amber has great hands. >> jim: how are you amber? >> reporter: this isn't my first rodeo. i've got quick hands. i want to add one thing. trembley said he gave brian the choice to not play tonight and get the rest. we all know the plate is going to -- plain plane -- plane is going to come in around 3:00 a.m. brian said no i want to be out there today and tomorrow. i don't need the extra rest. >> jim: trembley did say in the session with the reporters, the first thing he did was go to the brian and say do you need the day off? brian is one of your best players. that's a question trembley new the answer to. they're going to ask brian

that. he'll say yes 162 times. >> jim: pitch inside. will not be in time. off the glove of zobrist. roberts thinks about going to third. >> joe: i think he's hurt himself. oh boy. >> jim: going in head first. they're checking on him to see what might be wrong. we'll get a look from the side. that's tough on the back. maybe the knee of zobrist hit into brian. he appears to be okay. he'll shake it off and stay in the game. >> jim: hard to tell. a lot going on there. >> joe: he doubled over right there. i don't know. >> jim: maybe the knee hit the base hard. >> joe: we're not doctors.

we're not going to guess. that's why roberts has to be in the lineup. he makes things happen. the most important person was satisfied. there's the head first slide. >> jim: helmet comes off. trying to go and stopped. thought better about it. maybe just knocked the wind out of him? >> joe: i think he jammed his neck a little bit. >> rob: the knee came toward the back of his neck. you always assume the back grabbed a little bit. >> joe: looks like he's okay. that's good. >> jim: jones with the chance for the rbi. he's ahead in the count. here's the situation the orioles have struggled with the first two games of the season. favorable hitters count. high fly ball center field up and back on it. has a play.

he has it for the out. nolan reimold leading off. orioles have a 1-0 lead for matusz. [ screaming ] hey. pbht! [ luke ] unless, of course, you've got at&t, the nation's fastest 3g network, which means you can surf the web and download videos in a snap. there you go, dad. hey. ♪ thanks. ha, this is good. [ male announcer ] at&t. a better 3g experience. get 50% off all messaging phones after mail-in rebate like the pantech reveal. only from at&t. welcome to progressive. nice calculator. i'm just trying to save money on my car insurance. you know, with progressive, you get the option to name your price. is that even possible? uh, absolutely. trade? and i still get great service? more like super great. oh, you have a message. "hello."

calculator humor. i'll be here all week. i will -- that was my schedule. the freedom to name your price. now, that's progressive. call or click today. four hours before you order them? it's all in the pepperation. for me, pepperation is about getting in early to smoke your ribs low and slow over pecan wood chips for a sweet, smoky flavor. then i triple-baste them till they're fall-off-the-bone tender. this is shiner bock barbecue sauce i'm using. come in now for baby back ribs. choose 1 of 10 freshly prepared entrées plus an appetizer for just $9.99. only at chili's. it's all in the pepperation. welcome back. orioles lead 1-0ed in 3rd. felix feels much better.

>> reporter: he says tomorrow he might try to throw the ball for the first time in a couple of games. he's going on a training program to help strengthen the muscles to make sure this isn't a laboring injury. dave trembley hasn't decided who is going to be the home opener starter in left field tomorrow. he's going to wait to see how felix throws tomorrow and make the last minute decision. >> jim: that's why you need the depth. >> joe: i think felix is going to give you better defense. the orioles are a better defensive team. even if he can't throw the ball, tell him to throw like damon does. don't worry about throwing people out. just throw the basics. reimold i think some day will

be a wonderful first baseman. >> jim: that pitch in the dirt. i asked trembley before the game about reimold coming back from the surgery. you know about the training that he was brought back slowly. he raced down the line and beat out the throw that could have been pay double play. they haven't been concerned with reimold running straight. where they're concern second degree the cutting and stopping you have to do in the outfield. >> joe: he told me and you the same thing, spring training he's about 80%. it's going to take him a while to get back to 100%. you know what he's pretty good at 80%. that is the second walk allowed by brian matusz for the second consecutive inning.

>> rob: it's not he ever had world class sprinter speed. it does hurt in the outfield. if he takes a bad angle on the ball, and did do that last night, he can't make up the ground. felix can run in the stand, grab a handful of popcorn and get back to make the catch. nolan can't afford to mess up that way. >> joe: defensively reimold's margin of error is much smaller. to me felix, there's no doubt he catches it. when you're not 100%, the ball finds you. >> jim: 1-1 the count. brian matusz, what you love about him he's got four great pitches, command of all of them, he's a strike thrower. what i like most about brian is

even when he does miss, and he will missouri -- will miss occasionally, he's always in the right neighborhood. >> rob: there was a game where he kept pumping fastball after fastball. he knew he should throw something else. then another game he'd work on something else and would trade another starter as a regular season game and throw more counts and work the hitters the way he normally would. he showed up again. you forget he is such a mature kid. >> joe: about a month and a half ago he was only 22. he's 23 now. >> jim: he turned 23 in early february. 2-2 on kapler. fouls it back. kapler in his second year with

the rays. 2007 he retired from baseball and became a minor league manager for the red sox. not only did he become a minor league manager he went back to a ball. he said being in the big leagues maybe wasn't so bad. >> rob: ride a few buses and eat peanut and butter sandwiches and you miss the bigs. >> jim: leadoff walk to burrell who is at first. kapler has worked full. it has happened to several hitters tonight. that bounced foul. look at burrell over at first base. not much of a lead. understandably after two pickoffs -- >> rob: he's not on this team

to steal any way. >> joe: he and atkins becoming real close there. burrell says you're not going to get me big boy. another 3-2 pitch coming here to kapler. it's a little low, ball 4. back to back walks. time now for the mitsubishi game throw. here's the pickoff. >> joe: matusz great move. look at atkins. he's a new first baseman, how he steps forward to catch the throw to give himself a good angle at second base. twice these threw to second base. atkins was a third baseman until this year. >> jim: test drive a mitsubishi today. >> rob: that's one of the toughest plays. he was most proud about the 3-6

putout he had. he made the accurate throw. it wasn't worrying about grounders. it was making the throw to second base. >> jim: number 9 kelly shoppach normally in this situation. number 9 would be asked to sacrifice. shoppach was acquired because he's a good catcher. maddon doesn't want to take the bat out of his hands at least not on that ditch. >> joe: his month production is amazing for limited at bats. >> jim: two years ago he hit 2 1 for the indians. you don't want to miss up in the strike zone. he's missing low. >> joe: i like matusz and his command. chances are it's going to be a

double play. if somebody can get to it, 1-1 down low. that swing has to be down. not a lot of speed out there for tampa bay with burrell the lead runner at second and kapler at first. as you see atkins playing behind. the infield looking for the ground ball to try to short circuit this rally. swings through it. 2-2. >> joe: he can throw it 93, 94. good movement. >> jim: it's interesting watching the swings at the fastballs. zobrist did the same thing as if he was looking for a changeup and late on the

fastball. all of a sudden it darts on you. if you were the hitter it surprises you. 2-2 the count. shoppach digs in against matusz. [cheering and applause] >> jim: 3-2 on kelly shoppach. beginning to get a bit concerned. >> joe: two men on base, nobody out. he'll throw any of the pitches in this situation changeup, breaking ball, whatever. he's not afraid to throw the pitch. >> jim: runner did say not go. it's ball 4. he has walked the bases loaded with nobody down. he's got four on the game. >> joe: for matusz, you'd never

see that. very unusual. he's always so around the plate. when do you see him walk the bases loaded like this? last year walked a total of 14 in 8 starts. one of the more interesting stats about brian last year, any you time he had a situation with a runner at third base and two outs, he never gave up a hit. healings got the third out. i think he has the ability to pitch -- he always got the third out. i think he has the ability to pitch with a runner on base. >> rob: he was the first guy to go over there and try to settle him down a little bit. >> jim: here's the situation if you're brian matusz you're in minimize the damage. here's the leadoff man,

bartlett. shoppach at first, nobody out. the ball is yet to be put in play this past inning. >> joe: if he gives up one run he'll be happy. it's low 1-0. next pitch number 60. one good pitch to get a double play ball and feel a whole lot better. >> jim: base hit. burrell will score being held at third kapler. tampa bay has tied it. bartlett delivers the second rbi of the season. tampa bay and the o's tied at 1. looks like he got that ball up. good place to hit that

ball. >> joe: you don't see that often unless he does that intentionally. that's bad location there. all of a sudden it's coming apart here on matusz. still nobody out. now crawford skied to left field. here comes kapler. here comes the throw. it will not be in time. the rbi gives tampa bay the lead lead. [cheering and applause] >> jim: the second of the three walks has come on the score. tampa bay has a lead. now if he gets the double play ball he can get out of the inning. >> joe: it was obvious luke scott was going to overthrow the cutoff man. shoppach never made the move to

go to third. he stays at second base. with one down he got another run run. here's zobrist. popped up, shallow left. luke scott moves in on the ball, has the out. he may have been able to score on that. >> jim: on a ball like that you might force luke the to throw. we'll never know. [cheering and applause] two down. all matusz has to do to get out of the inning is get past longoria. >> rob: is this guy up again? he singled into right field to lead off the second inning and was picked off as he broke trying to steal second base. >> joe: by the way that does go as a caught stealing. that's the first time in his career caught stealing up until that. he has not been thrown out by a

catcher. >> rob: he's one of the best in the business. how many knew that before tonight? >> joe: i'm thinking longoria is not all that upset. curveball inside. fewest at bats for rbis in april. that's pretty good production to get every four at bats under that. >> rob: i've never heard of the other guys. 1-0 on longoria with two on and two out now. good off speed pitch. that's a change up. >> joe: matusz is in trouble and yet gotten two outs on the last two pitches and throws longoria an outstanding changeup. it's not easy to fool longoria.

