim: might be a trick question. could be on to something. >> buck: i'm looking at the teams and thinking about who their catchers are. the two molinas that are catching every day, they weren't top draft picks. >> posada was a low round pick. variry tech was a first-round pick. >> buck: that he was. >> jim: so there's three. >> buck: boston, tampa bay, toronto no. >> jim: was pudge rodriguez out of the draft, or was he a free agent? going to find out, as reimold goes down on strikes. he's 0 for 2. or are yells go 3 up and -- orioles go 3 up and

three down. 

 . >> jim: we're going to go wi six. we know it's more than two. and the answer is six. castro with the white sox. he's the backup. wieters, oh, for got about jason kendall with oakland. >> interesting. but these two are the obviously

most recent top of mind, with them playing in the the same game here. joe mauer was headed to play quarterback at florida state, played high school baseball here in st. paul.

>> jim: joe mauer seeking his third batting title. amazing when you consider what he goes through behind the plate. >> buck: well, he's just got a great recognition. uses the whole field. has always been a guy who can hit with two strikes.

you can see, he is just a tough, tough hitter. >> jim: the 3-2 is fouled back. >> buck: doing a pretty good job of elevating that fastball. that might have been the best fastball of the night. 95 miles an hour up stairs, and mauer was late.

>> jim: minnesota kept the local kid home, and he's now one of the top players in all of baseball. ball and a strike on morneau, who walked his first at bat. there's a strike, 1-2. >> buck: boy, they're doing a

good job of attacking that outside corner. remember, as mark viviano told us earlier, morneau is a little uncertain just what to expect. this is his first game after missing four. >> jim: 5th in the league in home runs, and first in rbis. several of the twins players have relocated their main residence to ft. myers florida, because the twins have sprang training there, and by having a good residence there, they can spend part of the year in florida. two down. one of the players who has done that is joe mauer, who grew up just across the river here.    youth sport days is sunday, the 20th. enjoy great group pricing.

orioles.com for youth sports day. tillman has handled helps pretty well. if you look at his games, four of the five starts as a big- leaguer, he has pumped at least six innings. >> buck: he's got all the weapons, and i think he's eventually going to be able to be a front rotation guy. >> jim: pop up off the bat of kubel. mora fading into foul ground will have it for the out. and there's a three up and

three down inning. the first by chris tillman. nighttime baseball in minneapolis. 1-0 o's. 

 . >> jim: melvin mora takes high. >> buck: i speak to terry ryan who it was the general manager at the time joe mauer was drafted and signed, and i asked him to compare wieters, because he is now scouting, and he said they're both very similar. joe pause better athlete, overall, i mean better quarterback, runs, can steal bases, and just a little

smoother, but he said matt wieters knocks it out of the ballpark, that's exactly the phrase he used to describe wieters power. he said he has game-changing power, and you'll see that eventually when he becomes more comfortable. so you see the comparison of beaters to joe mauer after 60 games. beaters is holding his own. it took mauer a while to develop the power, and you hope that same would be true with matt wieters. >> jim: you like to see the youngster -- they're all a little timid when they first get here, they want to keep in their place and not say too much too early, but let's face it, the young guys are taking over this team, and the sooner they step forward and become leaders, the better it is for the orioles. 2-2 on mora. and mora is down on strikes.

that's three strike strikeouts for baker. two alone in the inning. next year the betweens will be playing at target field, and here is the animation. they have their version of the light rail that will be able to bring fans. you see the interstate going underneath the concourse, which is somewhat unique, and then it is an open air natural grass field outdoors, which will open next april for minnesota. >> buck: and the grass for the field will be put in place beginning tonight. they have shipped it in from colorado. they're going to start the process tonight. they have a state of the art drainage system in place. today the mound was put in place. they put the pitching rubber and home plate in, and tonight they will begin the process of sodding the field. >> jim: and it's taken low. >> buck: all the new ballparks have a great drain an system, and they're able to play immediately after the rain stops, they pump the water off

the field, but the new target field will have a heating system, as well, to address the early spring conditions here in minneapolis. >> jim: we met a team executive by accident at dinner tonight, and he told us that they visited 21 different stadiums as they were planning with their architectural firm to build that stadium, and they asked teams what do they like about their stadiums, and what they were changed now that they're in there, and they learned from all of that. 1-2 on aubrey, bounced foul. >> buck: yeah, it will be interesting. and i, of course, played if in the outdoors stadium, and so the countdown to outdoor baseball, just 21 games left here, as they will then close this down to baseball and move to the new ballpark. literally just a few blocks away. still downtown.

