that double. 1-2 delivery. again, it came back inside a lot of team also be look looking for players and right- handed power bat is one of those kinds of play es. the orioles are certainly going to be doing that. a great crew here. took a look and found some free agents in the off season you might want to look at. there are a number there. beltre probably not. glaus hasn't played at all. molina probably not. sheffield doesn't. but there are a couple of players there obviously that the orioles would like to take a look at. the trouble is so does everybody else. jason bay, will he be back with the red sox? xavier nady, matt halladay is going to go certainly somewhere at a big price. how do you think of that group, those are probably the guys who will be most sought after. >> jim: how about beltre. you say not beltre. he won gold glove.

>> gary: yeah, but -- that hit him on the foot. it did. >> jim: you could see him trying to run the ball in. beltre only because if mora doesn't come back. he is a third baseman, and he is a good fielding -- just trying to, again, keep him from hitting the ball around. he runs the ball in and it sails a little bit. he hits it right on the instep. >> gary: and it bounced against the dirt and came right back up and got him. >> jim: rick kranitz will come out. we talked about how many pitches, how long he'll go and the action in the bullpen. dennis sarfate is throwing. the other problem is all of the outfielders, it seems to me, they're excluded here unless you're going to move somebody to the d.l. role. you have luke scott you can use as your d.h. i think first and third seem to be, from a batting standpoint, the airplane i can'ts of somewhat concern. >> gary: i just wonder about beltre as a defensive player

anymore. i know he was a gold glove winner, but his play this year at third has not been particularly good. >> jim: and he's had shoulder injuries. >> gary: i don't know. that's the only reason i would wonder. >> jim: again, you just don't know what the market is going to be for him. so maybe, maybe you can wing it and take a shot. i don't think he is going to get a five-year deal. when he did get that deal with seattle, it was coming off a year where he just doubled his home runs, and he hit close to 50 and he has never been close to that. >> gary: as always, off season shopping is not easy. he has two on here and nobody out. aybar drives it to the gap in right center. pie got a good jump and he'll chase it down. tagging up, disco wrist at second. h e eel go over to third base. aybar retired. the runners at the corners now with one down. markakis at the end of the day

could have caught it, but felix, he can motor out there. >> jim: a couple of great plays last night. >> gary: kapler will get a chance, but it is not going to be against mark hendrickson. sarfate is ready to come in. so hendrickson has done what was asked of him. a reliever who hasn't started since may, called on to come in and pitch as deep as he could into the game as a rereever. he'll leave here in the fourth. -- reliever. he'll leave here in the fourth.

gary: orioles baseball on you by next trip on southwest.com and by honda, the 2009 honda classic. is the only thing from honda won't last. early fall night here at camden yards. out of there up the run. is responsible for the two base runners on and the bullpen dennis sarfate. jim: he came in and hit in an inning pitched. lose that game 8-4. it seems to me, circulatory leg that is a fastball. pretty much what he throws, fastball and a curve ball. off the heater. two on here. the double and a pitch. hit into a double play

is oh-fer three. squeeze is zobrist, but kapler couldn't get the ball into fair territory. jim: 6-54. that is .111 hitting righties. is saying we have a guy good news for joe and the not saying that facetiously. what contact. jim: yes, but it wouldn't be time it happened. gary: kapler, an again, this time a safety squeeze. the runner. to first and make as nice play to get the out. up by kapler as he tried the safety squeeze, if you're ben zobrist, you're bunting, but successful.

is zobrist. show you and as fine play. this go into foul and throw back. him a they get the out. gary: kapler will get the and earn it on the second put down that will be his the year. base now, two away. at the plate. strategy. a guy that doesn't hit does does he execute runner into to me that is a manager knowing of his players, and having players that understand. gary: yes. it just makes total sense what joe maddon just did.

gary: 1-3. navarro's numbers off the orioles' right-hander. base hit could score another two down. that one away. navarro, .281 off of the orioles this year with a homer. rbi's. tampa bay team for another four games incredibly as that part of the road up to end the tuesday, wednesday, tampa bay. toronto. to first base. and that will do it. the bunt adds another run the rays have a 2-0 lead.

we have shown you pictures of the orioles and the famous give me liberty or give me death speech, patrick henry did. this my hometown. first name, and i played for former big leagueer in high i have a beautiful and a new baby girl named ade? i? a deafening silence

roars from the broadcast booth. is cla meredith. wouldn't have gotten that one. i wouldn't have done it. no. 1-2. for. good game. jim: making a lot of money here. gary: a strike is taken on the inside corner. markakis up rather. hit special a fielder's choice his first time up. first base this time and aybar's got it. make the underhanded toss. retired. time now for our cabot performance brought you by our cabot legendary stains. performance is legendary. this date in 1955 at the age 18 that brooks robinson went with abredskin making his

league debut, september 1955, brooks arrived at the league level. he'll be back tomorrow right here at camden yards to make a special presentation to melvin mora as melvin has moved into second base all time in games played base for the orioles. jim: and then he hung around about 23 years. the only a terrific player, people. gary: yes. jim: you meet a lot of them. gary: brooks, if you're listening, because we tried to get a phone call true to to your today, if you're listening, we know you have commitments tomorrow after make a presentation but we would like to you in the booth. it is just a half an inning. you to come up and say hi. you would consider doing that, we would deeply

appreciate it. we know he is going to be on pre-game show. jim: if brooks' people, we know he has people. >> jim: if you're listening, to our people, and tell brooks to get up here. gary: that's right. jim: please. gary: we want to see you up here for half an inning, brooksy, if you have time. can't wait. be here tomorrow night. mora takes it to left field. crawford has it. is retired and two down. was another special name on day in history, another debut. one was in 1941. was 21 years old. great stan musial, stan the made his major league debut. went 2-4, two rbi's for, of course, the st. louis cardinals he spent his entire career. great hall of famer. stan musial. jim: 3,630 hits. at home. do you pull that off? do you get that many hits?

gary: much less divide them up. jim: coyou know where he got nickname? man is coming. lot of people think i pitched in ebb bitz -- ebb bit's field, i didn't. it was a very intimate, ball field. robin roberts, another hall to play because there were great and the phillies lad a of good players. home runs gary: yes. delivery to luke scott inside. the man has had some health problems over the last of seasons. a little and still whenever he around to the hall of fame. jim: he was up there this just a wonderful -- i was waiting to get a ride to a couple of years, probably five, six, seven years ago. said you must have been one of a player. i didn't meany -- i had one good year.

lead the league in average, rbi's, hits, doubles, triples. everything. gary: that is a pretty good year. jim: yeah. >> gary: swung on an missed. luke scott. three strikeouts for wade davis. he retires the side in order again protecting the rays' 2-0 lead. ust 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.

 >> the 2010 orioles pet calendar now vail at orioles pack and it is packed with 15 months of your favorite orioles, their pets and some lovable animals with the spca.

the proceeds will benefit the maryland spca and their work with local pets. pick it up at the official orioles teamster at camden yards and online at coirls.com. gary? >> gary: and as jim has repeatedly noted, it is a great stocking stuffer. >> jim: you know why? because christmas is just around the corner! >> gary: he is a switch hitter. as we said, getting back from an injury to the wrist that kept him out virtually the entire season. 0-1 delivery and again showed bunt. again this time will take and it goes to 1-1. >> jim: you could see dave trembley after starting mark

hendrickson, his last start was in early may, he is going sequence his way through this game and try to stay close. >> gary: 1-1-a swinging bunt that time and it goes to 1-2. >> jim: it is fernando doing what he does so well. the home runs, he hit three in 60 at-bats last year down at triple-a and he hit five in 511 at-bats. he came to the big leagues and showed a little power. >> gary: running on two strikes and he's out of there. >> jim: well, rodney carew did it all the way oh the hall of fame with seven batting titles. what i like about this is one of the great hitting instructors and one of my teammates as catcher used to say, throw the high fastball in a bunting situation. now, obviously dennis sarfate doesn't know he is going to try to bunt, but the curve ball is a very difficult pitch to bunt because it changes the a angle of your bat because it is going

straight down. here is jason bartlett at the top of the order. he has tripled, scored and flied out. the rbi by kapler on a safety bunt scored the other run on the board for the race. the shortstops leading their team in average and there they are. cabrera and cleveland and escobar and jeter and ramirez, all having their teams' best average. and bartlett is good enough to be fifth in the league in hitting. joe mauer and ichiro. mauer has jumped out to a 22- point lead over ichiro for the batting title. if both of those guys at the top should hit over .360, which they well might, it will be the first time in 70 years that a guy hitting .360 will not win

the title. mikey mantle and ted williams did that. that is to right field. markakis is there and he's got it and bartlett is retired for the out. celebrate object fest on saturday, object 3 in the bullpen picnic area. german foods and more. the space is going to be limbed, so your chance to celebrate october fest in that experience in a new way, you have to get on board at 888-848- bird or visit orioles.com. >> jim: so mickey hit over .360 and didn't win a batting title? >> gary: mantle hit .365 and williams at .388. >> jim: well, that explains it. >> gary: 1-0 delivery is outside to crawford who has singled and flied out. and ichiro probably will hit .360. >> jim: he got his 205, but he

was like a 1-17 right before that. so it seems like he comes up when he really needs hits. so .350 is the magic number. >> gary: three points off of that right now. >> jim: he'll figure it out. >> gary: carl crawford. he has eight runs batted in against the o's this year. sarfate can't get him and there is the first walk picked up by tampa bay. he just has a knack of getting on base ahead of longoria. he picks up the free pass and the second-leading base stealer is on. longoria has had a double and he has grounded out. the third in rbi's, seventh in homers, ninth in strikeouts. longoria. crawford is back to the bag.

hendrickson gave up the two runs in three and a third on five hitsno walksno strikeouts. and one hit batter. we started out perfect, 27-41. the toss-out ofs by wieters. two of them. >> jim: a lot of the orioles talking about that and so do the rays. the perfect throws and that's exactly what matt wieters did. >> jim: you know that crawford is standing over there just dieing to try it again and get a stolen base, but you don't want to take the bat out of the hands of longoria. >> jim: it is difficult because

it can be a distraction. he can be a big aid to your ball club because he can have such a high success rate a huge lead. that cut-out, that is when you know you're getting the kind of lead, and that's one of the things you do, step off. hold the ball. >> keith: h. >> gary: sarfate is probably working his last inning here. >> jim: the problem with side stepping, with a lot of pitch es, it affects your command and you get a fastball up out over the plate, that's how longoria hits the home runs. he doesn't miss those pitches too much. >> gary: one ball, one strike. runner not going. the off-speed breaking ball is in. one ball, two-strike count to longoria. >> jim: i read something where he said he had modeled his swing after tulowitzki of the rockies, and he said, yeah, we went to college together. it worked for him. >> gary: very quiet at-bat.