>> jim: 1-1. high foul. that's a wild strike. >> joe: you can't sneak a fastball past longoria. >> rob: i'd go to the changeup. >> jim: before the game he was hoping for fastball command to enable matusz to set up the changeup. see what he does here. he swings through it. out of it is matusz with only two runs. joe angel, much too brief. thanks for stopping by. 2-1 game. we head to the 4th.

covering the bases with garrett atkins. he thought baseball might be something he could enjoy as a career. look at him with the blond hair. he played in high school, university high school in university. we're pleased to be joined by his high school baseball coach

who was at the early stage of a player's career gets to see a guy develop. we appreciate you joining us. tell us about an established major leaguer. you knew him before anybody knew him. >> i knew him when he was a freshman in high school almost 13, 14 years old. he was a two sport athlete. he was a basketball player player and also baseball player. a lot of people don't know he was an honor student. he was a scholar athlete for the city and outstanding player obviously and a great hitter. >> jim: when you have a player attracting scouts and as we heard from garrett scouts started coming out. he was drafted out of your dram by the mets. he decided to go to ucla. how much was that his and his family's decision? how much were you involved in that? >> i believe his mother was in

education, the assistant principal for about 15 years. they have an academic background. he are i think -- i think he felt depending on where he was going to be drafted that would be an option. since he was so good in the classroom it was a good avenue. there were other things he needed to work on. he pitched a little bit and played third base, and outfield. >> jim: ground ball towards third. two quick outs. the high school baseball coach of garrett atkins nice enough to join us tonight. you have a guy that comes out of the program in california, there are so many baseball players that graduate from the

programs. how much is an inspiration is garrett to some of the players since then that you can honestly say you have a guy in the big leagues? >> there's another player that played in the big leagues about 13-14 years. i guess our school produces a lot of third baseman or infielders. garrett worked hard and had a great work ethic. he's done a lot of great things for our program when at the rockies. he had guys sign balls and bats. he was able to -- we were having financial problems in california with our school system -- he did a video trying to raise money in order to survive for the school district. >> jim: luke scott doubles down the line. he's at second in scoring

position with two down. >> rob: did you see early power position in garrett? did you see something early in him? >> he was a guy that always went to right center field. i can't tell you how many apartments he hit at our place. one ball hit close to 450 feet. he worked with his dad when he was younger in the 5th and 6 6th grade hitting the ball the opposite way. that's his power zone. >> jim: thanks so much for joining us. we cover the bases tonight on garrett atkins. thanks so much. >> nice meeting you. >> jim: mid 4th, rays have a 2- 1 lead. anncr vo: ...call emergency services... anncr vo: ...collect accident information. anncr vo: or just watch some fun videos. anncr vo: it's so easy, a caveman can do it.

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tonight's broadcast on masn brought to you by ford, your local ford dealer. we invite you to experience ford like never before. ford, driver one. thanks for joining us here tonight. brian matusz got out with two runs allowed. jim palmer not with us tonight. he rests his laryngitis. rob along, joe angel visited, jim hunter sitting in tonight. >> rob: i've never given up a grand slam. you've never won a cy young

award. this is a natural pairing. >> jim: between you and i neither have a hall of fame. >> rob: nor a world series or an underwear ad. >> jim: that's a good thing. in '97 if armando didn't -- not that i remember. >> rob: pena up against matusz. that's way up there. playable for adam jones who has it for the out. one away here in the 4th inning. don't forget next week you can celebrate the first t-shirt tuesday. first 15,000 fans receive a matt wieters baltimore t-shirt. you can get yours in advance

and save. call or visit orioles.com. the -- of course they will be heading home tonight. brian wore 52 last year and now wears 17. that's because each of the players, those were the numbers they wore their entire life. they were not available when matusz came up. huff had that number. when wieters came up, walker had that number. when the seasons ended they became available, and the the switches were made. phone calls to jimmie tyler went well because players got the number they wanted. >> rob: i think he called huff to make sure he could have it. he didn't mind. matt wieters showed showed the proper respect when the orioles

released walker. he waited until the season ended. that was the right thing to do. >> jim: the first hint i got something was up was in december at the orioles christmas party for the school kids. brandon showed up wearing number 52. brandon is now on the 40 man roster. he had a legitimate number. i was like that's good, tyler gave you a real number. that's when everyone found out matusz requested he go to 17. and brandon got 52 for now. there's the fifth walk. tampa bay has had base runners on in each inning against brian matusz. it was not as sharp as we have seen it but still 2-1 game. >> rob: when brian pitched last season, didn't walk a batter, struck out 7. it's unusual to

see him walk this many in any game. 74 pitches here in the 4th inning. foul off the bat of burrell. >> jim: burrell got that going with the leadoff in the 3rd. pitch count will be a concern especially for his first start. >> jim: the orioles have a very tough schedule early on. not only because 21 of the 28 are in the al. runner goes, pitch fouled back. they get a day off next

thursday. orioles don't have a game off until the 22nd when they travel all night from the west coast to boston. they'll probably get to bed at 9:00 in the morning and have the day off. the bullpen could be worn down. here's the tough early schedule. seven games on the coast. those are the only seven games they don't play in the division. 1 straight games following that trip. >> rob: the orioles always play monday, off tuesday. i've been asked by so many fans why they started on a tuesday. i'm considering because they're in the dome, don't need a rain day. you always get the break after the first game. >> jim: yankees have today off, their second day off and they have monday off, the day before their home opener. they'll have three days off. the orioles don't have a day

off 16 straight days. runner goes, swing and a miss, off the bat. burrell down on strikes for the second out. >> rob: stolen base, fourth strikeout. that's burrell. two down. >> jim: time for the at andt mobility question. who led all second base men in home runs last season. was that al or major leagues? we're going to expand to all 30 teams. i'm going to say dan -- two down. i was wrong last night, why not two nights in a row? i'm going to say upton. you have to guess as part of the deal. i'm getting my blackberry out. you have 30 second baseman to

choose from. i'll go with him right now. >> jim: let's see if either are right after i shamelessly pull you along. what about the guy in our division aaron hill who will be at camden yards tomorrow with 36 last year. >> rob: i get him confused with adam all the time. >> jim: it's amazing how often we get stumped by rod. >> rob: you led me down the wrong path. >> jim: you followed me. that was your first mistake. he had 31 last year. he was five short. with the talk in the off season, i figured it had to be him to make him a third

baseman. >> rob: with all the third baseman on the market, probably don't need a guy playing the position for the first time that doesn't want to do it. turns out tejada did want to do it. >> jim: 3-1 on kapler. broken bat, right to tejada. soft line drive ins the nick. a man left. we played 4 at the tropicana. rays have the lead. [upbeat whistling continues] discover the unexpected beauty and man-made relaxation in northwest florida. fly southwest's new nonstops from bwi airport to panama city beach starting at $99 one-way. (ding)

time for the geico highlights. tejada leading off against the starter. he hit niemann with the hard line drive. niemann could not continue. he left the game. sonnanstine came on. rye mold leading off in the 3 3rd. that gave the orioles the 1-0 lead. after three walks to begin it will bottom of the 3rd, jason bartlett to out field. tampa bay has the 2 run lead. here's the orioles now in the 5 5th inning. it will be reimold in the bottom lineup. takes the strike, 1-1 the count. reimold has hit in two straight games. he did not play in the opener

tuesday then started last night. now his first home run. this one to center field. playable to upton. one down. >> rob: nighman -- niemann always starts like in tonight's game. he was only on the mound because they want the left advertise going on the mound in the third game. if you think about the depth that the tampa bay organization has, they traded cashmere who was established because they knew there were players coming behind them. >> rob: it was interesting because niemann last year didn't know if he would make

the club. those guys finished up, sat in the clubhouse, waited to see who made the team. niemann went ahead and accompanied accompanied the team. >> jim: they have one of the top pitching prospects who is pitching tonight for triple a. he's pitching against tillman. ties batting in the bottom of the 3rd. their depth extends as the orioles does to triple a. atkins gives it a good look, takes it outside. fredrick got rained out. that's got to be tough. you get so excited and get