>> jim: and a pitch taken outside. good eye by michael aubrey. 2-2. you made a good point about the forecasts in minnesota. their summer isn't exactly long here. so they don't exactly want to go indoors to watch something, they would rather be outside where it's nice. it was a beautiful day here today. aubrey slices it foul the other way. dennard span, a long run, and he made the catch! span ends up in the bullpen, and he holds on to the baseball! he simply outran that ball, caught up to it, and take this baseball out of the air! three up, three down! it's... no, not yet. it back that way. it's on.

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 . >> jim: matt wieters has quieted himself down behind the plate. when he gives his target, there's not as much movement as we saw initially. let's look at the freeze cam as we watch the two pitchers work behind the plate. on the left, joe mauer, presents the target. look how quiet he is. now on the right, beaters will get the sign to tillman. he sets up with a lot less movement than we saw earlier in the season. he, too, presented a good target and gets a called strike. pretty good example of how you need to be quiet behind the plate, not only to eliminate the distractions for your pitcher, but to give the umpire a stable pace so he can get in behind you and have a got a look at the strike zone. >> jim: cuddyer takes trike one. harris and gomez follow.

>> b both these catchers  been a problem in getting in front of the umpires despite being 6'5", and when we'llers learns what mauer has learned over the last several seasons, that his number one priority is to be a catcher first and foremost, then he, too, will be knocking on the door of being an all star like joe mauer. it just takes time. takes experience. that's all. 

 here is gomez. that will bounce near the orioles dugout. >> buck: gotten says a tremendous bunter with exceptional speed. he can literally square around, bunt the beal, and beat the play to third base. so even though he fouled that ball out of play, you can't discount the fact he might bunt against with a strike on it.

>> we talk about pitching to the different portions of the line-up. bottom third, you've got to be aggressive. you can't gets yourself into hitter counts, or walk the bottom part of the line-up. till map wars the victim of the home run against tampa bay. he went six innings and allowed only three runs, butt all three came on solo home runs, and the orioles lost it 3-1. bounce are towards third. could be two. mora to second, there's the double-play. that's the third double-play turned if this game, and tillman gets out of it. so a base hit, and none left. minnesota has left only two. we'll head to the 6th. good game, 1-0 o's photo

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 . >> jim: twilight in minneapolis on this gorgeous monday night. buck, we saw this exchange between innings, as chris tillman going to chad mohler.

>> jim: >> you always want to go to a hitter or a catcher and ask certain things if if you have some doubts about what you saw from the mound. if the batter is opening up to quickly, does that mean fastball inside? the communication lines are open dramatically. >> buck: diving catch by casilla, and he gets pie, robbing him of a base hit. one down. nicely done by casilla. >> buck: well, we talk about the defense here in minnesota. it's been a constant over the years. casilla does a good job. that ball is past him. he knows he has pie running to his feet in a hurry, and throws the strike to justin morneau. morneau, a former hockey goalie, can handle anything, is that's why casilla was comfortable. he put as much on it as he had. >> jim: brian roberts now his

third at bat. he is responsible for the game's only run. >> buck: the one thing you tonight want to do is to be a door matt. go into these city toes where teams are playing for playoff births and just allow them to run over you.

>> jim: ryan checked in time on the appeal to third. i can't believe that ozzie guillen was too happy that the orioles took two out of three when they need as many wins as they can get, because it seems to me that the race in the central is going to be easier for one of those teams to within the division than win the wildcard, because then you're competing against the east and the west for the best second place record, as roberts strikes out. that's number 5 for baker, and two men down. >> buck: well, baker, the last three innings has worked out some strikeouts. 95 mile an hour fastball. see it difficult to pick up the release point from baker with the way he hides the ball so effectively. >> jim: 75 pitches, here in

the 6th inning. orioles go three up and three down for a third 60ive inning. 