that's the way he is is. he is about as emotionless as anyone at the major league level. >> jim: the key is to get the front foot down. it slows the ball down. >> gary: the runner goes and wieters throws and this time it is crawford who gets the stolen base. >> jim: last night if we looked back and looked at the film, the fastball the first time, and both were away. watch matt wieters there time. watch him have to reach up and in. so now he has to transfer the ball all the way across his body. it is a much more difficult throw. but, again avery quick release. not the perfect throw as we saw last night. i don't think it would have mattered. >> gary: crawford had a big jump. two free passes in a row. two on and two down. last night against crawford; just watch how perfect these throws were by wieters. and then matt wieters delivered the blow that won the ballgame

in the bottom half of the ninth inning. putting one out of the yard. the game winner. he's had game-winning rbi ins the last two ballgames now. rick kranitz, the pitching coach, heads out to the mound. the bullpen is ready if needed. sarfate with -- he would like to get this final out as zobrist will be at the plate with two on and two down. >> gary: last night, one of the though-outs on crawford. that is perfect. >> jim: it is there is the curve ball and another perfect throw. we think he thought he was safe on that. it was much more bang-bang. >> gary: ben zobrist will take the high slider inside. he has one off of sarfate. 1-0 count.

there are the two base runners on and nobody has had a better season than the orioles than this guy. 404 home runs, 12 rbi's against the o's. another slider high and inside. and the 2-0 count on zobrist. >> jim: they sure look like sliders. i'm not sure he is trying to throw him. they could be zoom balls that just cut off. the only good news is the velocity is up this inning compared to last for dennis sarfate. >> jim: crawford and longoria on. >> jim: they have a lot of movement. u f if you can control this, you can with the next mariano rivera. unbelievable. >> gary: if you hit that, you'd break yob hands. fastball away. >> jim: it would be like cricket, you know you hit it behind you sometimes that's the only way you can do that.

>> gary: that has like two feet worth of movement right at the plate. 3-1 count. there are two down here. sarfate's delivery will be fouled off and he gets to 3-2. >> jim: there is another one. five straight cut fastballs. again, i don't know. i really have not seen him do that. he hasn't pitched that much this year because of the circulation problem in his pitching hand. >> gary: zobrist hurt something on that last swing. >> jim: you wonder if he hurt his rib cage. you think it is going to maybe run back. once you come in, and maybe he hit his leg. it is hard to tell. but you can see him cringing. >> gary: he will stand back in. the runner also be going. crawford at second and longoria at first with two down and the

3-2 delivery to him and that walk will load them up. so three consecutive walks after there were two outs here in the fifth inning and that will be it for sarfate. he will come out of there responsible for the three base runners on. cla meredith has been warming up in the bullpen for sometime, so he is ready to go. it is a 2-0 lead for the rays. they're trying to add to anytime the fifth inning. three on, two down. i had a pretty good job, but it wasn't what i wanted to do, and i thought,

i don't want to do this for the rest of my life i probably don't want to do it tomorrow. i told my dad, "i want to start a brewery." i told him, "i think you're crazy." i started sam adams with boston lager to make rich, flavorful beer. and he went and sold it one bottle at a time. no one had tried an american beer that had that kind of flavor. boston lager really was a groundswell. there's that saying, "do something you love "and you'll never work "a day in your life." i don't feel like i've worked for 24 years.

 >> gary: this copyrighted telecast is presented by the orioles and may not be retransmitted in any form and any accounts may not be disseminated without the express written consent of the orioles. tampa bay has a 2-0 lead on rbi's by crawford single and a kapler bunt. they are threatening to add to it here. cla meredith is on trying to stop it. >> jim: you would certainly like to stay close. games one and two, tampa bay behind in game one and the orioles behind in two and they, too, came back to win it as tampa bay did in game one. >> gary: pat buehrle has the bases loaded. he has been hit by a pitch and grounded out. the designated hitter has crawford, longoria and zobrist on all reaching by a walk. meredith goes up in the count in a hurry where the bases loaded this season, buehrle has

gone 1-13. >> jim: it has been that kind of a year. different league, injuries acouple of epidurals for the neck problems. >> gary: .227. >> jim: oh-fer four lifetime alittle bit of history, because they both came out of the national league. >> gary: 0-2 deliver whether i that is going to be catchable by pie. and he's got it. no runsno hitsno errors. the bases are left loaded. it remain as 2-0 rays' lead. @y

 >> it is no secret the orio would love to follow the same blueprint that the tampa bay rays took from 2008 from last place all the way to the world series, and i spoke to joe maddon about this. the way that the team was able to change that losing culture around is early in that 2008 somebody, he said they really built confidence from some big

wins early on. he says he remember as week in which they won six in a row from both the blue jays and the red sox. he said at that moment he saw his young players start to realize they could compete in the n.l. east, they could beat the red sox and the yankees, and we're starting to see some of the big wins and the confidence boosters happen with the orioles here in september. we saw them take 2-3 at yankee stadium and then we saw them this week take 2-3 so far here against the rays with the big matt wieters' walk-off last night. it is the wins in september that do build confidence that help them believe they can compete, gary. >> gary: amber, absolutely right. we mentioned at the top that the orioles have won four out of their last six ballgames and have a two-game win streak here. you do want the positive feelings to take with you and follow you to next spring. matt wieters astrikeout victim his first time up. aubrey and andino will follow as wade davis, the 24 yield

right-hander, and he struck out three and he has given up nothing on just two hits as pie has had a double in the ballgame. aubrey has a single. and otherwise, davis has crewelled things here as the tampa bay starters. the 1-2 delivery is outside. two balls and two strikes. >> jim: really the story line tonight is after you give up eight runs in two and 2/3 innings, you get the bases loaded and you can't get anything in the first inning. markakis bounced to third on a pretty good curve ball. a great slider to strike out mora. >> jim: you have to understand if i don't u -- if you're a 24- year-old youngster and cow can control your fastball and then you have three other pitches, that has been the case tonight and he has been in and out. and he's been able to make some very, very good pitches when he needed early on and now it seems like he is kind of into a comfort zone, even though this game certainly not in hand.

anytime you have a two-run lead. with jim hickey, his pitching coach, and rick kranitz has done a nice job, and kazmir is no longer there, and sonnanstine with 13 wins and then you have james shields. shields and garza have actually pitched well. they just don't score runs when they have pitched this year. >> gary: that has been kind of the story for this team. >> jim: he hasn't won in nine starts even though his numbers are good and he is still laughing. >> gary: clearly concerned. 1-1 delivery. it is so unfair. nobody is talking about his losing season. >> jim: we're not blaming him. it is his run support. you pitch well and still not win. >> gary: here is the 2-1 delivery. that ball is towards left center field. michael aubrey is there. into second base with a double is aubrey. the orioles have their third

hit. he's got two of them, a double and a single. >> jim: we talked about the four starts. i wonder if he hit off of him in triple-a norfolk. that right there find finds 2 gap that's what it is about. a nice stroke. >> gary: and the orioles will get the potential tying run to the plate again. robert andino grounded out his first time up. the orioles have certainly had the big chance in the first inning when they left the bases loaded. they had only had one other base runner since then that was the single that aubrey picked up. eight in a row had been retired prior to that double. robert andino hitting at .230. the offed moves in a few steps on him. and it is on the outside corner far strike. wade davis in 2007 was the rays' minor league pitcher of the year. he was selected by their organization for that award. he was the third-round pick in

the 2004 draft. he spent his sixth season in the minor this is year. the 0-1 count. andino achopper towards the middle. back handed zobrist makes the play. aubrey will move up, but there are two down. join orioles' reach and the oriole advocates for the cardboard to leather collection saturday. the volunteer also be at each entrance to receive donations of gently used baseball and softball e equipment and also cash co-nation also be accepted there will be a silent auction inside gate d. and all fans who donate will get a melvin mora autographed card. that will be this saturday. your new or used softball, baseball equipment. two down. brian roberts. roberts takes it down low for the ball. brian has flied out and walked and he was robbed of an extra- base hit by perez in center

field on a spectacular catch in the think inning. 1-0 delivery by davis. the inside corner for a strike. rbi lead forethe orioles this month. brian on top with 12. scott wieters. mora with seven and reimold with sixth. the orioles try to make it a .500 month if they can get a win in this game. 1-1 delivery. missed inside. two ball, one strike count. a wig chance for the orioles to get a two-out -- two-out hit to get aubrey home. it will be chopped foul at the plate.

brian even threw a couple of ups an downs. the runner in scoring position number hasn't changed very much. .320 for him on the year. and he is so consistent. >> jim: that's where they really missed adam jones. the home run, and he hit over .300 with runners in scoring position all year long. here is the 2-2 delivery. >> jim: well, it is spreadity embarrassing to call a ball that far off the corner a strike. >> gary: four strikeouts leaves the runner at third and it remain as #-0 rays' lead. your bags? at southwest airlines, bags fly free. grab your bag. it's on!

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 >> jim: let's take a look a our geico same summary. he started up at fenway. the first out, great slider, a strikeout of mora and then kapler safes the day for the rays with a nice play. he will score on an eventual ball on a triple. crawford with a base hit and that is the first run of the safed squeeze. so not a lot of offense tonight. brian roberts and he'll get it there in time to get willy aybar. he knocked it down, knew who was running and got him by a step.

>> jim: it is difficult to back hand the ball because it comes up at all. right there you could see it come up just a little bit, and then he recovers quickly. not a lot on the throw. >> gary: the first out in the inning. we're now in the sixth. sarfate went an inning and a third and he gave up a strikeout and got a strikeout and gave up three walks, but the bases were left loaded. >> jim: as we have seen. kapler agood defensive player. that doesn't hurt one bit if you're joe plaid don and your defense. brian is probably pondering how you can call a pitch six inches, it was actually on the chalk line of the right-handed hitter's batter's box. we have seen two out of the

three umpires of this crew do that. they dead it to lone gar jai. too bad he can't umpire all four games. he'd probably get tired. >> gary: gabe gross will fight that one off. he had the safety squeeze and he also hit into a double play and now gross is getting a chance with a .241 overall. he is 2-22 as a pinch hitter. he will be staying in the ballgame. and he hits it that way. again, roberts, and he got it. brian roberts, two down.

great range. underrated second baseman. it makes -- he makes it look easy. and it is not. >> gary: go down and bases are empty. today's play, the post-season is sorting itself out. the american league and navarro takes it. new york has a six and a half over boston. detroit, four and a half over minnesota, and the angels now back up over six games over texas in the wildcard race. boston's lead is six and a half over texas as well. andino makes the play and navarro is retired a 1-2-3 inning for cla meredith. the bottom of the sixth coming. the rays leading. 