rained out. rick pitches for fredrick. berry scheduled for his minor league schedule tonight. dave trembley 20 years. he has three hits that have been doubles. >> rob: you know you'll get plenty with tejada as well. amber -- >> jim: julio is new to the team. he's still getting to know everybody. he brings winning experience. he was on the dodger, red sox recently. he told me when it comes to a team mixed like this team it's about developing respect. he likes the way young players on this team show the veterans respect. he likes the worth ethic. they seem to be mature. he likes the way they go about their business coming early. he did notice they leave a

little early. i told him maybe they're trying to get a little rest and not that mature. overall the one player he really is impressed with is adam jones. he's really enjoyed watching him. >> jim: it used to be after the game players sit in the clubhouse and talk about the game. it seems to be a lost art. lou remembers those days and obviously is fond of those. at that time lugo was a devil ray. he made three consecutive starts as the short stop. bartlett tied lugo for most in franchise history. >> rob: he became good friends with ty during his time. we were asking some of the guys, what do you think of

lugo? they absolutely loved him. model citizen involved in the community. they enjoyed his time there and absolutely loved him. it was funny because we were so concerned with who was playing left field ton. it never occurred lugo might be short stop. >> jim: high fly towards the gap in left center field. atkins played safe. back to the bag and 2 away. lugo flied out twice. it will be interesting how trembley finds enough at bats. he said he wasn't terribly happy about the day he was traded because the cardinals are a contender. when he came over, he said i'll do what the manager tells me to do. it helps that he plays third base. you're going to have to

convince tejada he needs a day off. >> rob: he thought he'd have more of an opportunity here. the first day we met with him i kind of mentioned casually i know you're familiar with brian roberts. those are your two positions. dave trembley told hymn he'd try to get him in the lineup. they didn't think brian would be good enough at second. brian will have to rest the back. you have to drag him to get him out of the lineup. he was available and had some good years. he's more experienced. they went after him and got him. it didn't cost much. >> jim: mike is getting loose in the tampa bay bullpen. it helps he can play all positions. it reminds me of jeff when he was on the team. his first year with the orioles

in '97 he played every game at third. when you're the utility guy like that, where do you find at bats? >> rob: when johnson was on the mound. he owned him. if your dave trembley and the guy making out the lineup card, those are the problems you want. you want to have too many players. it's far different from the other alternative how am i going to get nine guys out there? >> jim: roberts pulls it deep, foul down the right side. when joe angel visited with us, he was talking about pa and his

defensive ability. you have three players essentially for three spots. one of the players, the least likely pa being dh. tonight luke in left and reimold dh. you want to have the depth that is quality depth that when you go to the other player he's capable of being in there and probably deserves to be. we see the same thing from andy and dave. they were running out of outfielders late last season. knocked down by the short stop. there's the first base of the year for roberts. roberts finally breaks after 0- 0-11. >> jim: the pitch the opposite way, hit it hard just below the

target. >> rob: when brian is struggling, the offense struggles. dave is going to keep running him out when he can. he knows he can turn it around and get on base. >> jim: there's mike coming on. sonnanstine gives maddon quality work.

this copy righted telecast may not be reproduced in any form without the consent of the orioles. thanks for joinings us tonight. there's mike ekstrom making debut tonight. ekstrom had been a career padre. the padre tried to sneak him through waivers. he made the team. roberts at first with two men down. orioles try to get this game even. jones coming up. runners in scoring position. each one for four on the night. strike on the outside corner. i like the fact he allowed 11 runs and walked 7 batters.

>> rob: the numbers don't jump out at you as being impressive. he did go 3-0. >> jim: very good numbers for the padres last year. not too anxious. let it go by. 1-1. last year was the first full season in which he was a reliever. adam jones twice flied out to center field tonight. delay on that swing. [cheering and applause] 1-2. jones has two games in the series. he got him.

[cheering and applause] >> rob: can't find the bob. shoppach throw to first and gets him. shoppach not able to locate the ball then he gets it and fires to first. we'll head to the bottom of the 5th. rays with the lead.

it was nice she was able to fight through that. she's been able to see me play baseball and have the last 15 years with her and see the things me and my sister have done. i'm sure she's enjoyed every minute of it. i think back on every time i've had success with the pink bat. it's a way for guys in the locker room to show support.

>> covering the bases tonight talking about his mom surviving breast cancer. his mom, dad and younger sister he referred to growing up in southern california, went to ucla, drafted by colorado and now in oregon. >> jim: brian matusz stays on. he'll face shoppach, crawford behind him. breaking ball low. shoppach drew one of the walks that got tampa bay going in the 3rd inning, three consecutive walks. he was the third of the three. he went too far. [cheering and applause] to me he clearly went there. so the fans are reacting than

the orioles got a call and rays didn't. the replay shows he did in fact go too far. >> rob: they're still bitter over the crawford check swing called a strike 3 when he's already trotting to first base and then all of a sudden has the strikeout double play. >> jim: 2-1 on shoppach. bartlett on deck and crawford for tampa bay in the 5th. rays are trying to start 3-0 for only the second time in franchise history. if they do, they hope they end up having a better season they did in 2002 when they did start 3-0 prior maddon coming in. they started 3-0 and went on to lose a record 106 games.

2-2 to shoppach. he got him. down on strikes goes shoppach and one away. brian matusz part of the building blocks of the future. here's the current 25 man roster building from within. all of these players were drafted by and developed by the orioles and a part of the current 25 man roster going back to brian roberts the oldest drafted in 1999. that's how you get stability in an organization. bergesen will pitch tomorrow. hernandez pitching saturday. orioles not only have three of the five in their starting rotation that came through their system, they're pitching consecutively in the rotation. you also have three other players, jones, millwood on this team that other players were drafted by the orioles and trade add way. felix being the third. that's

how you get stability in the organization. draft well, develop well. all the players that came through the system -- bartlett called out on strikes for the second out. drafted by and developed by the orioles. >> rob: they share chris tillman trying to get up here, maybe troy patton. that was a really good pitch. we can't forget about zack that could be better than all of them them. >> jim: zack britain was to start tonight for the bay sox.

brandon made a strong impression at spring training. he refined the delivery a little bit. everybody noticed how much he had improved in that area. he worked on it over the winter and wouldn't throw a ball. he was working on repeating the same delivery like shadow throwing and looked better. he's a prospect. he's still a young kid. >> jim: two of the six players with 25 steals in the each of the last five seasons. there's a strike. best way to take away that weapon is don't let him get on base. >> rob: pit really is a simple -- it really is a simple game. keep it -- >> jim: he got him. very strong inning for matusz.

not only three and three down. we'll head to the 6th 6th. y ct smoking your baby back ribs four hours before you order them? it's all in the pepperation. for me, pepperation is about getting in early to smoke your ribs low and slow over pecan wood chips for a sweet, smoky flavor. then i triple-baste them till they're fall-off-the-bone tender. this is shiner bock barbecue sauce i'm using. come in now for baby back ribs. choose 1 of 10 freshly prepared entrées plus an appetizer for just $9.99. only at chili's. it's all in the pepperation.

blue jays in town, bergesen on the mound tomorrow. coverage on masn at 2:00 p.m. with a one hour edition of o's

x there. we have the action you seed here on masn. we believe brian matusz is done for the night. we'll wait to see what happens. he was trying to talk them into allowing him to stay in the game. matusz still on the bench. markakis leads off take ball 1. tejada and scott will follow. >> rob: maybe he talked him out of it. that's the classic sign you're done for the night any time the pitcher is not going back out, if the pitching coach and manager shake your hand, you're not going back out. >> jim: he was trying to talk him out of it. the manager walked over, shook his hand and patted him on the

shoulder. markakis 0-2. two, three four in this lineup right now combined 0-7. that's how you hold the lead. strike. 2-2. tampa bay stays home. yankees in for the weekend. they're already in town. they have a day off today. orioles head home. they have a few hours sleep and right to the ball park to the opening day ceremonies. 2-2 inside ball 3. do you have the blog record going? >> rob: i have a record going. >> jim: do you know if there is fact a record? >> rob: i may already have it now. i have no idea. 3-2 on markakis. lines to left field.