 . >> jim: it the copyrighted tele cast is presented by authority of the orioles, and may not usual pre produced or retransmitted in any form, and accounts and descriptions of this game may not be disseminated without the

express written consent of the orioles. peering in from center field at the metrodome. this place can get loud. here is casilla leading off against tillman in the 6th, be and these a strike. >> buck: well, casilla got a two-out base hit his last time up in the third inning. he hit a curveball, and just kind of served it into left field. now reimold has really shortened up in left. >> jim: lined to center field. that's going to be a base hit. that one is going to go all the way to the wall! casilla can fly. he's hiding for third. roberts has the relay throw, there's a lead off triple for alexy casilla. well, he hit to the perfect part of the ballpark if you have speed, and he's on third base. >> buck: well, he jumped on that fastball. last time he hit a curveball for a single. this time he drill this fastball, once it gets on the artificial turf, scoots by pie,

and he's off and running. he has tremendous speed. he knows he has a triple for sure. he looks for help from the third base coach and slides in with that lead off triple. his first of the season.

here is span, fouls it off. it's a real difficult situation, you want to play the infield back here with nobody out.    

 . >> buck: he  keep the at bat alive.   

 >> jim: throw to first i in time. machine member has a club has 34 sacrifice bunts on the year.

that is third most in the league. so ron garden hire will play for a run here and there. runner goes, and hit-and-run, he fouled it off. >> buck: yeah, just have the upper hand when you have good speed at first to show bunt on the first pitch, you have a guy who hand handle the bat at the plate in cabrera, and fouled it out of play. now tillman needs to focus on keeping the ball down, see if he can't get a sharply hit ball.

>> jim: 0-2 on orlandocabrera. 1-1. hits the high fastball. 1-2. minnesota is in third place in the central. the tigers are holding on to a 2 and a half game lead on the white sox, and even though minnesota is two below .500, they're only 4 and a half out. what a difference between the central division and the east. when you're two below and still right in it. >> buck: and you look at the tigers, they were just out on the west coast, and they play the angels in a series down in los angeles. >> jim: check swing at a breaking ball. appeal to first. he did not swing, says gary darling. so the count now even at 2-2. >> jim: tillman jumped ahead 0-

2. he has really not been close, and cabrera has been able to lay off easily. i believe they're going to start the runner again right here. 2-2, you expect tillman to throw a strike, try to get some movement going. >> jim: a pitch is taken high, i guess. looked like it cut the plate in half. so 3-2. span took two to steps and then stopped. >> buck: well, looked like he kind of stumbled when he broke towards second. chose not to break. >> jim: 3-2 from 0-2 on cabrera. no one down. span is running. pump is lined over the glove of izturis into center field! span will easily maybe it to third. minnesota nearly ran into a double-play, but the ball was hit too high over the glove of izturis, and minnesota now with something big going here, a run in, first and third, and nobody

down. >> buck: well, what an at bat for cabrera, and they use that fastball, and izturis was right in line. it was just too sharply hit right over his glove. he was running to cover the bag on the movement from first base. cabrera ends up with a single. and now joe mauer will hit with runners at the corners, and nobody out. tillman taking a breather, and will approach this critical at bat. >> jim: so what a turn around here. cabrera got back in the bat. worked the count full, and got the base hit. >> buck: well, with mauer at the plate, couple of years ago, izturis was playing for the dodgers at that time. he was playing third base. the first time mauer hit,

izturis was playing straight up at third base. mauer hit one to his right down the line. so the next time, he moved a step to his right to cover it up, mauer hit one to his left, as if he were watching where izturis plays, and later on he talked to hip at third base and said, man, are you watching me? and he said, yeah, i've got to watch where you are. >> jim: great to be able to do that, that's bat control for you. orioles will let the run score if hey can get a double-play, and tillman misses low. 1-0. there is mark hendrickson who is now getting loose in the oriole bullpen. >> buck: well, you'll trade a double-play for a run right here obviously, with nobody out, heart of the order, even though it will cost you the lead. >> jim: ball 2. span is at third, and cabrera at first,