 >> the defense plays in thi ballgame. an din i. and roberts providing for a double play to end the inning. longoria, a great play and then perez, the play of the game. a magnificent over-the-shoulder catch that robs him of an extra- base hit. and perez. that is something to see right there. staying in the ballgame. gabe gross and kapler. the orioles trying to find some offense now against the 24-year- old wade davis. it will be pie, reimold and markakis due up the bottom half of the sixth inning.

the rays on top by a score of 2- 0. the orioles have a 7-6 edge in the season series against tampa bay. davis, and the outside corner for a strike. pie has doubled and grounded out. >> jim: which is pretty significant when you only won three games all last year. this kid has very, very good stuff. i have to get back and amend my pnc scouting report to not good stuff, very good stuff. a nice hill array. a repertoire of pitches with good movement. >> gary: you have to believe this is what the tigers saw in his debut and then have the whole thing fall in against boston but this is his only start. this is the nasty pitch he has

had all night with the left- hander. >> jim: the key after the first inning is getting ahead and then he's got again a nice curve ball. a nice slider. he's got a cutter. the fastball both sides of the plate. so it is going to work. brian anderson who does the color for the rays, the former left-handed pitcher, said always talk about how 2 game sometimes speeds up, fenway park, a tough place. he said once he got in a little bit of trouble, instead of backing off and maybe slowing down a little bit, he sped up. he made a couple of bad pitches. he walked a couple of guys. >> gary: there is a base hit as reimold comes through. in the first game against detroit, davis had nine strikeouts and he has five in this game. reimold gets on and, again, the orioles get the potential tying run in the ballgame to the plate. the orioles pick up their fourth hit.

two doubles, two singles. nick markakis has had a struggle at the plate in this series. he's had only one hit in 13 at- bats against tampa bay in this four-game set. markakis on the year hitting .264. >> jim: he is looking for another six rbis to get to 100 and he's already done there a couple of years ago. the other thing he has been doing, he's going to have to -- he has 25 hits to get to 200, something he has never done in his career. >> gary: that will be a little tougher. >> jim: it is and maybe trying a little bit too hard. one at a time. he is certainly capable of doing it. >> gary: markakis will foul that one straight back and a monster cut. make us hit into a fielder's choice and he has growned out

the ballgame. one out, one down. chris ray is also throwing now with brian bass. reimold, a short lead at first base. he is not going to do any running object that bad achilles' tendon he has. he will fall back into the bag. 86 pitches thrown. the first two games he threw 105 against detroit and 71 against boston. 1-1 delivery on the way. markakis goes to short. bartlett's got it. there is one. zobrist the relay and turns two. and as has been the story all night, when wade davis has needed an out, he has found a way to get it. 2-0, the rays lead.

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 >> back at the records. checking in from news and notices around the major league. major league bible has announced they can no longer be used as tie breakers for playoffs. they will look at records instead. also, zach greinke, let beats the kansas city tigers. detroit leads the a.l. central by four games and chipper jones says he is considering retiring after the 2010 season. gary? >> gary: i think chipper has had a longier of some physical problems, and just generally run down and tired and doesn't feel very good. he is wondering whether or not

it is worth continuing on. so we'll see. brian bass out of the bullpen now. he meredith a solid inning and a third. >> jim: brian bass, you know, when joe maddon, the rays' manager, talked about the good arms of the bullpen, i think he was he was probably talking about brian bass. the problem sometimes is that stuff. >> gary: upton is going to pinch hit. there are the numbers. right away bass is on top here with an 0-2 count. upton has hit .238. three home runs against the orioles on the season and it has not been a particularly good year for b.j. upton. the 4-2 delivery.

the shortstop. andino. and upton running nowhere near as he does when he is completely healthy. tomorrow, more o's action as the red sox will be in town. our coverage on masn hd begins at 6:30 with "o's xtra" presented by at&t and the game at 7:00. all of the coverage you need here on masn. jeremy guthrie going after his 11th win of the season an buchholz with the 5-3 mark. he has been a nemesis for the orioles after the no-hitter. the o's have found some ways to get his off of him. >> jim: he was magnificent up in fenway park against them. definitely their third best pitcher at this point. daisuke pitched very well in his first start in about three months. i hope that we get to see him on sunday and see if he can

replicate throwing the ball. >> gary: jason beaterslet atriple and a run scored and two fly ball outs. bass and a one ball and two strike count to him. just think last night if the yankees had - and the red sox, they came from behind to win and the red sox had won, it would have been down to four games. >> jim: it was 10 in the loss column at one point. >> gary: the number i always look at is the games behind times two. you have to make up 13 games if you're the red sox against the yankees. just overall. bass and guns it and gets him. >> jim: so you mean if they're six and a half you have to double it because they have to

win games. >> gary: yes. >> jim: the red sox, that's in the a problem winning. the yankees still have to go to the withest coast. but they do play each other three games. >> gary: watch this right here. spinning, turning, twisting and getting the out. >> jim: they pulled it out of the ground and picked it up and threw it. there you go. sometimes that's the way you have to do it. >> gary: two down. here is carl crawford. bass keeping that one down and away. >> jim: that is the lemic stuff when he is mechanically

correct. a little bit of a struggle to do that. >> gary: he will take the breaking ball inside. real pitching duel underway here against wade davis, the starter, for tampa bay and the orioles' staff. the pitch is taken inside. mark hendrickson, and sarfate, meredith and now bass out of the bullpen, he has not surrendered anything. we're in the seventh inning. two ball and two strike count. crawford. he is trying to hold the count at 2-2. the national league numbers got the biggest game of the season i think played last night as colorado got a victory against the giants. so colorado still hanging on to that wildcard spot over san francisco by three and a half games. that's the one. the pitch is taken inside for a ball and the count will go 3-2.

>> jim: you get to watch some of the games late at night and you see jorge de la rosa, what great stuff. and he beat matt cain. he was trying to win his 13th game last night so it was a huge game last night. >> gary: yes. it is one of those worth two games in one. and that one is going to be a base hit. carl crawford. he has two-hit ballgame. 2-3. take a look at the wildcard race how it stands coming into tonight's play. colorado on top by three and a half. florida, four and a half hot and then atlanta and chicago, they're not going to make it unless there is a miracle. colorado is in pretty decent shape. colorado has gone into those tail spins, though. >> that is the point you have to make. as long as you play well, you can take care of your own, but when you do go into a slump, of course, it is prolonged. look at tampa bay, the perfect

example. they lost 13-14. they lost 11 in a row. until then they were in the wildcard picture. now, maybe they wouldn't have played it the same way as the red sox would have, but they certainly were in a position to maybe if they continue to play well, be in the race now down to the wire. >> gary: they just weren't able to do it. colorado had the spurt where they were losing ballgame after ballgame and with just over three weeks left to go you can't afford to have that happen. crawford is on. you look at between april 30 and august 5, the rays had the fourth best record in the majors. look at that. the fourth best record in the majors from april 30 to august 5 and now they're just completely out of the race. 20 and a half games behind new york. joarz the implosion in the bullpen. >> gary: that one an atom ball?

no. reimold tried to track it and could not. it has been a long night for nolan reimold in left field. and that will be a base hit. first and second now with two down. >> jim: back in the third inning, one gets by him for a triple and then crawford singles up the middle. again, sinking line drive, you want to be aggressive. you come in and there you played it well in the sense that he kept it in front of him. he couldn't do it back in the third with bartlett. >> gary: so shawn hen will be coming out of the bullpen. bass looked like no one would get a hit. the first two he retired and the next two are on. 

 >> gary: it is time to text your vote for the at&t. wade davis, still on, it could be the winner. aubrey in the ballgame for the orioles. and coming up with a couple of hits, a double and a single. carl crawford has had an rbi single, and he is on. text in your vote to 51862. shawn hen it of the bullpen. with the twins, a very good e.r.a. in 28 games. there are the numbers with the twins. so obviously a struggle. nine runs in 12 innings pitched.

>> gary: two on, two down and zobrist against him. a walk and he has flied out. the orioles, he pitched in 54 major league games with the twins, the padres and the yankees. the delivery is taken outside and the count falls to 2-0. shawn hen for a player to be named later from the twins. that one is going to miss inside and the count goes to 3- 0. >> jim: and nobody up behind him. convenient though buehrle hits righties better than lefties, he is on deck. >> gary: 3-0. the runners on

first and second base. he takes it for a strike on the inside corner. only two runs across in the ball gale. crawford has the rbi. kapler an rbi before he left the game. he got it with a safety squeeze, and that's been it, 2- .0 for the rays and 0-4-0 for the o's. 3-1 delivery. and so he walks the first batter he faces, and the bases loaded again. tampa bay loaded them up in the fifth inning and left them that way, that also with two dunn and there are two down here. the single by crawford. longoria, a base hit, and a walk, zobrist at first. pat buehrle. and dave trembley has just been heaved. this is all about that strike zone that we have been talking.

and you know he is saying you called that a strike on the other side. how come he didn't do it? >> jim: he was talking about the 3-1 changeup and brian roberts got called it on the pitch. six pitches on the outside of the plate. >> jim: i think this pitch is low, to be quite honest. but the one to roberts was on the chalk line. it is a little bit under the strike zone, but it is a lot closer than some of the pitches that they have called. and not only for strike three. brian roberts is obviously outside, and nick markakis, he got into the count. the swing. >> gary: so dave trembley is thrown out of the ballgame and working with the bases loaded, two down. pat buehrle has the bases loaded in the fifth inning and he flied out to center field.

he's got them loaded here. 0-1 delivery to him and buehrle will take the pitch up high. 1-1. the orioles' bullpen. it has been that kind of a year. the third highest e.r.a. opponent batting average at .284 and a lot of innings worked. 1-1 delivery. that is in there for a strike. a one ball, two strike count. >> jim: not a great breaking ball, but it fools buehrle and that's all that mattering. you can see him, the changeup, the fastball, and kind of a swerve-type pitcher. >> jim: here is the 1-2 delivery on the way. dave trembley i'm sure not far away. >> jim: you can bet the ranch that that pitch was just as close as the one roberts got called out on. >> gary: two ball, two strike

delivery on the way and missed high. so 3-2. two down. a pretty good pitch. buehrle waiting, 3-2. runners go and it will be fouled off. crawford. this direction was more towards the bench than it was towards the home plate. he was trying to avoid getting hit, so he ran at that big loping angle towards the dug- out and that is where the foul ball went. >> jim: with an option quarterback coming out of houston. >> gary: he had to option up on that one. >> jim: yes, he did. >> gary: buehrle with the 3-2. the runners going. that one an atom ball and he's got it! it has been a long night in left field for nolan reimold. he look as whole lot better

right now! seventh inning stretch brought to you by jack daniels' tennessee whiskey. please

>> jim: a lot of sinking line to left field. balls are hit on the able to get it. think he maybe would get a he's a gamer. like so much about nolan is that he is not going they were tough plays early on. he thought he could cut the first one and it went by and you would like with two outs to keep the ball in important of you. did dive for game saver right because it allows you to in a position where with their bullpen really

one of the reasons they don't of the runs, and other reason is the bullpen. trust are within striking distance. gary: the other bullpen has the orioles knew they were going to have to go deep into pen and so far, convenient the help of the defense, so good. to hold to it off here. into center field a pinch richard will so upton and richard, the defensive replacements. melvin mora against the struck out and walked five. struck out and flied out a good ballgame. orioles very much within and fouled off on a nasty down in pitch to him.