there's a base hit. markakis gets on with a leadoff single with down by one run. this strikes jeff. line drive off the arm just bethrow shoulder on the be -- below the shoulder on the pitching arm. your local ford dealer invites you to experience ford like never before. ford, drive one. here's tejada. takes a strike. >> reporter: tejada is an accomplished hitter obviously. he hasn't been in the american league 2 1/2 years. today he told me coming into this series he didn't know much about the pitchers. he relied on roberts roberts

and mar roberts and markakis to give him tips. he's been vocal on trying to pick guys up when they've done something wrong. adam told me he credits mike in the bullpen that's given the team lot of fight this year. he taught us about following every pick, being in the game, rallying behind one another. seems like the veterans brought in good leaders to the team. >> jim: gonzalez came from atlanta. tejada hit by a pitch. if you play for bobby cox you better play to win. >> rob: that was an interesting point amber made about guys being in the game. brian told me in every pitch i was hanging on. i was never in a game as much as i was watching that from the dugout. he said he was hanging on every

pitch like it was a playoff game. >> jim: mike had a tough night tuesday night on opening night. he's obviously anxious to get back in. >> rob: he was the first guy in the clubhouse the next day. he told dave, i want the ball again. he was the first guy to shows up the next day. >> jim: luke scott is going to benefit from the orioles having two on with markakis at second and tejada at first. it's low. 1-0. >> reporter: just to continue discussions about mike, he told me the night after he wished the game started at 7:00 in the morning. he said all i want to do is wipe the smile off their faces. i want to redeem myself. they're thinking they can get the best of me. i can't wait to get back out

and wipe the smiles off their faces. >> jim: check swing interest foul 1-1. >> rob: he's going to get his wish tomorrow. that will feel like it's starting at 7:00 in the morning. players are lucky that by 4:00 and at the ball park by 10:00 or so. >> jim: 1-1 on scott and outside. if this were later in the season and the team had a later rival, the manager would simply say no batting practice, get here in time for the game. you can't do that for opening day. you have to get there, follow the the routine and time line. 2-1 with two on and one out.

good eye. ball 3 3. i've been very impressed with how patient luke scott has been at the plate. he has two hits on the season. even though he's drawn one walk he has been able to get hitter's counts by being patient. there's his guru the king. 3-1. it's high ball 4. orioles have the bases loaded with nobody down. down by a run. here's a big chance and now an opportunity to try to improve on what was a 3-21 batting with runners in scoring position coming into this game. here is matt wieters. shoppach out to the mound to stall for balfour in the

bullpen. pena over there as well. >> rob: obviously understandably all the attention was on gonzalez. 1-12 with runners in scoring position, that's where the game was lost. it was 1-12. he had been doing the math. that game never should have been that close. >> jim: maddon slowly walking out to the mound. he has not yet made the signal to the bullpen. there's the signal. balfour will come on. little bit more experienced. bases loaded, none down.

as everybody moes, perfect setting for your -- everybody know, perfect setting for your group outing. enjoy a fun filled night with ticket options to fit any price range and party facilities to fit 12-1000 fans. make your group outing an experience you'll never forget. call 888848 bird. there's an orioles stand here. there's balfour the man from down under, all trail i -- australia. bases loaded none down for

wieters. there's been a single, hit batter, and a walk in this inning. markakis, tejada and luke scott third to first. >> jim: wieters 0-2 on the night night. takes the strike. [cheering and applause] matt trying to keep the the modest hitting streak going to begin the year. he was hit the first two games. balfour now 32 years old. line drive center field, that will fall base hit. orioles tie as markakis comes in. being held at third is tejada. mat wieters comes through with a base hit. this game is even 2-2. still nobody down. >> rob: i've seen better at bats from him. he wasn't hitting the ball all

that hard. he's looked really good. the one ball he crushed to center field was caught. he's had good at bats the first three games. >> jim: wieters picks up his second, his fifth base hit of the season. here's reimold. there's a strike on the outside corner. brian matusz would be the beneficiary of this. we believe he is done. he's stilt on the bench. check swing, that got away. here comes the go ahead run. tejada scores, other two runners advance. that bounced and appeared to hit the shin guard or foot of home plate umpire. reimold checked the swing on what would be a wild pitch.

orioles have the lead. so the ball bounces. there's the check swing and gets right between the legs of the casher. that cash -- casher and -- catcher and hit homemade home -- hit home plate umpire. two runs in, two on, nobody down 3-2 lead. >> rob: they come out of the game and do the running on the backfield. brian is doing that pacing back and forth between every pitch. >> jim: 1-2 on reimold. as it stands now because matt is still in the game as the pitcher of record, he has the

lead. scott at third, wieters at second, none down. check swing. he went too far. big outfor balfour. one away here in the 6th inning. reimold clearly did swing there. he calls him from behind home plate. one down now in the inning. >> jim: another missed opportunity to get the runner in from third as balfour gets the strikeout. atkins doubled the last at bat. >> rob: it's fine they took the lead. two runs is not enough for this opportunity. there's matt albers getting loose. it appears he'll come on to

pitch in the bottom of the 6th 6th. pitch inside, 1-0 on atkins. >> rob: he's been standing out from a while he hasn't been throwing. brian probably pointed out i struck out four of the last five. put me back out one more inning. i can give you one more. >> jim: that's in there for a base hit. two runs score. here's scott, wieters behind him. garrett atkins with a huge hit going the opposite way. on a night covering the bases with atkins, he delivers. orioles have the 5-2 lead. >> rob: is that the lead that guy is the player of the game. >> jim: inside out swing and serves down the line. orioles finally get the big base hit. four runs in the inning for the

orioles 5-2 lead. here's julio lugo. outside, 1-0. ekstrom goes a third of an inning, charged with three earned runs. brian matusz talking on the bench lugo too late on that swing. rick told me yesterday in regards to pitch count, orioles are trying to get away from pitch counts being a factor. he told me there are pitch counts that are high and pitch counts difficult. with a 97 pitches matusz has thrown tonight, it might be i

rick and dave trembley believe he struck out the last four or five batters but it was difficult to get there. they want the starters to go deep in games. it's obviously a theme early on. you don't want to take him out a batter or two too late. you take him out if you think that's all he's got and benefit. 97 pitches, this might be the time to get him out. >> rob: that's a good point. if you're in jams every inning you have to work harder. 80-90 pitches you work harder. brian had to work hard tonight. it would be good to get him out on a positive night, where the lead, chance to win the game. he had five walks tonight, highly unusual. >> jim: home plate umpire hit in the mask tonight with the

foul ball. rays' fans have a strange way of applauding referees getting hurt. it's unbelievable. >> rob: they're in the game. >> jim: 3-2 with one down. see if atkins goes. man down on strikes, lugo. >> rob: two down. >> jim: the mentor and pupils continuing their discussion on the bench with matusz. you know he's talking about a batter that got away. it was this pitch or that pitch. >> rob: that ball tailed a little bit. if palmer were here and could talk which is why he's not here, he would probably say if

i may speak for the hall of famer, we may have learned more about matusz tonight in a game in which he struggled and allowed two runs if we did if he had gone out and pitched six or seven innings. you need to see how pitchers respond to and pitch adversity. he loaded the bases to begin the inning, three on and none out. he allowed one more to come on in that inning. we may have learned light years more about brian matusz tonight. you want to see how somebody gets through adversity. i think we saw matusz through that tonight. >> there's been a common theme. we spoke about brian's ability to speak. we saw him talking to rick trying to convince him to let him go back in the game earlier. brian told me at that time university of san diego he was

a sports community major. that's where it came from probably also his family. his father and brother who he lives with are quick to find you in the stands and speak to you openly. they're a outgoing family. that's where that comes from. >> rob: you and palmer have the people. you've got friends in low places. i don't have any people. people flock to palmer and amber. it's true what amber says about his family. my dad always says the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. when i met him and his parents i saw it. >> jim: swept towards second base, fielded by zobrist.

he'll get roberts. the inning ends. not before the orioles get eight to the plate and big breakout hit by atkins. the two run single and the orioles have the lead. let's wind 'em with precision. open our throttle to even more selection. and turn that savings swagger up full tilt. ♪ so when the time comes to bust open a can of doing... we've got all the tools for all the things we need to make 'em happen. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. we've made a special buy on spectracide weed stop. your choice for just $5.00 each.

time now for the mitsubishi game flow. matusz and talk about a good performance. he gave up two base hits hits

in this game. when you walk five you only allow two runs. brian matusz the pitcher of record on the plus side. test drive one today at the dare to compare sales event. gonzalez came in the bullpen probably for a cup of coffee and get a hug from mots. there's with behind matusz. more high fives, there's the king. a job well done by matusz. ball 1 to zobrist. >> rob: i think the veterans appreciate what they saw from brian. i looked up and said he's only given pup two hits. he hit -- given up two hits. you do learn something about a pitcher through adversity. when he did struggle a little

bit, we ask dave trembley, are you glad to see that in response? >> jim: tejada hoping for a play play. tejada looked very good at third base, very comfortable. >> rob: you don't have to worry much about the range. as he's shown in the series and amber pointed out the last two seasons he was in houston. you forget about the arm he has. he still has the shotgun for an arm. just outside. albers probably will be asked to get for two innings. this is what rick was talking about yesterday when we chatted with him before the game about the importance of the 7th inning in games. there's a slow tapper back

towards albers. he's got it. one away. once again o's offering great ideas for celebrating your birthday. fans get a ticket even in the off season. celebrate your child's special day in style. all the details call or orioles.com/birthday. one away on the come back here. here is longoria. there's a strike. as rick was pointing out, if you look at how managers manage the bullpen you do it from the 9th inning backwards. you're hoping to get a lead, get the closer to close it out and get the game. so from the 9th you go to the 8th where your set up man is.