being held there by michael aubrey. mauer has flied out to center field, lined out to short stop. 2-0, swung through. 2-1. tillman does not yet have a strikeout in this game. he has walked two. he has begin up six base hits, and three have come consecutively in this inning. it was the defense up. the middle, and pie again shading towards left center field. off-speed pitch is low. ball 3. >> buck: change-up had a pretty good look at it. mauer has the luxury of being

extremely selective here. >> jim: 3-1 pitch, swung on and missed. they challenged him with a fastball, and mauer swung through it. span at third. tremendous speed. cabrera at first, and none down. long look to first. cabrera is running, and it is swung on and missed. wieters had it. >> buck: yeah, and matt wieters couldn't really react well with the base runner going to second. let's look at the sequence. selectively pitching to joe mauer, even though he got behind. fastball misses, 1-0. another fastball off the plate, not even close. change-up is low. fastball, he skins right through, and another fastball right at the top. you can see wieters didn't

react to the stolen base. >> jim: now with first base unoccupied, that will take the bat out of the hand of justin morneau, as he will be walked intensely. this will set up a force at any base and the possibility to have a double-play to end the inning. >> buck: you talk about picking a great time for your first strikeout, the strikeout of joe mauer was huge, it does give you the opportunity to walk justin morneau. >> jim: and here is ball four to justin morneau, so he will go down to first base. and dave trembley is coming out. he's going to make a pitching change here after the intentional walk. so tillman will leave. he will not have a chance to win, and now it's up to the bullpen, and hendrickson comes on to try to work out of this

jam, as tillman will exit with the bases loaded and one down. and tillman very discouraged as he walks off. minnesota has a run in, bases loaded, one counsel. pxopo

 . >> buck: it's a rile fine line for a manager if you want the kids to grow and you want them to challenge themselves as he hid did striking out joe mauer, but at the same time you wonder if he is going to be adversely effected if he gives up the hit with bases loads.

>> jim: the pitch is popped foul down the line, and that will fall in no man's land and bounce in the crowd. >> jim: kubel has bounced into one double-play tonight. he has also popped foul to melvin mora at third.

>> jim: he cops across with the go ahead run. a sac fly and rbi, and minnesota has the lead. >> buck: two strikes going the opposite way hits on a button to pick up the sac fly. his 72nd rbi. that run will be charged to chris tillman. >> jim: and here is dave trembley coming out. so this lab one batter appearance for mark hendrickson as he is matching up, meredith will come on to face cuddyer. so hendrickson, who had been the long man the the bullpen facing one batter. now meredith coming on. twins have two on and two down in the 6th. ÷x÷:l:lzúz0z

minnesota guests out of it without any further damage. 

 . >> jim:  ozzie guillen says that he is optimistic that jake peevey will pitch for his ball club this year, but he's not counting on it. peevey still dealing with an injury to his right anglele had an outing in charlotte tonight. and the red sox have claimed billy wagner off waivers. now back to jim and buck. >> jim: all right, viv, thank you very much. here is luke scott leading off, singles to center field. baker had retired 10 consecutive batters, and luke scott also snaps an 0 for 11 with that base hit. so the tying run is on in the 7th in, and on outstanding job by the orioles bullpen to

minimize that damage. they've added some kind of road trip.