jim: that is a sinking fastball. pitch the with two seams. he is 24, and, tonight, command to this point. the tying run comes to the plate. thing about made in left. save the day because it puts you in a a guy on. of a sudden joe maddon will think about getting somebody up in his bullpen. they have had that on by in both the fifth and sixth innings. of the ballgame retiring the side in order in the third and fourth melvin particularra down the strikeout victim here that is six strikeouts now for davis in the game. oriole wives up with the maryland spca for a very special sioux fleer. 16 months of your favorite

players and pets. lovable dogs an cats and the benefit the maryland work with homeless pets that is the orioles' pet calendar at >> jim: there are some great pictures. really are. like soap opera-like. that is right into the right field. jim: he could be on "the hills" or some of the reality shows. aformer oriole year. >> gary: matt wieters is coming the plate. h e has struck out and lined out. at-bats in this for matt wieters. to second base. very solid inning for davis. efficiently done. three up and three down.

it remains a 2-0 lead for the rays. á

the freeze cam brought to you by frost brewed coors light. most refreshing you'll ever see. jim: yes. plant. the early on didn't even deter him from making a terrific play. gary: fernando perez, not the ballgame anymore. the third inning. of the

eighth. at-bat here. >> jim: i would imagine, this >> gary: playing at first base aybar coming out of there. jim: he had the option with being a right-handed or hitter. him around an then gone for defense. gary: richard has had a 1-3 a that is the only time he has faced the orioles. he was called up when carlos was injured. injury to him. and missed. from the -- he came prom the cardinals' organization originally. majors coming into this season.

>> jim: the last two, he had terrific hits. for the orioles. area. he had a house when he played tbs tbs down in surprise, arizona. moving to raleigh, north >> gary: he played parts of 1-2 delivery on the way and the fastball is going to be taken inside. 32-34 of his major league home runs for baltimore. in the bullpen. rise richard up at the plate. the delivery is going to be back. to start a home stand completing this long road trip. 11-game road

for joe maddon. they go back and the orioles go there to four games as fouled off. and the game set. it will start tomorrow night with jeremy guthrie against buchholz. trying to over texas in wildcard race to set up at the angels in and the detroit look like they will play in the division round in the american league. he gets the strikeout. goes down. going to catch the top of the guys out. this. going down. a herniated disk. jim: and he'll take the call.

no, i agree. gabe gross. bat manager the seven spot. he takes the pitch up high for a ball. on base, the rays 0-4-0. they have left four. orioles have had just three left in scoring position in the ballgame. those runners left on in the first. pitch is going to be inside. is amazing. evidenced here, how much one play at the right time early in ballgame would have changed the whole complexion of this got the >> jim: and with markakis. pretty tough out. talk about the

in and gabe gross last year got traded from milwaukee to the and he early in the year played in about 75 and i think 140-some games in right field. that came so, again, when you have the the whole is berate greater than the some the parts, and this is a guy from last year. defensive 'ol a solid guy. get you have pitcher. so he kind of took the place of >> gary: a good comeback by him and gets his second strikeout. there are two down here in the eighth inning. jim: the orioles are going looking for a match-up guy. what does he do? strikes them out. fastball there.

and away. you see shawn hen, the football season upon us, he has >> gary: working right now the side in order in the top of the eighth. navarro has had an oh-fer three an oh-fer six in the series. outside corner. tampa bay team, only two oh finance month of september. 2-14. orioles, 6-7. slipped that >> jim: the amazing number for before this decline is on the road. 40-37. at home. wins, 26 alsos. clubs that are going to

ultimately play well, and the that is coming in tomorrow,

the red sox, think ear because they're .500 on the road. gary: their batting average is diverge ebbetly different at they have really used fenway to their advantage this year. delivery on the way and

that will be reached for and tampa bay in their season last year in which they won the division with 97 wins, a game under .500 ton road even last year. they were 40-41 on the road. 50-27 at home. two ball, two strike count. navarro an nobody on. he will let that one go by and it is 3-2. >> jim: for some reason. they just seem to pitch so much better on the road. their ear ere on the road and 3.89 at home. same mound, same distance to the plate. >> gary: delivery, and reached for. the indoor ballpark. next year, of course, there will be another outdoor ballpark and another one of the indoors will be gone as the metro dome will be no longer

andman -- minnesota will play outside. a lot of phobes have said oh, my

gosh, how can that happen? minnesota will be snowing.

it is not really any worse than boston and new york. the temperatures there can be just as bad. the chopper that will go to short, and no. off the glove. andino with one chance and that will be picked cleanly in order to get -- in order to get the out. navarro will get a clean single. his first hit of the game comes with two down. it is almost like robert andino says if i get this, i have to

take a straight angle across and if i couldn't get that, couldn't quite get to it. >> gary: and that will send him out of the ballgame and a good job done. he gave up the one hit and a walk facing five batters. >> all right. our covering the bases, who am i? you might be surprised to know that i'm very talented at carpentry. the first most interesting job at chuck e. cheese. if i wasn't playing ball, i'd probably build houses. the orioles drafted me 74th overall in 2003 and i became the highest draft pick in college history. who am i? >> jim: jim johnson. >> gary: ladies and gentlemen, does the booth get another one? >> jim: chris ray. he is impersonating jim johnson. >> gary: are you claiming a technical full on that? >> jim: there are two guys that want to do that. >> gary: okay.

here is chris ray. then and now. >> jim: the carpenter, last appearance, one batter and one strikeout and the slider is somewhere high, maybe. >> gary: you're doubting the strike zone again. there are two down here with a runner on. b.j. upton is batting ninth. the orioles are trying to keep this at 2-0 now. they have come so close to being able to get this ballgame the a run or tying it up. they have not been able to get it done. one ball, one strike count. navarro and that is in there for a strike. upton grounded out when he came on to pinch hit in the seventh inning and stayed on the play in center field. we understand fernando perez, who we showed you making that great catch in center, replaced by upton because of a sprained wrist that resulted from the catch he made in center field. >> jim: i think it is the same

wrist he hurt in spring training. it is the wrist he breast cancer and missed all of the games. >> gary: no chance against ray on that one. a base runner left on. the bottom of the eighth coming up. a 2-0 tampa bay lead. >> gary: the crew is going to give us one more chance, on covering the bases. i was college teammates with aaron boone and jacque jones. i play fled the 1985 college world series. 2004 i became the first milwaukee brewer to hit for the cycle at home. i majored in economics in college and one day hope to finish my degree. who am i? >> jim: chad moeller. >> gary: chad moeller. and the answer is? there we go! >> jim: you notice i let things go very quickly. >> gary: we're 2-2. >> jim: 2-4. it feels like 2-2. >> gary: aubrey takes it inside. we'll get another chance when

we cover the bases two thursdays from now. here is the 1-0 delivery. the fly ball to right field. a fly ball out and one down. so wade davis. this is new territory now. he pitched seven in his opener. chad bradford and randy choate in the bullpen. >> jim: he has pitched well in this series. matt wieters, a couple of nights ago. the pinch hitter for andino. >> gary: and jeff fiorentino will take it up high. >> jim: another guy who has no doubt hit all of wade davis because of the four starts. >> gary: he picked up eight hits, four rbi's, a couple of walks. davis with the pitch down and in on the two ball, two strike count. >> jim: it is great thing about pitching late in a ballgame with a two rub lead, you don't

worry a lot until somebody gets on. you have a run to work with, so to speak. >> jim: the velocity certainly hasn't diminished. >> gary: fiorentino goes down swinging. wade davis is putting on a show that is seven strikeouts for him. >> jim: a little high heat, 3-2 that is his 102nd pitch. late movement that ball starts in the middle of the plate and just kind of runs away up and away, so get late life. >> gary: he has two down, nobody on in the eighth. and brian roberts. he flied out, struck out and walked. brian with a three-game hit streak on the line here. more importantly, trying 20 get on with the potential tying run to come to the plate. danys baez in the bullpen. he fouls that one back into the screen. the orioles have had a tough

time trying to get a three-game win streak put together. they could do that if they could come away with a victory here and take 3-4. but davis so far has been in charge on the mound. here is the 1-1 delivery to roberts and brian away, 2-1. >> jim: you hope he does what he did up in fenway. if you're an oriole fan thrashings is get in a hurry to get that second out and speed up the game and maybe walk brian who will take a walk with the best of them. >> gary: 2-1. >> jim: yes. you need to back off, take a breath and he is not doing that. that benefits ball one. >> gary: here is the 3-1 delivery. roberts, a strike away and it goes to 3-2. davis in the minors, 51 wins and 39 losses for his career. a 3.28 e.r.a. a strikeout pitcher.

and you can see why here working here. he hit 745 strikeouts in 767 innings. the 3-2 delivery to roberts and the ground ball to first base. stabbed at. roberts. as davis got over to cover after richard had trouble handling it. three up and three down. here is a play the orioles could have used that richard is able to regroup, find it and just get him. 

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southwest.com. camden yards and a pitchers' battle. davis against the orioles' hen, really with mark hendrickson out of the bullpen making the start. 2-0 lead. caesar izturis will come in to play short. chris ray stays on to pitch getting the final out in the last inning. he now faces the top of the order in bartlett. jason bartlett has tripled and scored on an rbi by crawford. an rbi and a safety squeeze by kapler in the fourth inning. wartlet has had five hits in 27 at-bats in this series. he fouls it off. >> jim: that is one of the hits, kapler g. ahead. >> gary: excuse me. i was going to say we talk about bartlett and what a great year he has. he leads the league with runners in scoring average.

fourth on the road, and the seventh best average against left-handed pitchers. bartlett up and down the line really really had an extraordinary nair year at the plate. >> jim: he is one of the reasons they went from 61 to 97. they got an every day shortstop that can steal bases. obviously hitting about 45 points higher this year. but he can do everything. he can steal bases, hit doubles. and they got him for a position player that they developed. one of their former number one draft choices so you can develop pitchers and trade them, develop the regular every day players. >> gary: and he walked him. >> jim: did he get hurt? the inning here, to me, if the orioles' bullpen is going to get better in 2010, they're looking at a guy that is going to have to pitch better than he did this year, coming off of

tommy john surgy in 2007. last years with a relab and he has showed flashes of what he was in 2006. but just in the as consistent as the orioles would like or, you know, i'm talking -- in talking to chris, he just gets out of that wind-up every once in a while. >> gary: crawford. any runs here will be enormous in a 2-0 ballgame. crawford has singled twice as an rbi, drawn a walk and flied out to right field. so crawford has raised his average a couple of points here batting at .304. the runner goes. wieters, nothing to throw on there. that will be a stolen base. so bartlett gets down to second base and any chance of the double play gone. >> jim: a pretty good lead. this is going to be the 25th stolen base for jason bartlett. and they came in with 175, by

far the most in the american league. chopped to second base and a productive out. it moves bartlett and crawford is retired. one down. updating you for the voting for the at&t player of the game. so far, close. the starter, wade davis on top, aubrey behind him and crawford. you can text in your vote to 215862. the final results on the "o's xtra" post-game show. >> jim: we make a lot of great points, but the last inning you were talking about the little plays or the big hits. tonight, kapler with the great catch, his bunt, right there, getting him over. you know he tried to do it. look at the grounder. the ball he knew he could hit a ground ball to the right side and it forces the orioles to bring their infield in against longoria. you would rather not do that, but you're forced down by two. longoria has had a double,

single and a walk and he has grounded out. third in rbis in the league, and a chance to add to that right here. he's got 103 runs batted in on the season. ray with a 1-1 delivery to him and that's going to be a base hit and an rbi and that is getting it done. so bartlett, crawford and longoria combine to get the third run in here in the ninth inning, and a 3-0 lead. bartlett walked, stole a base, crawford moved him up on the ground ball and longoria singles. and that will be it for ray, and alberto castillo, the left- hander, is coming out of the bullpen with zobrist aswitch hitter coming up. now a 3-0 rays' lead. 