johnson setting up gonzalez. the 7 th is the key inning. if the start can get to that inning and get one out, now the other relievers your matchup relievers if you will, guys like meredith -- jones has a play. two men down. they could be called on to get the tough left landed batter out. then you get your set up man. albers becomes becomes the key man. it's his job to get to the 7th inning with the matchups become available. >> rob: we saw albers come in and go to the special ohman. it's funny how much the game has changed. if jim palmer was here, i think when he was pitching, he would think who's my 7th inning

special list? as far as we know he hasn't thrown off the mound yet. he's not going to be ready. orioles were scrambling. >> jim: the importance of the complete game is something that's come and gone. how many times do you see a starter go 8 innings and a closer go 7? >> rob: that's how rick and dave put this bullpen together. you have the arms for the certain roles. you have mark hendrickson. you have albers the bridge guy. meredith and ohman the special specialists. meredith is actually the right

handed specialist. i don't recall hearing that title often. that's something that has become new now. the reason we say that, he doesn't have the abilities to be a long per man. there's gonzalez on the bench. guess the coffee wasn't ready. 2-1 pitch sliced foul. at least trembley was hoping to have more options this year than last season. too many short relievers because they were coming off injuries or surgeries. it really hurt him. jim johnson had a sore shoulder in camp. if your starters are out early you're in a lot of trouble. >> jim: appears to have a play, circles to the right, has it

for the out. three up three down. we play 6. birds have a lead. turn traditionally brewed beer skunky. brown bottles protect better. we use higher six packs protect it from the light. we put so much care into brewing the beer that we want to protect it.

orioles are hoping to contain longoria and go home with the win. brian matusz had an effect i have -- effective game tonight. orioles in the 6th inning breaking the game open with a

four run inning and have a 5-2 lead as we go to the 2nd. back end of the game as the orioles try to go home with a win before the home opener. adam jones set to lead off. >> reporter: jones is trying to do a lot bring personality to this ball club. he said last year it could be like a different atmosphere. it creates war in the clubhouse . warren crimed in and said he'd like to hear salsa music. it was exactly what adam waned. >> jim: if i bring in the springsteen, good music, are they going to let me put it on?

>> reporter: i think you would fall into the ohman category. he told me he goes for the beatles, rolling stones. that's right up your alley. there couldn't be more music than young g -- >> jim: i have no idea who that is. how about tom petty? >> reporter: i think that's in the category. he said it's all about country. millwood agreed with that. stones are second class to the beatles. stones are still going on. they're not the beatles. >> rob: i'm trying to decide how miley cyrus fits into

beatles and rolling stones. >> jim: i'm complicating this. amber says ohman likes beatles, rolling stones and miley cyrus. we have to get scott the billy ray cyrus fan, i don't know if he records anymore. get billy ray cyrus and miley cyrus and have a music off in the clubhouse. >> reporter: i have a feeling if you ask luke, i would think, this is a guess, he's more christian rock. we can ask him and find out for tomorrow's game. i think that's what he would go with. i have to admit ohman likes one miley cyrus song. he put it on very loud in the clubhouse. he does enjoy that song but doesn't mean he's necessarily a huge miley fan. >> jim: he probably did it to

show adam jones he has music. >> rob: i'm really hoping that will didn't bust a move to that song. i saw him dance a little yesterday. i'm not sure you want to say that. >> jim: i don't have an ipod and have no idea who the person is he likes. >> reporter: let's say with ohman he's very comfortable with himself. >> rob: that's it. >> jim: ohman, he likes miley cyrus. who knew? 55-2 o's. stling continues] discover the unexpected beauty stling continues] and man-made relaxation in northwest florida.

fly southwest's new nonstops from bwi airport to panama city beach starting at $99 one-way. (ding) how about matusz in the 1 1st inning, couple of guys that

got on by a walk and hit, picked off by matusz. home depot, more saving, more doing, that's the power of the home depot. on a night in which atkins has been covering the bases, he made the throws to second base. he also has a big hit. his two run single has given the orioles breathing room here and the three run lead heading to the bottom of the 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd. jim palmer is suffering from the most famous laryngitis in history. >> rob: when you talk for a living, that's the worst thing you can get. >> jim: i feel for him. he was a gamer last night and

got through it. >> rob: it's always hard to get him out of a game. i imagine. >> jim: upton walked in the game and also has a steal. late on that swing. good movement on the sinking fastball. retired all three in the 6th 6th. popped up to wieters in the 2 2nd. must have been high. looked like pit -- like it cut the plate in half. ball 2. >> rob: at one time we were projecting he wasn't going to make it. dave trembley practically handed him a spot. we knew they wanted to keep a third lefty. i'm thinking how are you going

to make room for albers. >> jim: upton goes down on strikes. albers has retired four in a row. don't forget you can visit the official online shop of the orioles, browse the largest selection of the official gear including the latest apparel, awe thennic classics for the family. get your gear from the official source. one away on the strikeout. albers retired all four batters . pat burrell gave it a good look. you look at that time bullpen at triple a -- you look at the bullpen at triple a. it's

nice to know you have options there. the day he was sent down, dave trembley was giving him a different life. they have more players to choose from, more relievers. there's the strike. he might have been on the major league staff if not for his injury. he has the power arm. >> rob: miller didn't get the invite. he had a pretty good season. it helps you have your minor league camp so close. they didn't need to add as many players to the roster. there's plenty of depth. 3-2 inside.

ball 4. there's a one out walk. burrell on. first base runner allowed by albers. there really weren't too many surprises except that billy who was an infielder that was converted to an outfielder and it didn't work out is now back as an infielder going back to fredrick. everybody thought he might be a buoy. here's the versatility maddon has. zobrist started second to go out to right field. the backup catcher is still britain, zack's brother. there are brothers on the same team. he could catch his brother. >> rob: i doubt he's in there

tonight. >> jim: trembley loves him. he was thrilled to be at camp, willing to do anything. he was trying to absorb everything in his last day. we knew he won the roster cut. he was walking around with his spring training baseball to get guys to sign it. it's not like you have a three hour drive now to go across the state of florida. they really like him. they'll worry about him being blocked at the major league level. he really made a nice impression. >> jim: last week at sarasota jim palmer and i were walking to him before the game wednesday -- that's a base hit. running down markakis. two on, one out. runners on the corners. palmer said hey can you play another position? he's already stirring it up. meantime tampa bay down by 3

can bring the tying run to the plate plate. left-handed bat, another pinch hitter will come up. there's shoppach started at catcher and batting 9th. here's the switch hitter. ohman is getting loose in the bullpen. here's a situation where he likes the bat of shoppach. he doesn't like if righty versus righty matchup. the other catcher is a switch hitter. >> rob: i'm surprised to see ohman warming up. he's made three straight appearances. i thought they melee off him tonight. matt albers would love to get one of the sinking fastballs to

end the inning. tejada wide to the base at third. it's low. >> jim: he started tuesday night, went two out of three and lifted in the 9th 9th for shoppach when joe was looking for a long ball. young man out ovens of venezuela. now he has found a home here. slowly hit towards third. tejada to roberts. that's all they'll get.

a run scored. all the end of the bat, miguel took the runner out of scoring position. smart play there. if you're going to get one out, get the lead runner. that's a groundout for navarro. 5-3 game. >> rob: i'm surprised -- matt told me navarro was the toughest guy to pitch to. he said i'll keep throw ing changeups. he stays back and can go ahead and hit the ball the other way. >> jim: back to the top of the lineup, here's bartlett. bartlett's rbi single in the 23 23rd -- the 3rd. here's why coaches preach make the hitters earn their way on. don't walk batters tampa bay scored 3 runs, all runners on

by a walk. line to right to markakis, has it for the out. albers gets through. one run in. orioles now with the 200 lead.