tillman was pitching a strong game, but the lead off sing until the sixth is got minnesota going. markakis pops it foul near the oriole dugout. morneau over, and he runs out of room, and it's in the second row. must have hit a speaker, the fans reacted to it. >> buck: yeah, and just came up and hung up there for a while. there you see the speakers that hang from the roof here at the metrodome. >> jim: they won't have to worry about that next year. they'll be outdoors. nothing overhead by the sky. countdown to the skyline sun sets, outdoor baseball. real grass. wind conditions affecting the play. 0-2 is fouled off. >> buck: mustard flavored lip

balm. i like that. starry night. it has been so long here, and going back to when it opened up in 1982, that the fans have been just kind of -- it will be fun. >> jim: 0-2 is outside. 1-2 the count. in the orioles have only three hits off scott baker in this game. >> buck: boy, nick had a good cut at that pitch. he's having some good has beens here at scott baker. remember baker has given up 22 home runs, but only four to

left-handed batters. prince fielder hit a couple. jim them toy. -- thome. 1-2 to markakis with luke scott at first. good eye taking, 2-2. >> buck: we had a chat with nick markakis about some of the adjustments heed made here in the second half, and he got closer to the plate, which is really kind of interesting, because you always see your hitters talk about extending their arms, but nick likes to be on top of the plate, because now the pitch that has always been one that's difficult to reach outside. in it's so far he can't reach it, he knows it's well out of the strike zone. >> jim: the 2-2. high pop-up. casilla at second base takes charge, and he has it for the out. markakis 0 for 3. one away, and

the orioles 7th. the 2009 orioles hall of fame luncheon will be held on the 6th floor of the bno warehouse at camden yards. tickets are $50 each, and benefit the oriole advocates and their work in the community. vip tickets are also available, that includes priority seating, and invitation to a luncheon. visit orioles.com. reimold now is 0 for 2. first ball swinging, pops it up. casilla again, this time babs up into shallow right, and has it for the out. so reimold is retired. he's 0 for 3, and two men down. >> buck: middle of the order, that baker has handled so effectively. 3-4, and 5, just one hit, in nine at bats. now matt beaters will hit with two outs. strikeouts in i've of his first

two at bats.

>> jim: the 2-1 to beaters is inside. ball 3. that's going to get down for a base hit, cuddyer

will file in. luke scot goes to third. >> jim: if you are a believer in the law of averages in the

baseball, melvin mora is 0 for his last 13. if you are, you would say he is due. of course baker has no knowledge of that. here is the 1-0. fouled back. made a good cut. >> buck: good cut. 92 mile an hour fastball, in on

the hands. >> jim: 1-12, ground ball, right to morneau hat first. hit sharply, but morneau was there holding the runner, and the orioles strand two, as baker gets out of it. tonight's 7th inning stretch brought to you by jack daniels tennessee whiskey. 

 . >> buck: a lot of die fenc morneau throws out izturis in

the first. izturis drops morneau in the fourth. casilla robs pie of a hit. and mora an outstanding throw.

>> jim: close pitch take bin harris for ball 3. harris has a

sing until two to trips.

morass it, he'll take the out at first. robbers is there, so the sacrifice is successful.

>> jim: some of the subtleties of the game there. >> buck: yeah, that's his coverage. that ball towards center field. pie has it for the out, and two men down. >> buck: well, that time

casilla hit it right to the defense, as pie had him shaded into the gap in left center. pie has hit the ball sharply three types tonight, that's the first time they've retired him. >> jim: he has a unique way of going after fly balls. he looks so excited the wall is coming to him. a lot of movement, but he got it, and two men down.

he'll go to chris ray to face cabrera. the or yeahst down by a run. 

 . >> jim:  and he popped him on the first pitch. izturis staying with it. you don't want to lose it in this roof. so minnesota threatens. cannot score. we'll hid to the 8th. time for some popcorn. i don't know she's wandering around the lobby, yammering about fios tv, internet and phone all for $79.99 a month. she seems crazy. actually, fios customers get that price for six months. it's like getting three services for the price of two. so am i the one that's crazy? no? (announcer) get fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month, plus a free dvr for 3 months. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v

 . >> jim:  aubrey 1 for 2. he singled the orioles run back in the third inning. breaking ball is high. 1-1 the count. harris is in his 51st game, and his era is 2.08. he has done a very good job late in games for the twins coming nonrelief. there is a big bouncer towards casilla. they play the hop on the turf, and gets it to first to get ty wiggington. one away in the oriole 8th inning.

harris has been in the twins system since 2002 to. took him a long time to make it to minnesota.

six feet, they say 231. 2-2 on pie. one out and none on. orioles have not scored since the pitch, he got him. swung on and missed. pie down on stikes,and two away. >> buck: well, good old country hardball, as he just goes right after him. bottom of the order.

harris has a three up and three down inning. 2-1 twins. bottom of the 8th coming up. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir?