 >> gary: one run added and alberto castillo will try to keep it at that in the ninth. >> jim: res power but the higher average. he last pitched on tuesday night and was effective in a game that jason berken started. the orioles came back and won that game with 10 runs. >> gary: zobrist has the .312 average against the lefties. zobrist with a chance to do more damage here. one down, ninth inning. longoria is on after having picked up his 104th rbi of the season. one away. stow bris will take the breaking ball inside. one ball, one strike. nine hitting now for the rays

in the ballgame. three runs, nine hits. the orioles, no runs and four hits. the. 's have the middle of the order due up in the bottom of the ninth, and tampa bay has put up at least one big run here in the ninth inning. 1-1 delivery and a breaking ball. he double clutched on. melvin mora. a good take-out of slide made by longoria. >> jim: melvin mora is going to have to take a step or two back to make sure he gets the hop. when he does that, the throw is over. zobrist, forget about the all- star game for the first time and all of that. brian roberts and longoria going in. i tell you what, a little hop, skip and out of the way of harm. brian roberts did it exactly. he gaffe it that soft front leg so he could actually get over that is a clean sign.

obviously you're not going to be turning a double play on my watch. the thing about zobrist, he hits for home runs. he hits for average. you turn the double play and it was like a turbo charge on his throw to get nick markakis right there. some guys, that might be a gad double play ball. he runs well, too. he can steal bases. so a lot of times, you always said we talk about the orioles, one of their guys who is hurt now, carlos pena, they got him off of the junk heap for about $800,000. he ended up hitting 46 home runs, 39 this year. so maybe we saw that list early on, gary, and there may be somebody you can salvage out of the minor leagues apower guy or whatever, that either has been up and down, showed some promise. >> gary: everybody -- that's what your dream is. >> jim: they realized it at tampa bay. >> gary: yes.

there is so much luck involved in that because i'll never believe anyone who tells me they saw in carlos pena what carlos pena has become. they may have seen something that is good an worth taking a chance on. >> jim: i think they found down there, a low budget, a guy that is a very good fielding first base and maybe he'll go back to the way he was with the tigers where he had a nice offensive year. and he did. >> gary: and he had power. he was able to hit for power. >> jim: exactly. >> gary: so you take a chance on that and hope the whole thing develops. and then they get the whole package because he is a terrific team them. for them he was probably the older statsman na sense. >> gary: 1-2, delivery on the way and that is hit hard and out of the reach of izturis.

so buehrle get as single, his first hit. he's now 1-4. tampa bay threatens to put more up here with a runner at first and second base. >> jim: he wishes he had gotten this hit in the seventh. there is your x-mo camera a great effort by izturis. the ball is just hit too lard into left. >> gary: so buehrle is on, hit number 10 in the ballgame for tampa bay and they have two on and two down. castillo, another left-hander. and richard took the pitch. chris lambert in the lineup. richard the veteran minor leaguer. 10,136. the announced attendance here tonight. the count, 1-1. so the oriole bullpen which had gone through the series, not surrendering a run, has given

up one here in the ninth inning. two down and the 2-1 delivery. an off-speed breaking ball. >> jim: i guess other than the johnson home run. we don't count that. the closer. i was talking to scotty mcgregor. he said i have to change that. >> gary: that was that. >> jim: they have pitched well. your point well taken. >> gary: 2-2 delivery ton way. swung on and missed. and castillo is able to get the strikeout. the orioles, the bottom of the ninth up. pie, reimold and markakis. 

 >> jim hunter and rick deferencey. you look back in this game, the orioles' best chance was in their first at-bat. >> they did. they had the bases loaded. they couldn't get a run across. here is a new pitcher the orioles have not seen yet. 3-12 coming into this game and was facing guys they don't

know. four hits on the night. they look very flat now. >> wade davis was on his game. the orioles, three up, three down in four of their eight at- bats. the bottom of the ninth coming up. let's head back to gary and jim. >> gary: thank you very much. we'll see whether or not we're going to see a complete game shut-out pitched here as we go to the bottom half of the ninth inning. 24-year-old wade davis in his third major league start. he is going to get a sht at it as joe maddon is leading him out there. as jim mentioned, the haas half inning, there is no indication that he is tired at all. he is still effective. >> jim: i think usually the way they used to do it, until you get a guy on, it is your ballgame. if you look at his minor league numbers, that pitch i think was 107, 111, 108, but not much more than that. he's been -- i mean, he's been terrific. jim hickey, the pitching coach. she on the phone.

they do have action in the bullpen, righty and lefty. >> gary: he is going do get somebody ready actually. jeff neimann has the two complete games, the only complete games of any kind for tampa bay. and right now, wade davis, two outs away from getting one for himself. >> jim: he has -- has he then a ball the last inning or two? the quality of his pitches tonight, rick dempsey, i think the number was 3-12 against the pitchers they have seen for the first time. but this stuff has been almost overwhelming. that's how well he has pitched tonight, the stuff. >> gary: that pitch to left- handers. that one that goes down and in. he has had that working all night. wheeler and shouse ready in the pen. nolan reimold. the orioles, 0-4-0 in the ballgame. reimold will foul it back. davis has now struck out eight.

one shy of the nine that he had in his career opener against detroit. >> jim: we talk so much about repeating your lineup. watch this, how simple it is. he drops his hand. he will break his hands over his leg, the way we were taught. and the ball misses outside. but, again, still 94. a lot of guys can do this. you usually don't want him to do this. >> gary: 1-2 delivery. this's going to be taken outside. he is looking, bare in mind, for his first major league win, as he took a no decision in the fine outing against detroit and he lost against boston. 2-2 delivery. growned foul outside of third. the shut-outwise, jeff neimann with the -- with two of those, those complete games he threw were the shut-out games that he pitched. and they had one other combined shut out. the orioles this season are trying to avoid another shut- out here in the ninth inning.

not there. wow. so nine k's. >> jim: away, away, away. i think this time he gets it right. right on that corner. that is an awfully good pitch. that is 117 pitches. >> gary: so a complete game is one out away. the orioles have been shut out eight times on the year. tampa bay has three shut of outs. and now the home plate umpire again on the oriole bullpen, there time dave joust, the oriole manager, has already been thrown out of the game, and now he is arguing with the bench coach who is the acting manager. the argument has gone on all night from the dug-out about the strike zone. >> jim: it certainly can help

you pitch and it can make a difference in a 2-0, 3-0 ballgame, but i don't think we should try to diminish it while -- how well this kid has pitched that has been the bottom line. he didn't get any help in the first inning when he had the bases loaded and nobody out. they just couldn't get a run. >> gary: and that according to the zone was a strike. >> jim: it might have been a little inside, but it wasn't like the pitch to brian roberts. >> jim: and -- >> gary: and now markakis stands in. she oh-fer three. the orioles' best chance in this game came in the first inning agreat chance, bases loaded, nobody out. they weren't able to score and since then davis has just picked it up and mowed them down while tampa bay gets the rbi single from crawford and the safety squeeze rbi picked up by kapler. the fourth inning. they added one in the ninth and the rbi by longoria and have the 3-07 lead. joe maddon's team looking to even up the four-game set.

2-2. one ball, two-strike count on markakis. nick with only one hit in 14 at- bats in the four-game series. 1-2 delivery. two ball, two strike count. you know. joe maddon is saying please, don't make me have to come out there. yip you're right. you want him to get an out, but he is 121 pitches that gets you a little concerned. >> gary: 2-2. fouled off the mask. markakis, always a tough out, and here facing being the final out. he is rattling davis.

2-2. and the count is full, three balls and two strikes. and you know maddon has already made the decision if markakis gets on what he is going to do. 122 pitches thrown. 3-2 delivery to markakis, and he has hit it off again. >> jim: this is the last thing that joe wants a long at-bat. of course, he wanting it to end well. >> gary: the orioles see how important that run in the ninth inning was now that potential tying run is in the hole rather than waiting on deck. here is the 3-2 delivery again. markakis goes and a complete game shut-out for 24-year-old wade davis and 10 strikeouts including striking out the side in the ninth inning.

it is hard to be much more effective in a ball game than what he was and that is his first major league win. the rays take this one by a score of 3-0. tomorrow the red sox will be in town for game one of the series. jeremy gutly will take the mound against clay buchholz. our coverage begins at 6:30 on "o's xtra" followed by the game at 7:000s masn. i'm gary thorne. we thank you for joining us. this has been a masn presentation. wade davis 1-1. mark hendrickson, the loser, is 5-5. and a pitchers' match-up throughout. jim and rick, "o's xtra," right now! >> so wade davis pitches tampa bay to a four-game series. he was outstanding tnt as he pitch as complete game shut-out to pick up his first major league win and 10 strikeouts on

the night, including striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth. welcome in, everybody. it is "o's xtra" presented by verizon fios. jim hunter and rick dempsey. you are a catcher. that kid had it going tonight. >> he did. what you like to see about him and what you really would like to see about the oriole staff is as the game went on, he got stronger and stronger and stronger. the manager gives him an opportunity to finish the ballgame. going into that foul lineth inning, 107 pitches, jim. he strikes out the side. three guys in a row. what an outstanding effort. you have to take your hat off to that. >> let's get a look at the game highlights. they would be the only team to score. top of the third. two outs and none on against mark hendrickson. jason bartlett hits this ball to left field. it would end up as a triple. >> he tries to make a play. he goes all the way to the wall. he ends up with a triple. >> the next batter is carl crawford and tampa bay take as 1-0 lead.