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there's zobrist. he gets around, picks up a different glove. brignac pinch hit, stays in at second base. navarro stays in the game now behind the plate. a new pitcher, fifth used by maddon comes on, randy choate. scott and wieters to begin. reimold behind them. the only left hander in that tampa bay pen tonight. luke contributed tonight. he drew the walk. he scored one of the runs. the orioles that inning scoring 4 to get the lead. >> rob: it bothers luke he's been labeled as the guy that's

going to hit righties more than lefties. he had more last year on lefties. he said of course that's what happens. scouts have to lang a label on you. with me, it's like he can only hit right-handers. that's not the case. he thinks he can play everyday. >> jim: navarro got a piece of that foul ball. do you think it's warm down on the field? >> rob: they're glad to see brian in the game. he went to the dugout and they looked concern. when brian walked away, we saw richey smiling. we knew things were all right. navarro appears to be okay. it's not right. i comes in and gets hit with the foul tip.

good eye by luke. wieters, working well for him. little league coaches will a lot of times say it's tough to find the ones to catch. 1-1 bounced foul. the orioles have 7 hits in this game. tampa bay has just three. albers has allowed 1. tampa bay really has to be upset at not taking advantage or further advantage of 5 walks by matusz. two scores but three did not. >> jim: 1-2. strike 3. breaking ball gets the inside corner. luke doesn't agree. one away in the 8th inning. >> rob: niemann start this

game. niemann knocked out of the game in the 2nd inning of the game. let's get an update. >> reporter: kneeniemann has a right shoulder contusion. they're expecting him to be back in the rotation. >> rob: that is good news. that looked like it could have been serious when the line drive hit niemann. they always say contusion, never a bruise. i'll have to ask the orioles' team doctors when they get home why that is. maybe there's a book they use for terms. >> jim: you and i know what that means. >> rob: bruise is a lot easier to me. contusion, it's like is that a

cut? no. it's a bruise. wieters tied the game with an rbi single last at bat. base hit here. he will have started the season with three consecutive multihit games. two hits tuesday, two hits last night and one tonight. wieters 5 for his first 11. batting right handed for the first time tonight, lined to left field. crawford makes a diving catch. that's a base hit. [cheering and applause] crawford can't believe it. maddon is going to come out. it looked like he caught it. he went down, had the ball in his glove. the umpire at second base had an angle and instantly said

safe which meant the ball hit the ground. i think he got that one wrong. i think crawford got that. maddon out now for the explanation. that ball hit the turf and was trapped by crawford having a tough series with the umpires. [cheering and applause] >> rob: you could tell by the reaction from crawford he absolutely made the catch. maddon might be asking why don't you ask one of the other guys, maybe they had a different angle. wieters is on first base hoping in stands. orioles got a big break on that. crawford will be happy when he comes here tomorrow and there's a different umpire. maddon will lose the argument.

crawford is upset. you hear the fans booing. meanwhile wieters has a base hit. he does have the third consecutive multihit game. s now with reimold looks like maddon will make a pitching change. it looked like he retired both. wheeler is going to come on with right handed batters the next three batters coming up. wieters on with a one out single. rays are upset about it. o's have the lead. our service is top-notch. we'll take care of you, your family, even this little guy. great. ta-da! thank you. what else can he do? ring him up, boy!

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time now to text in your vote for the at andt player of the game. brian matusz went through five innings could win tonight. wieters has the base hit that got this game tied. here is dan wheeler, veteran right handed reliever who's a workhorse. choate faces two batters. reimold up with wieters on first base. off side, ball 1. >> jim: now every call that does not go the ray's way, the

fans are reacting. >> rob: you'd never know they won the first two games. they're not getting any calls but still 2-0 so far. bounced towards third. back to first, safe. again, reimold gets down to the line. ray's fans sup fans -- fans upset. that's an indication he was running so much better than in champ. that's bang bang. the inning

continues. reimold is on. not very popular after that call. >> rob: not sure who they're mad at. blue and blue. you could be an umpire in summertime. >> rob: when i get home i'm going to take my clothes out of the closet and put them in a suitcase. that's 0-2. atkins now with each of the first three games, this is his first multihit game. his base hit to drive in two

runs this year. reimold on first. that bounces in there and gets past navarro. that will allow reimold to get to second base on the wild pitch and a single to get the run in. that one barely reached the dirt in front of home plate. brignac out there at second base base. 2-2. johnson and ohman getting

loose for the 8th inning. >> rob: we can see how that's going to play out. lefty against lefty. longoria coming up. that will bring in your right- hander to map out everything perfectly. >> jim: 2-2 with reimold at second with two down. outside, ball 3. atkins was 0-2 after two pitches now the count is full. reimold is not forced. he will not be off with the pitch. wheeler tries to get the final out here in the 8th and keep this a two run game.

strike 3 called. atkins thought he had ball 4. orioles get a run around left stranded. bottom of the 8th coming up. 5-3 o's. [ screaming ] hey. pbht! [ luke ] unless, of course, you've got at&t, the nation's fastest 3g network, which means you can surf the web and download videos in a snap. there you go, dad. hey. ♪ thanks. ha, this is good. [ male announcer ] at&t. a better 3g experience. get 50% off all messaging phones after mail-in rebate like the pantech reveal. only from at&t.

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information about your favorite orioles. you can get a yearly subscription at orioles.com. how about the kid magazine? check out the kids magazine just $3 at all program and novelty stands. it features q and a, prossables -- pros puzzles for the kids. you ought to have a kid's blog. >> rob: i don't think the kids are ready for me. >> jim: get a parental control. the ball misses. you know crawford would love to hit one about 500 feet here. it's been a frustrating couple

of nights. tonight he has an rbi and fly ball. on two pitches, ohman retires crawford. >> rob: ohman signed a minor league contract. it wasn't even close. that's it for him. one batter. since zobrist is not cutting off as the tying run, johnson will come on. that will allow zobrist to flip over to the left side and bat. he kept crawford off. the tying run is on deck. ohman retires the only batter. one out, none on in the 8th, o's up by 2. for me, pepperation is about getting in early to smoke your ribs low and slow over pecan wood chips for a sweet, smoky flavor. then i triple-baste them till they're fall-off-the-bone tender. this is shiner bock barbecue sauce i'm using. come in now for baby back ribs.

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jim johnson on. fastball outside 1-0. johnson was overpowering in the game tuesday night. he set up in the 8th three up three down numbers from last season. when george was traded he assumed some of the closer's duties. he is back now in this 8th inning role where he's so effective. the other night he faced longoria, pena, upton and got all three out easily. he did not appear last night as he had the tender elbow.

jim would disagree. he reported before the first he was fine. >> rob: we were told it was a muscle sprain. advil and ice took care of it. he said i'm sorry i worried all of you. he didn't know dave was going to mention it after the game. then all of a sudden his wife contacted him. we all were writing and reporting and didn't know that until after the game. >> jim: longoria on deck. zobrist hitless on the night. not anymore. that's towards the gap in right center field. zobrist running to second base. he's going to make the turn. there's a triple for zobrist.

perfectly placed on the line to the gap in right center field. [cheering and applause] that's too much at the plate. >> rob: the game tends to speed up here. >> jim: zobrist with a base hit. the key man is the guy at the plate. two man lead, there's a base hit. zobrist scores. it's a 1 run game. [cheering and applause] you get the ground ball. you can't direct where it's going to go all the time.

he didn't waste any time. fastball, first pitch, got it up in the zone. he found the hole. >> rob: it's amazing we talk so much about matchups and how managers and pitching coaches try to swap relievers. the human element is such the receivers still receiver -- relievers still have to do what they're expected to do in that role. now let's go to our setup man and protect the two man lead. now it's a one-run game. maybe he had enough in the tank for that one hitter.

>> jim: that was low, 1-0. orioles trying to get their first win on the year before heading home tonight for the home opener tomorrow. never easy in this ball park. low again, ball 2. >> rob: the more hands reaching out for it the better chance someone will drop it. fans are asking ohman only through two pitches, why not leave him in. you just don't know. bounced towards the hole. roberts has it.

first and second, just in time to get longoria. brian had trouble getting the ball out of his glove. the tying run is still not if scoring position. pena is retired. johnson able to get back on the pitch by pitch. he fell behind to the count. that sinker was low. the first lower than the first. pena comes up looking for the play in the middle. roberts had to go far to his right and got it. that fielder's choice will go four to five. here's rick to talk about upton. >> . if you're tejada covering second, brian couldn't get the hand on the ball. >> jim: brian made a nice play to get the lead runner. we've already seen two times in this game where the orioles

fielders had only one play. momentum was taking them towards second base. they took the sure out. tejada did it earlier in the game on the ground ball hit by navarro. he did get the out. roberts by getting the lead runner prevents the tying run from getting into scoring position. here's another dangerous hitter. it's low. 1-0. there's tejada deep at third and guarding the line to talk away an extra base hit that would allow him to score from first base. >> jim: johnson is trying to get out of the inning and keep

the orioles in front. miguel talking with brian roberts. there's ohman with wigginton on the bench. looked like it slipped out of johnson's hand. pena takes the lead held by atkins. popped it up. tejada charging in, calls off johnson, has it for the out. johnson gets out without any further damage. run on two hits. the tying run left stranded. we're heading to the 9th. birds have the lead.

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birds, roberts and jones follows. ground ball towards the middle. short stop fires and out at first base. [cheering and applause] one away away. that ball slowed down. i think it hit the back of the mound. then it hit the turf. bartlett able to get back there. pena helped out with nifty footwork at first base. brian roberts up now. he's one out of three. he's walked and stolen a base. he has the first base hit of the year. he does in fact have an average now. he was 0 for his first 11. showing bunt to get longoria moving. the truth is if he bunted more his average would have improved

because of his speed. he was not very comfortable doing it. as a result rarely does he try to bunt for hits. he keeps saying i'll be ready opening day. i said do you feel satisfaction standing here in the locker room? he said actually more relief. he never knew until he was here. >> jim: gonzalez getting loose to pitch in the bottom of the 9 9th to try to earn the save as orioles try to get insurance. inside ball 2. it's kind of interesting how in baseball things just work out. on tuesday night when gonzalez came in to protect the 3-2 lead he had 7, 8, 9 due up to begin the inning. tampa bay in the bottom of the 9 9th 9 9th, 7, 8, 9 due.