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 . >> buck: we mentioned just h

well the bullpen has performed not only tonight, but throughout this entire road trip, especially the way chris ray has really come on and pitched well. late break on his slider, great command. an imposing figure standing on the mound. >> jim: hard-hit ball. melvin mora, diving stop. he gets up andly toes, and he got him! oh, have a night on defense,

melvin mora. he was wide to the bag with mauer up, and makes a great play. >> buck: mora has made great defensive plays tonight. this one robs a hit from the batting champ and the batting lead are this year, joe mauer, who has made two fine throws deep near the foul line at third, and then that one diving and robbing mauer. >> jim: morneau takeslow. 1-0. here is jason kubel,

robbers has it, he'll get it to first, and chris ray has a three up and three down 8th inning. orioles need a run. minnesota leads it 2-1. mrs. lowenberg next door. why? i don't know she's wandering around the lobby, yammering about fios tv, internet and phone all for $79.99 a month. she seems crazy. actually, fios customers get that price for six months. it's like getting three services for the price of two. so am i the one that's crazy? no? (announcer) get fios tv, internet and phone for just $79.99 a month, plus a free dvr for 3 months. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v

 . >> buck: joe nathan throug pitches on friday night, suffered the blown save. he has not pitched since, and has had a couple of daying off. he's always a dominant pitcher. 11 walks, 62 strikeouts so far this year. he is second on the all time twins list for saves with 230.

takes the strike as he should.

>> jim: his first season in minnesota was 2004, in san francisco in 2003, he was a set- up man. izturis fouls it back. >> buck: pretty good trade from the giants to pick up liriano, and nathan for pierzynski. liriano on the disabled list. certainly a lot of upside there. bonzer making a dramatic comeback, and might pitch in september for this team. >> jim: izturis leading off the oriole night. outside, ball 3. and what was even more satisfying for the twins in that trade is they

traded pierzynski because they didn't need him anymore, they had joe mauer coming along. and they got a closer and two starters. 3-2 on izturis. and he pulls it foul. >> buck: pretty good battle here. izturis has ripped a couple of balls just foul down the first base line. and now joe mauer is going to jog out to the mound and see if they can't strange the strategy here. >> jim: izturis walked hip at first, and then was caught trying to steal. he has flied out and grounded out. luke scott an deck, behind him nick markakis. the 3-2, he got him!

izturis down on strikes. one away in the 9th inning. >> buck: a lead off batter always so important in a one- run ball game, and nathan after a lengthy battle wins the war with a strikeout. 94 miles an hour, not much he could do with it. >> jim: he has 62 strikeouts in 49 innings of work on the year. very effective strikeout pitches. here is luke scott, takes a strike on the inside corner. luke had a single his last at bat, snapped a 0 for 11 drought. 1 for 3 on the night overall. check swing, and he went too far. 0-2. here is on update on the voting for tonight's at&t player of the game, and brian

roberts getting the home town vote. still time to vote. the results will come your way on o's xtra post-game. and nathan gets ahead of luke scott, no balls and two strikes. and he got him. luke scott waving at the pitch. mauer tags him out, and the orioles down to their final out on back to back strikeouts by nathan. >> buck: struck out izturis with the fastball, and get this slider down, and luke scott just chases a ball in the dirt with two strikes. >> jim: here is nick markakis who, s hitless on the night. had a four-game hitting streak going coming into tonight's game.