two out, ways hit again. they get two men on. the triple and then the single and tampa bay goes up 1-0. >> top of the fourth, the runner at third and one down. here is gabe kapler. joe maddon puts on the squeeze and it works. >> you don't see that very often. it might have been a chance at home plate had the pitcher just scooped. no way he throws to first base. tampa bay goes up 2-0. >> the orioles having trouble with the floating strike zone all night long and it finally got the manager david trembley who was e gented in the seventh inning as the orioles drop it by a final of 3-0. tampa bay gets 10 base hits. they end up stranding 10 men on base. the orioles only four base hits as they struck out 10 times in this gas game. wade davis picks up his first major league win. mark hendrickson takes the loss. he is 5-5. wade davis not only gets the win, he pitch as complete game shut-out. you knew if markakis got on he would probably have to come out of the game because he was up

in the 120s, the pitches. what a performance by a young man who is out there in his third big league start. he looked like a seasoned veteran. >> he really did. he showed a lot of strength. you watch the fastball. the middle of the orioles' order with all fastballs. 94, 95 miles per hour. yeah, there were a couple of curve balls in there as i remember, too, especially to pie. boy, when he went after markakis, it was turn the dial up. you love to see that. not too many young pitchers are going to go out there with that same kind of approach that davis did tonight. he was very impressive. >> let's head back to the masn broadcast booth and welcome back jim palmer, the hall of fame pitcher. your impressions of this 24- year-old right-hander. without a doubt, he had it going tonight. >> he was amazing. rick knows as well as i do pitchers can do what wade davis did tonight. a lot of them don't know that. but, again, what eni see a guy narks is old-time baseball there where a guy has got a 3-0 lead. he hasn't had any problems. the only problem he has, the only guys he walked were in the

first inning and kapler bails him out with a great play. this is the second time mora strikes out on a great slider. fastball to a fastball hitter, scott that is the play that really got the orioles going. it was about six inches outside. they only had one guy in scoring position after the first inning and take was on michael aubrey's double. a young pitcher who comes to the big leagues at the end of the year trying to make a mark. they traded scott kazmir and then they'll get their four- round draft choice a couple of years ago to come to the big leagues. there are the numbers that rick deferencey talked about. 3-13 against pitchers faced for the first time this year. this stuff was electric. you could light up most of baltimore the way this kid threw the ball don't. >> jim, aside from wade davis and how he pitched. you have to look at the orioles' offense for the second night in a row. i know they won last night on the bottom of the ninth walk- off home run by matt wieters, but still, not a lot of offense and again, tonight, no offense. only our four hits.

>> i think the one guy that is pressing a little bit and we know how good a player he is, is nick markakis. once he -- he wants to get to 200 hits. he has never done that. he is 25 hits away. if you go back to the bases loaded, the first pitch he swung at was a fastball up and in. a pitcher's pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning and it got him deeper in the could believe and he grounded out. very rarely does he swing at that type of pitch. i think what is happening is he wants to drive in 100 runs. he is six away from that even though he did that a couple of years ago. it would be nice to get 200 hits. but nick markakis is about getting quality pitches to hit, and he hasn't got an lot of good pitches. tonight, there were not a lot of good pitches. wade davis, you can put this in the book. this is one of the best young pitching game i have seen all year long. i hope our young orioles pitchers were paying attention because we have young guys who

can pitch like that, maybe not throw as hard, but have the ability to pitch into the ninth inning and not even have to hand the ball to the closer. >> the other thing that was very impressive about him, here is a guy, only his third start, and the umpire, without a doubt had a floating strike zone. we saw it both ways tonight. for some reason, wade davis after that first inning, he was able to exploit that. if you're going to get a pitch four, five inches out of the zone, you're going to exploit it. >> i talked to their analyst, brian anderson, who was a left- handed pitcher who pitched in the major leagues and he said he can pitch in and out. but something we always talk about, guys, is that at the major league level for some pitchers, the game speeds up. you know, guys like brian matusz, it looks like they have an idea of how to slow the game down. in his second start at fenway park, and rick can tell you, he has had to go out a lot of the time on the mound at fenway

park and say, hey, take a deep breath because you walk out there, the 37-foot fence looks like it is right behind shortstop and that's what happened to him. tonight, again, the orioles, let's be honest, they don't have one of the greatest hitting attacks. they have been scoring runs considering for the fact that huff is playing for the tigers and they lost power. this kid earned this victory. the strike zone was very big, but it wasn't when he got out of the first inning bases loaded jam. it could have been a continuation of the red sox and the orioles let him off the hook in the first and it was history after that. >> we appreciate the visit. >> you're welcome. >> jim palmer from the masn broadcast booth. wade davis pitches a shut-out. let's get a look at the at&t player of the game as voted on by the fans. wade davis gets 60% of the vote. here is your at&t player of the game as he picks up his first major league win at oriole park with a complete came shut-out and he punctuated it by striking out the side in the

bottom of the ninth. the orioles manage only four base hits. tampa bay gets the win to earn a four-game series split. @ú@úé

 >> the manager dave tremble was ejected from this one and did if the agree with some of the wall-strike calls. he was ejected. let's head inside orioles' clubhouse, manager dave trembley's post-game comments presented by verizon wireless. >> he had four pitches, pitched in, had good sink, good movement and pitched a great game. we tried to piece it together with hendrickson, i thought the first three innings he was real sharp. that's about what we expected, 60 pitches. he did a real nice job for the first time out, and, you know, we tried to mix it and match it as best we could, but our scoring opportunities were limbed. i think we only had one more after that. so, you know, you tip your cap to their guy who pitched a

complete game and that ought to be the story of the game. that's it. >> are you happy with the everall performance you got from your pitching staff, though? >> i like what i saw out of hen. you know, we faced some left- handed hitters and he threw some good breaking pitches. meredith guilty a big out to keep us in the game. buehrle, the game could have gotten blown open there. i didn't like, you know, sarfate and bass, they get two quick outs and then they let the horse out of the barn. you to be able to put it away and get the third out. we're lucky in both instances that the game didn't get really one sided right there. so that's that. nine innings from relievers and hendrickson has been in relief for about three months. >> it takes some thought and you have to have your guys

ready. you know, you have to kind of see who is coming up and make sure guys know what the situations are and you have to match it up as quick as you can and you have to try to keep the score right where it is at so you can keep the scar at hand. you can see how davis was pitching. you know, two or three runs probably going to be it. i was kind of hoping maybe he'd walk a couple of guys and we'd hit one. it didn't happen. the first inning was -- you couldn't have scripted it any better the way we started the game. and then when you get nothing out of it, but he's got to take a deep breath and say, okay, here we go, you know. lady luck is on my side tonight. >> when you see that happen, and you get that gnawing feeling like this is going to come back to bite us when you see an opportunity like that? >> i don't feel that way if we go out and put a zero up, you know, and you keep the momentum there because you feel like you're going to get another shot. you should get another scoring

opportunity in the ballgame. usually there's three times in the game where it is going to sway one way or the other. there's usually three. >> dave wlarks can you say about your disagreement with the home plate umpire? what happened there? >> oh, i figured everybody could hear me. what the heck. >> was it about the strike zone? >> yeah, i would say. i'd say that's -- yeah, that's -- you know. >> and you pointed to the dug out. was that you or someone else and you went to protect somebody? >> yeah, that was to a couple of other people in the dug-out. that's -- that's baseball. [ inaudible ] >> oh, i don't know. i don't ever think you get your men's worth. lord knows i have paid enough of it. i don't think you ever get your money's worth, but you get your

point across, you know. all right? >> the manager dei trembley, his post-game comments and the last couple of questions about home plate umpire ron rope cuppa who ejected trembley. obviously the orioles' dug-out did in the agree with several calls on the night. we're going to show you two. this is what really started it. one went against the orioles for an out and another for a walk. >> this is brian roberts. it seems like it move as little off the outside corner of the plate. not the worst pitch i have ever called, but brian roberts, i have to trust him because he has one of the best eyes of any hitter in all of baseball. but he thinks it is outside. it is outside. that's the pitch right there. hen, almost down the mid of the plate that may be the one definite pitch that he had there that ended up walking zobrist. i don't blame the manager for being mad on that one because it is almost down the middle of the plate. he is calling it as he sees it, but as the night went on because davis was so locked in,

it seemed like he got all of the close calls and the orioles got none of them and that led to the frustration. >> pretty much the ingredient. they want to call the strikes, they want to get games over with, as quick as possible. but when you have a young guy out there who is throwing the ball over the plate for the majority of the time, when a pitch comes up that is questionable, and i have caught a lot of guys like this, they're more than happy to give them the pitches. jim palmer was one of the best of it. sometimes when they were off the corners, they would give it do him. body eker was the same way. the umpires love to call it a strike. >> and mark hendrickson, this would have been a start for brian matusz who has been shut down for the rest of the year. hendrickson did a good job. he did pitch into the fourth inning and gave the team a chance. >> when he started for the orioles early object the season, three innings was about his max, you know. he was just one of those kind of guys that lost the quality of his pitches after that.

he pitched very good for the first three innings only giving up one run. that came with two out and nobody on and he gives up a triple and a single back-to- back. this is really what cost him there. outside of that, this is exactly what dave trembley and the coaching staff expected it of him tonight, three good solid innings. it ended up costing them another run. i'm sure from the very beginning they would have thought if hendrickson was going to give up one run, that was a good outing. they were happy to have him out there. >> here is his line. three and a third. he did not walk a batter. he did not strike out a batter and 56 pitches. but he was lifted with two men on and one down in the fourth inning. that's when dennis sarfate came out. he did allow an inherited runner to score in that fourth inning that was when the gabe kapler suicide squeeze was successful. dave trembley just talked about it. the next inning after he got a couple of outs, he couldn't find the strike zone.

>> he had a strikeout, a fly ball and a ground ball. this is what he did. dennis sarfate just completely lost 2 zone there. close pitches, yeah, he could have gotten a couple of those, too, based on what we have seen so far, but he couldn't get the breaking ball over for that stretch and the fastball was running on him too much. the velocity was there. not worried about it. dennis sarfate, i'm not giving up on him yet. he showed that he has good stuff out there, he just didn't have the zone down tonight. >> despite the three walksno runs charged to sarfate. six of the relievers came into this game and the only reliever who -- or who did allow a run was chris ray who allowed a run in the ninth inning, the lead- off walk, and then a stolen base by bartlett. all in all the bullpen had a pretty good four-game series and tonight the starter gives up two and the bullpen pressed into action from the fourth inning on allows only one earned run. in this game the orioles had their best scoring chance in the first inning and you have to feel good about this.

bases loaded, nobody out and your clean home plate up hitter nick markakis coming up, but the orioles could not score and they didn't have very many other chances. >> they had it laid right in their lap right there. brian roberts walks and then pie a double. bases loaded. nick markakis, rite down the third-base line a good play to home plate to get the force out there on roberts. you see a pretty good shot right there. navarro just waiting. brian roberts just gets tagged. the next batter up. melvin mora swings and misses. a good breaking ball down inside and then you see luke scott with the fly ball to right field. no chance for the orioles to get a run in the first. they get out of big trouble. davis pitches his way nicely. >> that was a nice play by gabe kapler. markakis all of a sudden has cooled off a bit with his oh- fer four tonight. he is just 2-24. very unnick markakis-like coming down the stretch. >> i think there is a lot of pressure because a lot of people were talking about the 200 hits.