>> jim: pena into a dive. roberts makes the turn. he'll head to second base. roberts has a two hit game. he's at second base with one down. he has been on base three times tonight. that up in the strike zone. he was able to get past pena who just couldn't reach it. brian's first extra base hit, first multigame on the year. by the end of the year he'll be among the orioles' leaders. >> rob: orioles would like to get gonzalez a little margin for error if he needs it. >> jim: those two run saves are much preferred by closers. it allows you a stumble.

roberts dancing off second base. brignac trying to keep them close. last night the orioles came to bat down 4-the 2 and did get a run and leave the potential tying run stranded. brignac now close to second base, big hole on the right side. ground ball past him now. brignac was right there. he'll fire to first for the second out. that's one situation it worked against the orioles. if roberts who is so efficient at stealing third base, if he's not the runner, brignac is not worried about him. two out base hit or mistake to get the run. orioles already out one run tonight on a wild pitch.

markakis one out of four. he will be walked intentionally with a right handed bat on deck. if you're the the orioles you love this. they're walking the hitter in front of him to get to him. markakis will be walked intentionally. this is obviously baseball strategy righty righty. trembley looks on for insurance. look at tejada's night at the plate and he's hitless. >> jim: he hit niemann with the line drive. he then was robbed of a potential base hit in the 7th inning as zobrist went back of the bag at second base and fielded the ground ball.

he got to it before it got to the base. the only time he got on he was hit by a pitch and eventually scored. he was 0-3 and twice tonight robbed of a base hit. 2-6 runners in scoring position. that makes them 5-27 on the year. runners on the corners with two down. good eye, ball 1. tejada got off to a slow start in spring training. typically he felt the final couple of weeks. he does so much extra work in camp. he doesn't have much left in the tank when the game started. when we get closer to opening day i start cutting back, focus more on the game. >> rob: it's been a pattern his whole career apparently.

>> jim: outside ball 2. brian roberts good lead at third base, huge insurance run orioles would love to get in. markakis with a small lead off first. good hitter scale for miguel. over zobrist, has it for the out. the orioles come up short. two stranded. gonzalez will come on and try to earn the save. it's a 1 run game bottom of the 9th.

thanks very much. tom and rick standing by hoping for a happy recap. here's the second orioles appearance. he struck out burrell to lead off the inning, first batter he'll face tonight, burrell. the blown save from the other night, bases loaded crawford up, crawford with a base hit to right field. two came around to score and the tampa bay had the 4-3 lead and win. that's outside. 1-0. >> rob: he got the ball to crawford, the winning hit, did

not locate. for whatever reason they had a change. they gave him a double not that it matters. the impressive thing was his velocity that was really bad prior. he was around 93 tuesday night. it was just the location. >> jim: burrell has been on base twice tonight. he has also struck out. breaking ball outside. 2-1. the other thing we're learning about gonzalez, he tens ten -- tends to throw a lot of pitches at each batter. that was a good curveball there. >> rob: the whole thing has been a learning process with gonzalez. we haven't covered him before.

i was like does he always throw like this? he said this is how i get ready. he told trembley i'll be ready when the lights come on. he did not impress at all. then he started throwing minor league games. everybody is having trouble knowing if he's ready. we don't know. >> jim: 2-2 burrell. ray outside ball 3. i'm not a mechanic expert of pitchers, but there's a lot going on as he gets the sign and delivers the baseball. he has been all kinds of motion all over the place. trembley looking on.

3-2 the count. he got him. burrell thought it was high. he's called down on strikes. look how far he falls off the mound. here's your ohman. tuesday night pat burrell the the first bat per struck out. tonight, first pat burrell struck out. aybar is the only hitter left on the bench for maddon. here's the 0-1 popped up back at the plate. wieters hoping for a play. let's get an update on the

player of the game. atkins, wieters. atkins has the vote so far. text your vote. tom and rick will have the results coming up on the o's postgame. 0-2 the count. high and away. we mentioned before wieters not only has a three game hitting streak to begin the year. he's got three multihit games to begin the year. >> jim: outside 3-3. the question is why didn't dempsey ever do it. rick told me he started nine. from 0-2 to 2-2. he got him i

believe. back to back, two men down. he obviously went. here's the view from the side. he went plenty. wieters immediately asking for the appeal. back to back. orioles are an out away from a win. not out of it yet. number 9 batter. that's ball 1. >> rob: we thought even when he misses it's close to the plate. he's not close to the plate.

you've heard the term in baseball before effectively wild. you usually hear that with power pitchers. if it's anywhere near the strike zone it might be lard to get -- hard to get around it. now it's 3-0 to bring the potential win to the plate. two out, none on. the number 9 batter. there's a strike. navarro took all the way. trying to get a win before heading home. >> rob: we've already got the

guarantee on this one. tying run comes to the plate. if the orioles don't win matusz would not get the loss. that's the loophole. he would be the winning pitcher if the orioles hang on however not be the losing pitcher if they don't. nonapplicable. base hit. [cheering and applause] navarro to second. now the tying run is in scoring position. the winning run is on first. by the way, guess who's coming up. crawford came up with the

bases loaded. bartlett was walked intentionally and crawford came up and he got a pitch up in the zone and ripped to right field. markakis over to field. shoppach came in with the winning run. the difference from tuesday night to tonight is that when crawford came up there was nowhere to put him. there was only one out. now with two men down, if gonzalez can get crawford, orioles will get a win. here we are in a consecutive 1 run game to --gameme too. ball

2. [cheering and applause] that's foul. may have gotten a piece of crawford's foot. 2-1 the count. the point you made about hower rattic he is around the strike zone it's got to be especially hard for a pitcher to set a hitter up. the whole thing is to make it look like its something it isn't. it's got to be hard for this

style of pitcher to do that. ball 3. masn hd tonight. 3-1 crawford with two down. ball 4. he walked him. the bases are loaded. [cheering and applause] the home crowd encouraged here. they can't believe it. not a lot a pitching coach can do when the man gets the final three outs struggles. >> rob: when your pitching staff walks eight batters like

tonight. three of the eight have already scored, two are on in this inning. here's zobrist a dangerous hitter. he went too far. there's a situation where what that looked like to me he was expecting a fastball, saw the break and tried to stop his swing. that would have been ball 1. he was fooled. i would make him throw me a strike. >> jim: the tying run at third, winning run at second. bases loaded, two down. zobrist tripled off johnson last inning

and came on to score. gonzalez is about to throw the 26th pitch. he makes the catch. gonzalez gets out of it. orioles get a win. wow. >> rob: nothing to it. >> jim: so mike gonzalez makes it more than interesting. he gets the final out. orioles hold on and get a win and go back to camden yards for tomorrow's home opener. after back to back losses orioles hang on and pick out a 5-4 one run win. we cover the bases with atkins. two hits and a couple of rbis, orioles win 5-4. tampa bay does

not score in the 9th despite getting three on, one hit and three left on base. the orioles for the first time this year able to celebrate a win. now they'll go home. they'll take on toronto tomorrow. the blue jays are likely already in baltimore. orioles win. let's head to amber. >> reporter: first of all to walk away with the win what were you thinking? >> we were just one pitch away. i know mike has the stuff to get us out of the jam. >> reporter: looking at what you were able to do to get the single and the rbi in the 6th, did you know you had to step it up? >> yeah definitely. we have a lot of hits. we didn't do a real good job of

situational type stuff. we'll get better at that. with that will come more ever wins. >> reporter: a young starting pitcher in brian matusz. how gutsy was his performance? >> he fought out there hard and gave it his best. >> jim: we invite you to join us tomorrow as the birds are back home for their homeowner on masn hd beginning at 2:00 with the one hour edition presented by ford. now jim hunter saying so long from st. petersburg. we finally have a happy recap. back to the studio tom and rick.

welcome to o's extra postgame. interesting for a team with so many men in scoring position. orioles beat the rays 5-4. gonzalez keeps you on the edge of your seat doesn't he? >> i was thinking man cure tomorrow. i've been on the edge of the chair for all three. gonzalez looks like one of the guys that's going to keep it interesting all season long. you know something he's effectively around the strike zone. he makes hitters feel they can guess with him. he's a couple of inches out of the strike zone, little low, little high whatever. it makes them anxious to hit him. that's how he got through the 9 9th with the last fly ball. >> it was an interesting game to watch to say the least.

we pick up highlights from this game. niemann had to leave the ballgame. orioles score 3-1. orioles 6 game tied at 2. wild pitch. tejada scores from 3rd. orioles take the advantage 3-2. still in the 6th, wieters will score. birds have an advantage in the top half of the 6th inning. they go on to a 5-4 win. mike gonzalez was able to get the fly to right field for the first win of the season. congratulations at hand as the orioles win with five runs and nine base hits. rays have a lot of walks to say the least.