he has not hit the ball out of the infield tonight. ball 1 inside. the orioles are 14-16 on the year in one run games. they trail by a run here. minnesota is 16-18. ball 2, outside. 2-0 on markakis. baker went 7. one run on four hits. harris pitched the 8th. three up, three down, and now joe nathan in the 9th. orioles have gone 3 up three down in five innings, and made

a three-patter inning in the first. that's an effective pitch. he hitter pitched it up, but then can't stop the swing. mauer is almost catching that ball before it hits the dirt. 2-1 on markakis, batting with two out and none on in the 9th inning. that's high, ball 3. another home run hitting threat is on deck. that's nolan reimold. so if markakis can get on here, the go ahead run comes to the plate in the 9th inning. 3-1 on nick. check swing, appeal to third, went too far. nick still on first base, doesn't realize that bruce said

he did not check in time. >> buck: boy, that's a wicked breaking ball. >> buck: when you have joe

nathan on the mound, if you're ron gardenhire, you just sit there until he's done. one way or another. you're not going to do too much. had him rested. friday and saturday off. then through 53 pitches on friday in kansas city. twins swept the royals. so nathan was allowed to rest the last couple of days, even though he's not a guy that likes to rest an awful lot. >> jim: reimold ripped foul down the line. >> buck: good to idea there. you could see harris, the third base man, right on the line. so if that ball is lined in fair territory, he's going to make a play on it. and that's the objective here, take away those double possibilities down the line. outfield deep. that reflects that same mentality, as they're deep. >> jim: markakis being held at first by justin morneau. he's the tying run in the 9th

inning, two men down. reimold checks, that one breaks low. 1-1 on nolan reimold who was hitless on the night. waves at that pitch, 1-2. >> buck: yeah, that slider is tough. righties and lefties both can't pick up the spin.

2-2 on reimold. outside, ball 3. orioles get a

break here. markakis will be off with the pitch. a ball to the gap might score a run from first. trembley and the orioles down to their final strike. 3-2 with two men down. morneau playing behind markakis now. nick runs. here is the pitch, it's outside, ball 4. back to back walks after two men down. now the tying run is in scoring position. and the orioles are not going down quietly. >> buck: how about this, matt wieters steps toty played with two outs in the 9th with a chance to tie it up.

here is wieters with a chance to get this game even. outside, ball 1. two on and two

town. fouled make other way. so beater thousand down in the count, a ball and two strikes.

that one blocked nicely by mauer. >> buck: boy, he really smothered that breaking ball. obvious if mauer lets that ball get away from him, the potential go ahead run would move to second. look at that. pins it against his body, and keeps it right there at home plate. no chance to advance. >> jim: and the count back even now, 2-2 on wieters. orioles looking for a run to tie this game in the 9th inning. this has really been a well

played game on both sides. pitchers in control, outstanding defense, and a 2-1 game. couldn't get any closer. markakis, and reimold, second and first, with two down. inside, ball 3. runners go, 3- 2. he got him! wieters down on strikes, and minnesota and nathan hold on, and win the opener of this series. so wieters really battled. two walks and two left. final score at the metrodome in

the opener of this three-game series, minnesota 2 and the orioles 1.  i've never been all that great with my money. probably because i've never had much. but now that i'm making more, it's time to be a little smarter about how i manage it.. with the calendar, i can schedule all my payments. and when funds are low, danger days help me stay out of the red. i can also transfer money with just a click and a drag. so maybe i'm better with money than i thought. introducing the virtual wallet from pnc, a high-definition, online view of your money.

pnc. leading the way. >> been an interesting night for chris till map. he orioles turn three double- plays, but then the 6th inning was tillmans problem. >> it's a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly account for both of the minnesota twin runs. that's all that they needed. scott baker pumps 7 innings, picks up his 12th one of the season. only 4 hits for the orioles, and one of them a double for brian roberts. he drives if the lone oriole run. >> jim: all right. tom, thanks very much. so minnesota wins the opener here 2-1. well-played game on both sides. we invite you to join us tomorrow. it will be brian maddis on the mound. that's the middle game of three.

coverage on masn 2 begins 7:30 with o's extra presented by at&t. and now for buck hart inera, jim hunter saying so long from the dome. tonight's telecast, a masn presentation. now for o's extra, tom daves and i rick dempsey.