>> including you and i. >> oh, yeah. i was the one who side he possibly could do it. nick markakis, he is one of the guys that pressure doesn't seem to bother him like most major league hitters. i think i have seen a little bit this week. [ tampa bay wins it 3-0. they're in a four-game series split. tonight was all about wade davis. e, the rookie. he pitches a shut-out, pleat game. the rays win it 3-0.

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 >> we hope you can join us "o's xtra" at 6:30 tomorrow night. brooks robinson will join us on set. he is here to honor melvin mora who is second in orioles' all- time history for games played at third base. so rick deferencey will only be the second most famous player on the set here tomorrow night. don't forget you can log on to masnsports.com and play fantasy baseball for a chance at weekly prizes and an opportunity to have lunch with dave them

bring. register for free. you can use a virtual $100 million salary cap to select your fantasy baseball roster. you play on your own, form your own league or invite your friends. play masn's maximum assets fantasy baseball today. it is going to be a lot of fun here tomorrow night with brooks robinson coming out. >> it is good to see him. i haven't seen him here in a while. it is good to see him. >> 16 gold gloves. there is a guy who knew a lot about defense. the orioles' defense actually kept the game as close as it did. >> they really did. brian roberts plaid a couple of great plays tonight. we're going to get a chance to see them here. this is off the bat of aybar up the middle. he picks it up, throws to first base just in time to get. another shot at it here. brian roberts shows a nice little 360 move. it is the perfect throw back to first base. a couple of great plays by brian roberts on the night. look at this shot. he knocks the ball down.

a pretty good shot. and nolan reimold coming in and charging the ball. very tough to see in the lights here. on his knees. he hits the ground and then makes the play. four great plays by the orioles tonight on defense. >> but it was wade davis who struck out 10 and tampa bay wins bait final of 3-0 to win a four-game split. we coming down the wire in the races. boston loses at home to the angels 4-3-a damaging loss. the red sox will try to make a charge on the yankees. the yankees are off today. so boston is now seven games back of new york in the american league east. the tigers lose to kansas city 9-2 as zach greinke pitched another great game. they're only four games up on idleman minnesota and the white sox are trying to stay in it. they began the night six games out. they could gain another half game. but chicago at seattle is tied 3-3 now in the 13th inning. here is an updated look at the wildcard standings coming down

the stretch. the red sox who will be here tomorrow night really have a comfortable six-game lead on texas. seattle is still in there fur above .500, but 11.5 games off the pace. when we come back on "o's xtra," more on tonight's 3-0 loss to tampa bay and what a night for wade davis and what a game defensively for both clubs! 

 >> boston comes for a three- game series. night game tomorrow and saturday and a day game sunday to close it out. the orioles head out on the road for the final time this year with toronto games monday and tuesday night. mark hendrickson made the start for the birds tonight. he went three and a third and into the clubhouse to mark hendrickson. >> it kind of felt like spring training trying to get extended out. obviously i threw three innings last week and the pitch count wasn't up as much as it was tonight. i knew that was going to

happen. i just tried to stay focused as i got later in my pitch count. >> did you feel comfortable? >> for the most part. i had a different kind of energy going out there the first inning. obviously it is a little different coming out of the bullpen versus starting. and i slowed myself down and made some pitches and, you know, for the most part just tried to keep my team anytime. [ inaudible. [ . >> >> it was a cut but in the as much as perhaps i would have liked. i probably went three and a third. that's just the fine line. little things here and there. for most part, you know, we -- the bullpen came in and did a great job. tip your cap. we got beat tonight. wade pitched a great game. >> you know, to keep the team in it. more so that was kind of my main -- i didn't know exactly how long i was going to be able to go, but, you know, getting out of there, i thought dennis came in and did a good job of

limiting them to one run that inning and we couldn't get anything going. we had an opportunity to get some runs. didn't do it. and then, you know, from then wade just got more confident as the game went on and he was real tough tonight. >> "o's xtra" challenge, dempsey squeaks it out. robertss oh-fer three. they each had a walk and dempsey gets the win. here is the pitching match-up for tomorrow night. >> jeremy guthrie back on the mound for the orioles. he continues to hit. he is really starting to pitch a lot better towards the end of this season. but clay buchholz who has somehow manage to handcuff the o's ano-hitter. >> we'll see you back here tomorrow night at 6:30. game one of the three-game series against boston have a great night, everybody! 100% angus beef. there! you found a point of entry! the bacon beckons like a springboard to paradise. one small bite for man... etcetera, etcetera. angus axiom number 11: bring on the bacon.

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even if he never gets to hold the trophy. and it would be proof to have it. and i think that mark, his whole life has been about racing, been dedicated to it. and i i think it would mean a tremendous amount to him, his family and everybody that's been involved in his career. he has certainly put the time

in. he's certainly had the success. he deserves it. >> one driver that's held a championship trophy, tony stewart. but he's never won a championship as an owner. he's embarked upon ownership this year. how would you assess the way he's going to attack this thing? >> i've been so impressed with tony. tony has always been edgy. you never knew when he was going to kind of go off. this year he's been the i've ever seen. with all that added pressure to be a car own oner, i've been impressed. tony has done a great job. they're able to look at this thing and say nobody picked us to be in it. we certainly weren't supposed to have won all these races. i think they have nothing to lose. this could be our first championship as a team. we have nothing to lose. no one expects us to be here, let's roll the dice and see what happens. >> tony stewart did win three races and held the championship lead for most of the regular season. but is he the guy you predict to win this thing? >> no, he's not the guy i predict, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did win it.

i think mark martin is ready. all the stars are lined up. he got with hendrick motorsports. he's been able to show everybody how good he is, that equipment's really good. he andle allen are working well together. and i just believe with the strength of hendrick motorsports and the talent of mark martin, and the desire of mark martin, to me, that's who i believe will win it all. >> there are without a doubt millions of race fans pulling for mark martin to win his first championship. after all, he's been the runner up four times. the chase begins sunday in new hampshire: >> >> and we will bring you complete post-race coverage from loudon once the race goes final. that's sunday on espnews. live news conferences from the winning driver and team. once things go final in new hampshire this weekend in the first race in the chase. >> top stories on the way. there's been another score in

miami. how is it affecting things between the canes and yellow

>> next on espnews, tep and u under the lights in miami. coastal powers collide. and an acc battle ripe with implications. wildcard implications in detroit. how the tigers dealt with the royals ace, and the lead they'll take into minnesota's full house

this weekend. after leading sc to a win in columbus, what matt barkley discovered today about his chances of playing on saturday. all next on news. >> it is great to welcome you inside the espnews room. kevin consor here, keeping you current on a showcase night for acc football. just ask georgia tech back jonathan dwyer who said this week "i don't know why everyone is putting us down. the acc is a tough conference. we do have four of the top 25 teams. two battling tonight. georgia tech at no. 20, miami. dwyer held in check. just>> five carries for seven yards in the first half. but tech getting things going on the opening drive. it would lead to a tech field

goal. later in a the first quarter, ja'kouri harris, up top to -- jacoryso harris, part of a 4-pl, 70-yard scoring drive. 7-3 canes. second quarter, miami driving again. 3rd and 2. harris rolling, throwing. epps catching. harris, 7 of 9 on the drive. canes led 14-3. later in the second quarter. harris rolling again. lots of time. it's epps again. canes would boot a field goal. lead 17-3. miami scored on the first three drives of the game. third quarter, harris to on jimmy graham. 14-yard touchdown. miami led 31-10. georgia tech lining up to punt. closing seconds of the third quarter. it gets away from chandler anderson. boots it out of the back for the safety. miami led 33-10. but tech, the run happy footbal

team passing this time. josh nesbitt, 56 yards to thom thomas. p.a.t. would be good. and miami leads 33-17 right now. 8 minutes, 36 seconds to play in land shark stadium. canes are in georgia tech territory. inside the 40-yard line. again, jonathan dwyer held to 7 yards rushing in the first half of this game. we remind you, once it goes final, espnews has you covered with full postgame coverage. we'll have highlights, analysis, interviews. it all comes your way on espnews. following the game over on espn, georgia tech, and miami. big acc battle. all right, baseball now, cole hamels, the story. phils taking on the nationals. hamels was red hot, getting christian giewz mawn and josh willingham, and ian desmond.

took a perfect game into the sixth inning. he would get some run support in the fifth. >> on the ball up, jimmy rolli rollins. doubles. pedro felice comes around to score. and bottom six. after the perfect game was broken up. hamels, a single of his own. r.b.i. single plates jason werth. and the phils go on to win. hamels strikes out. one earned on his tenth win of the season. brad lidge locks down his 30th save. all right, west leading angels taking on the wildcard leading red sox. pick things up in the fourth. jason bay off urban santana, two-run homer, number 33 on the year. put the red sox up 3-1. 3-2 game in the sixth inning. josh beckett, getting kendry

morales in the inning. then in the 7th. this would have ended the inning, striking out chone figgins. instead it gets past jason varitek. kendrick scores the tieing run. then top nine, it's kendrick with the stick off billy wagner. out of the reach of dustin pedroia. terry evans scores the game winner. and the angels win. snapping a seven-game red sox win streak. fuentes locks down his 42nd save of the year. angels snap a three-game skid of their own. >> well, angels and red sox, all-time postseason meetings. it has been dominated by boston. red sox winning back in '86. the dramatic 7-game series would send the red sox to the world series before they lost to the mets. then in 2004, 7 and 8, allred sox wins in the alds.

it's possible these teams would meet again in the post season. >> zach greinke leading the royals up against the a.l. central leading tigers. and greinke was a house of fire in the early going. getting miguel cabrera, alex owe leave aand don kelly. bottom four though, cabrera, the line drive off of greinke who would stay in the game until the sixth inning. taken out after five for precautionary reasons. had not allowed an earned run. >> deep to right field. >> top six, some insurance off the bat of josh anderson, three-run homer. royals win 9-2. so despite leaving after five innings, greinke does get the win. his 14th of the season. lowers his major league leading era to 2.14. tigers will take a four-of game lead in to play over minnesota in minnesota. >> and they'll send rick porsello to the bump.

verlander, carl pavano on saturday, washburn, and scott baker on sunday. >> marlins and reds. oh, the fish can't win in cincinnati. eight straight losses at great american ballpark. entering play. top one, it's darnell mcdonald off an abell sanchez. second homer of the year. >> get back to excellent points senator lugar mentioned during his extensive question. and that is about the election. today is the 17th. we are supposed to hear some definitive results. i am told the afghan central election commission has released results showing president karzai has received 54.62% of the vote.