brian matusz got the victory. he's 1-0. mike gonzalez gains a save. when you think about the defining moments of the game, what do you think? for me i've got to go to the 3 3rd inning. later on you've got to see the bases loaded. the orioles are looking for one base hit. now the orioles are looking good. now atkins did not have it. now a single down the left field line. he used the whole field. two runs come into score. it was pretty good. the orioles finally got a couple of hits they were looking for. runners in scoring position,

stranded 17. 3-11 with 8 left. birds prevailed. last game of the three game series before they come home tomorrow night. we're going back to st. petersburg. let's check in now. tom, thanks very much. i know rick dempsey had them all the way. for gonzalez, maybe this is what he needed. after blowing the lead tuesday night and getting out of the jam, who knows, maybe it will take off. >> i don't think it will always be this ugly. again he's so wild. when he's missing, he's missing badly to make it look worse than it actually is. he can't be throwing that many pitches to get three outs. his pitch count was ridiculous. most importantly he got the save. we didn't want to go back to

baltimore to get the save. if dave shys away next time; that will stir up more con -- controversy. orioles get this 5-4 after back to back losses. those close games can go either way. it comes down to do you produce when you have the chance. as it turned out they needed all four runs. they do in fact get the win. this is a big uplifting win after a couple of tough losses to begin the series. orioles do pull it out. brian matusz predicted he would go scout get the win tonight. brian matusz is the first orioles pitch tore get the victory in the season. all in all the orioles playing well defensively. they did not make an error in the series. that's always key against a

good team. orioles pull it out 5-4. dave trembley is nice enough to join us. i thought we may have learned more about him tonight than if they pitched seven shut out innings. he gave you pay chance to win. as a result the team did win. >> that says it in a nutshell. i'm happy for him and the team. they said he wasn't going to let them beat him. he could have caved in. let's remember he started his first full year in the big leagues. he showed what he's made of. he saved the game when the bases were loaded and nobody was out. he minimized turning the lineup over. his pitch count was up so high. he -- his breaking pitch was good. early other than that they were

waiting it out. the key is poison determination. he really improved from spring training. the one game against the cardinals he didn't do a good job. tampa felt they could run on him. he controlled the running game. >> we got a scare with roberts when he dove into the game. we couldn't tell what happened. >> he got hit with the knee and also with the ball in the back of the head. i spoke with brian at length before we went out. he is feeling great just hasn't found his swing yet. he's real key for us. we're glad he was able to stay in the game tonight. >> you would prefer a three up three down inning in the 9th. who knows maybe gonzalez will take off from here. he got the all important final out and as a result picked up

the first safe as an oriole. >> we played three close games here, played hard. we finally got something to go our way, hung in there. we got a big hit when we needed it. played very good in the field. that's all you can do. you can't say enough about ohman. he's come in three straight times and matched up against lefties. our guys are going to get better, compete and not going to give into anybody. >> congratulations for the first win of the year. enjoy it 12 hours. >> we're looking forward to getting home tomorrow. it should be exciting for us, baltimore and everyone that's an orioles fan. i know the guys are looking forward to it. >> we appreciate it. orioles go home on a winning streak. tampa gets two out of three.

rob, appreciate you stepping in tonight, late notice. jim palmer has the worst case of laryngitis ever. orioles win it 5-4. back to the studio. >> time for the player of the game. how about this? this is the closest ever. atkins and wieters tied 33% each each. matusz walked five struck out 7. he was the winner pitcher, his 6 6th investigate re. that's the -- his 6 of the season. we'll be back with more. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir?

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nolan reimold's first of the year gives the orioles a 1- 0 lead. reimold was only supposed to play in one game and played in develop. when you look back at this game, brian matusz said he was going to go scout win it and did. five walk, surrendered a couple of runs offer those walks. he struck out before he was out of the game. >> you like his confidence. he feels he can be successful on the mound. look at this, all the teams realize one way to beat matusz is to run on him. he goes tommying good pitches on good hitters. he ended up with 7 strikeouts on the night which is good for him. his biggest trouble in the 3rd inning, he walked the 7, 8, 9 hitters. he loses his release point,

can't find the strike zone. this is when you need to learn to go out as the catcher to talk to the pitcher and get the ball back. he hung in there. he ends up striking out longoria to get out of the inning. hystrix out five of the next batters he -- he strikes out five of the next batters he faces. he gets more confidence as the game goes. i think he'll be a big finisher for us. >> when you think about the attitude he has. he says he's going to go out and win and tried to talk the orioles about going back out once they got the lead. >> everybody feels that way. when you have a pitch their goes out with that confidence, the whole ball club goes out behind you. five runs to win this ballgame,

he got it. every pitcher goes out believing in his offense, then everybody seems to relax and get the job done. there's something to it. it's a chemistry you build with the ball club. we had it in the old days. we're going to get it back with these young guys. >> on a night atkins was featured he came through with a two run single to right sealed to give the advantage. atkins had a double last night in the 8th inning and two hits early in this game. seems atkins has doubles on his mind. >> he had a terrible spring. last night look at his at bat. he's been looking for this swing the last year and a half. he finally got it. tonight everything really changed for him too. earlier in the game he gets the pitch up in the zone, down the

left field line. the guy is a double machine to go for roberts. a possible double there, holds up, doesn't give up the easy out. that's good base running. they've been working on it all spring. atkins good tonight. keep that going. >> three for atkins in two games including the two run single tonight. 4-12 so far in three games series. atkins not having a great spring training but really starting out well. >> goes to show you spring training isn't all that well. when the bell rings, a lot of people's attitudes change. look at the high pitch up the middle, bases loaded. hit a home run or double. that's what the the orioles

needed there. shot to left field. replay might have been out. you know what, i wish i would have got a base hit. 24 years up here i never got one called like that. i'm glad he got the call there. starts the season off with multihit games. wieters at the end of last season hit .333. he's 6 of 12. .345 his last 35 games. wieters obviously establishing himself as an orioles' catcher and getting into a good graph. our web poll was asked in the pregame show. how many games do you think the orioles will win this season? last year they won 64. if they win 80 or 81 that would be a 17 game improvement from last year. a lot of fans wishing and hopes

right now. they'll get the chance to see the birds in ax tomorrow. our pregame coverage starts at 2:00. we'll be back with more orioles coverage as we continue here after the orioles beat tampa bay 5-4. [sound of waves crashing] [upbeat whistling in background] discover all that northwest florida has to offer. seventeen hidden beaches, one revealing destination. fly southwest's new nonstops from bwi airport to panama city beach starting at $99 one-way. (ding) let's wind 'em with precision. open our throttle to even more selection. and turn that savings swagger up full tilt. ♪ so when the time comes to bust open a can of doing... we've got all the tools for all the things we need to make 'em happen.

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mat wieters an rbi single. matusz gets the first win of the season. gonzalez with his first save. orioles back in baltimore tomorrow. our pregame coverage starts at 2:00. what's new now? i'll tell you. the full spectrum of the minors. that's new. we'll take a look at what happened early early in baseball. toronto had a 3 run 9th.

solo shot. 7-11 to start the season. white sox and indians. the highlights from the detroit kansas city game we'll pick this up top of the 6th inning. 2-0. solo run to right field. kansas city has the two run lead. top of the 8th. cabrera hits a 3 run homer. three run homer and rbi single, combined 7-9 for the day. 12 base hits in that game. the other game oakland a's beating out seattle. watch this play by the catcher in front of the dugout. terrific catch in the early stages of the game, top of the 5 5th. bottom half of the 8th coming

through with a two run single. he finishes with 2 rbi. oakland takes three out of four for the mariners. we'll be back to take a look at fantasy baseball knews and preview what's ahead for the orioles tomorrow. the orioles entertain the toronto blue jays. why es chilit smoking your baby back ribs

four hours before you order them? it's all in the pepperation. for me, pepperation is about getting in early to smoke your ribs low and slow over pecan wood chips

for a sweet, smoky flavor. then i triple-baste them till they're fall-off-the-bone tender. this is shiner bock barbecue sauce i'm using. come in now for baby back ribs. choose 1 of 10 freshly prepared entrées plus an appetizer for just $9.99. only at chili's. it's all in the pepperation. fantasy baseball fans can log onto and join a league or form their own league. prize packs featuring gift cards cards cards and a chance to have dinner with dave trembley. log on and register to play today. brad bergesen goes for the game tomorrow in the home opener. bergesen pitched real well last

year. >> he did. he impressed over the keep the ball in the strike zone. he was out for the rest of the season. i think everybody was impressed and realized this guy is a huge future for thers. a lot like madison he can throw the breaking ball whenever he wants. he can tell the hitter the sinker is coming they still can't hit it. i'm looking forward to seeing this man on the mound. >> he has a nice slow delivery but works fast. he doesn't overthrow. another guy that depends a lot on his release point, mechanics are good. you're going to get a lot of ground balls. defense has to be on their toes. that's the pitcher's best friend is the double play. haven't seen a lot of them so far. with bergesen back to back