>> it was a close game, interesting one to watch. pick ship highlights in this, as brian roberts comes through with with another double. rbi double to right center field. gives the orioles a 1-0 lead. this is the part of the ball game you just really hate to say something like this happen. matt wieters cannot gets over in front of this ball, can't find it. minnesota comes in to score the tying run on a wild pitch. >> jason kubel will come through with enough to score the tie breaking run, and twins take a 2-1 advantage at this point. the horse yeahs best chance came in the top half of the 7th

inning. melvin mora comes up with two runners on and gets the ball hit to morneau at first, covers the bag at first, inning over, and the orioles strand two there, and end up losing to the minnesota twins 2-1. the orioles 7-16 during the month of august, 3-4 on this road trip. time now to go back out to the metrodome in minneapolis where jim hunter and buck martinez are waiting. hello, jim. >> hello, tom. tough game here, but very well played on both sides. these are all learning experiences, and you learn a lot from these close games, because a play here or there, and chris tillman really represented himself very well, even to the it's a tough loss. >> buck: yeah, he sure did. pitched calmly and confidently. got a terrific double-play early on from izturis. that eliminated that lead-off base hit and gave him a one, two, three first inning. and then brian roberts to

izturis, to michael aubrey for the double-play. he just couldn't overcome the impact of a walk, a stolen base, and then after the intentional walk in the 6th inning, he was lifted in favor of mark hendrickson. hendrickson would give up the sac fly, that would be the second earned run. i think it was a game plan that he and matt wieters put together, and it was veryivive i thought he had a much better focus early in the game.

tonight he shut out the twins in the first two innings, somethings that hat been a problem for earlier. >> and the one thing as a starter in the american league that you can't control is what's going on on the other side, as scott baker was outstanding. we'll head downstairs now and welcome in dave trembley. all presented by verizon wireless. dave, a real well-played game on both sides. outstanding defense on each side and great defense. >> i thought it was a great game pitched on both sides, and, you know, real good defense on our part, as good of infield play as you're gonna see. and our situational pitching was very good. it was great to see chris ray through the middle of the lineup late in the game against three very good hitters. we had some very good match- ups. you know, tillman pitches like that, he's going to win a lot of games, because we'll score the runs for him. you have to like the tempo of his game was real quick the

first couple of innings. his curveball was very good, and against that line-up, and this place, i would pay to watch him pitch again. he did a nice job. >> he sure did. only had one strikeout, put butt that cameny the 6th inning when he struck out joe mauer, and just shows you how he has the ability to come up with a big pitch in a pivotal situation. >> jim: he's grown up a lot. i think he looked very confident out there. didn't get rattled. made some big pitches when he had to. obviously, you know, you would like to be in a situation where, you know, he didn't roll that line-up over the number 9 hitter, you know, was the thorn in his side a couple of times tonight. >> izturis, the heart and soul of this infield tonight. he was terrific. melvin mora with three great plays. in the entire infield, but the anchor in shortstop has certainly been consistent for you. >> well, the first double-play he turned. that was a special one. you know, his ability to concentrate on the ball, still find the bag, you know, he's -- he's out there for a reason,

and on this turf, the game is a little quicker, little different turf than in tampa. this is a little faster surface. >> a real entertaining game. we saw great pitching on both

sides. >> the twins ball club, they have a pedigree, they know what it's like to play tough baseball in august and september. we saw a good ball game here tonight. >> back to the studio. let's rejoin tom and rick. >> our thanks to jim and to buck. they'll be back tomorrow night for game two of the three-game series against the twins. there was a classic inning in the 6th. after the twins had scored one run. joe mauer is up. he's hitting .442 during the month of august, and facing chris tillman. >> well, this toldmy a lot about chris tillman, because he matched up perfectly with him.

it >> it seems like tillman gets better with i'm start. >> he does. thinks he's costs himself, with a wild pitch, a buck at the wrong time, he's not really just getting the cover beat off the ball while he's throwing it. he's doing certain things if the game. i think experience will probably teach him down the road to stay away from certain pitches in certain situations, and to go just like he went against mauer. sometimes, you know, you just have to say here. here is my fastball. go ahead and hit it. and if he puts it in a spot where the guy is