now the international community is still waiting for the independent election commission to make its assessment. senator lugar raised the possibility as many as one-third of president karzai's votes might be invalid. i wonder if any of you can tell me we can expect to hear something from the independent election commission. it seems to me listening to the administration there is almost a resignation that president karzai is going to be the president for the next term and that somehow those results will be allowed to stand to the extent that either he will be really liked on the first the

world outdoor a runoff. so i hope several of you can comment on this but let me start with dr. hosseini. you are here on behalf of the unhcr but you have been in the area and have talked extensively. i assume you have talked across the spectrum of the ethnic groups in afghanistan. so what is your assessment of the support among the populace for president karzai of their feeling with the validity of the election results and what might happen? >> well, i think when you speak to ordinary afghans, there is no question they expressed some

disappointment and the performance of the afghan government so far many of them expect more, and rightfully so. as far as the elections, clearly there have been some irregularities with these elections and there have been well publicized. precise scale of these irregularities and whether they will force a second round of by-elections is up to the ecc and isc to determine. i am doing the recount. an nomani view it's important this investigation be faeroe but also that it be relatively expeditious, and i see this as an individual and not with my hat on, and i think it is to the detriment of the country to have a prolonged period of political

paralysis. it's to the detriment of the elections and i think you would exacerbate the afghan people already high level of anxiety about the elections and cast doubt on the credibility of the outcome. i think it must be done relatively quickly and of course the outcome has to be acceptable to most afghans and have a semblance of credibility, difficult task indeed. on the elections i do want to put the entire process in some kind of perspective and say as small as the elections are and we shouldn't compare the second presidential election in afghanistan to a process here in the states or france, let's be clear about that, but it was an extraordinary logistical achievement to even hold these elections even more so than the last time around. 3,000 donkeys carrying ballots,

thousands of people who had to be trained in the middle of conflict and insurgent areas under the threat and intimidation of taliban. hundreds of female searchers that have to pat down anybody to make sure it isn't a man carrying a suicide jacket. those are the sort of logistics we are talking about so from a logistical standpoint it was an extraordinary achievement, and the second point of perspective i would offer is that for 30 years now the traditional means of the transfer of power in afghanistan has been through violence. the afghans have an opportunity to demonstrate those days are in the past and they can affect a peaceful transition of power and maybe we in the international community ought not rush to judgment and we ought to wait and let the afghans results

this. >> ms. lockhart, would you like to comment on that and do you believe president karzai has majority support among the population of afghanistan? >> i think that it's the european union and they suspect the votes were invalid, then it will be demonstrated the incumbent doesn't have majority support, and i would agree with dr. hosseini that there is considerable anxiety amongst the population and lack of trust in the government over the last few years. what we are seeing at the moment on the ground as the complaints commission investigating the irregularities that it may take several weeks and i very much agree that this resolved as quickly as possible because the vacuum in the leadership will be problematic on the ground. i think there are four options, very quickly from here on.

the victory of the incumbent. the risk of this approach is the alliance is with a legitimate force is made i don't think would assure a good enough governance over the coming months and years and they may see further deterioration in the governance. a second approach is to accept that and have a robust counter insurgency effort. that hasn't been tried in other insurgencies in the past and the jury will be open as to whether it can be successful. a third option i think would be to accept the incumbent but have a robust agreement on benchmarks for accountability going forward and i believe the afghan people will be looking for the international community to take a robust approach on asking for the standards of accountability and benchmarks of reaching good governance and the last option would be to go back to the drawing board if the ecc validates balance on one or more of the candidates for the process of the hole that would

open the question of moving to a new peace agreement or new bond agreement. >> i am sure you agree it should be done expeditiously. do you have any idea when we might hear something definitive from the ecc? >> i believe that is specified in the ecc regulations they must report within a specified amount of time after the 17th of september. i believe, but i could check that. >> thank you. anyone else on the panel wish to touch on this? >> senter wed? >> thank you, senator lugar. i would like to express my appreciation to the chairman and to you for having put together this extraordinary variety of expertise in the panel today. i don't know any american public servant who has had more time on

the ground, intellectual dedication and emotional commitment than ambassador crocker. it is great to see you here today. dr. hosseini, as someone who spent a good part of his life as a novelist and also having worked in the dread hollywood off and on for about 15 years, i had incredible admiration for the literary achievement that you were able to bring in three's you can communicate to people on an emotional level in a way they come to understand things probably better than any other way and just an amazing week how willful film and i congratulate you on what you put together. all of the rare to see piece of literature that can hit all the issues of loyalty and respect and father-son relationships and

all of those things is amazing achievement. i would like to begin by expressing my appreciation for what senator corker said because it does address the difficulty that we have appeared in this particular issue. that is when you look at where we seem to be coming here from a national strategic perspective, from a perspective of national interest, american national interest in terms how we use our assets, where we put expenditures in terms of national treasure, whether we should build up an infrastructure to address an enemy that is basically a mobile enemy, and we saw this in iraq but frankly. we built up a huge infrastructure to address two different sets of problems.

one plus the issue of international terrorism which is intrinsically mobile and decided to relocate after a period of time. but then also to have to pick up the pieces we had done following the invasion trying to repair relationships and move iraq for war. and terms of the at vantage that the forces of international terrorism wish to have, that was pretty good for them long-term. we spent hundreds of billions of dollars and they've remained active. we are looking at something similar here in afghanistan, and i know that we have got national mission going on now talking about whether we are really going to attempt to basically build a state. and there is going to be a debate about this and i look at what happened in somalia a

couple of days ago and if you are talking about going after the forces of international terrorism that was a pretty effective way. coming over the horizon, hitting an element of terrorism not leaving behind infrastructure and being able to have the same maneuverability as your enemy. on the other hand, we are moving forward with a different debate and we will have that debate. the question is not whether there is no military solution, which has been agreed upon yet it is whether the military component is one that is going to work, and i say that because i would like to ask you on the panel here to look at this and two different perspectives. first at what point do we reach the tipping point with united states military where the

prisons and operations might be counterproductive? this has been raised before. but there is an additional component to this i have concern about and that is to what extent in afghanistan can we actually build a national army? i have asked this question to general petraeus and general mcchrystal and i asked admiral mullen the other day. this is a country with a lot of national pride. but the best i can see is that one period in the mid 1900 s if you take the police with this we are talking about to enter the 50,000. so, on the one hand, at one point those our presence region to the point where as counterproductive people believe that we are an occupying force or this and then can we actually

do the other piece of this in terms of the history of the country and dr. lockhart, i would actively like to get your view on that as a starting point. >> i do believe there is a point at which presence may be counterproductive but i don't believe we have reached that yet, and i think the only way that that can be tested or ascertained is through an observation of the population. i believe, like dr. hosseini that is a shade and consistent with the occupation. there is very much in the minority and the majority of the population seeks very much and hopes very much the u.s. commitment remains in the international partnership remains for the long-term stability of the country. in terms of the possibility of building the national institutions whether the army or other institutions, i believe it

absolutely is possible and fall remarkable success of the efforts since 2001 to build up the afghan army i had the honor to have the first battalion walk through the streets and it was the cheers of the population and pride of the people in that institution was remarkable because the deeply understand institutions make that, but basically the security can be met and we've seen that in the afghan national army and then across the different institutions where afghans with minimal commitment to training and education manage the institutions. >> thank you. ambassador crocker i remember you and all i had an exchange several years ago with the situation in iraq, and one of your strongly points was that the iraqi civil different ethnicities had come together in the national army and you're

point and that more than 200,000 shi'ites had actually died fighting and the year on iraq war. what are your thoughts about the situation with respect to afghanistan? >> well, the fortunate thing for me as i represent no one but myself these days. so last uninformed as my opinions may be at least i am entitled to have them and since you asked to express them all i do believe what we have seen thus far shows with all of the shortcomings in terms of manpower the afghans are capable of developing and fielding national forces. as i understand perhaps the army more so than the police.

but even with the police. and as you noted, sir, while afghanistan has a history of challenges to the central governments, national military and my sense is afghans are quite proud of the tradition of that military. i think it can be done and is being done but as we saw in iraq this takes time. deily tests and as you know that the iraqi security forces based almost took them apart so i think that we and afghans have to be careful not to put more burden on the forces than they can bear at this time like so many things in this part of the world whether it is iraq, pakistan or afghanistan this

will take time and know where i think is that more the case than in the development of the security forces. >> my time is expired but i appreciate both of your answers and of course the difficulty is the other side of that, that the more time we have with the size of the american presence to more risk we have been viewed in a different light. thank you for your comments. >> senator shaheen. >> thank you, mr. chairman. dr. lockhart, thank you for all the work you've done in afghanistan and in the post september 11 period when you were there on the ground helping leal the foundation we can move forward in afghanistan. when you have laid out the distinct options for the governance in this post election but you didn't say whether you felt there was the preferred

means of action to you think one of those options is preferable? >> i think the -- thank you for your kind words. i think the first two options i outlined leading the current government arrangement continue unchecked or trying to build the government's bottom-up where we have a vacuum in essence at the top are not going to be desirable and what not lead to success. i think the two other options, one of accepting the victory of the incumbent but putting in place very strict conditions and agreeing on benchmarks particularly on financial accountability and asking for devolution of power and putting in place checks and balances would be one preferred option and the other would be to go back to the drawing board and put in place a new transitional authority which would probably

governed for a tutor for your period and one of the tasks will be organizing a more robust set of elections which would require i think this inquiry into what went wrong and what the institutions one of which would be a census. >> does that run the risk of creating a perception that the international community is making the determination about the future of afghanistan? and sort of erasing the elections even recognizing that the elections might be for all? >> i think that might be possible if the ecc would first ruled that either candidates the process with a number of ballots or infil would so they would have domestic determination and then a lot of care would have to be taken to ensure the process

moves forward in accordance with afghan constitution and there are provisions within the constitution that allow that to take place. >> thank you for that clarification. dr. hosseini, this question is for you and dr. lockhart, and i like center web very much appreciate your book, and think that they are wonderful and have probably done as much as any policy in this country to make americans care about what happens in afghanistan. thank you for that. what do you see happening on the ground in terms of coordination of aid among the international entities in afghanistan and the u.n. and several of you have referenced that, and what should be done better to improve that coordination and to deal with the corruption and fraud that seems to be happening to much?

>> thank you for the kind words. i have to defer a great job of this question to my more qualified panel but there is a perception in afghanistan among civilians that of the billions of dollars that have come to afghanistan not a whole lot of it has reached the afghans themselves. there is a sense of disappointment that even though afghanistan has been focused on international attention for several years, by and large for average afghans, the quality-of-life has not improved significantly. most afghans are still lacking basic social services the same as they were a number of years ago. i will just say that the of much of the money that comes to