ACE

MINNEAPOLIS -- Three times yesterday, the left-hander who is probably Canada's best major league pitcher faced the slugger who is probably Canada's best hitter. All three times, the hitter, the American League's reigning Most Valuable Player, won. Consequently, so did the Minnesota Twins, as they rode Justin Morneau's two RBIs, including a bases-empty home run in the second inning for the game's first run, to a 7-4 victory over the Orioles in the season opener for both clubs. It continued the dominance that Morneau has had against his fellow countryman and World Baseball Classic teammate, Erik Bedard, the Orioles' ace. After three hits in three at-bats, Morneau is now 8-for-14 with two homers and eight RBIs against Bedard.

John Woestendiek, a features reporter at The Sun for six years, lives in South Baltimore with his dog, Ace. Work on the series began in February, when reports came out about a new DNA test that identifies what breeds are in dogs. Woestendiek, 53, who adopted Ace from the city animal shelter in 2005, pursued that and several other avenues on a quest to find his pet's roots and answer the question everybody asks: "Hey, Mister, what kind of dog is that?" Along with the Ace stories each day this week, baltimoresun.

DAY TWO BALTIMORE, MARYLAND Blogger John Woestendiek heads west with his dog, Ace -- on a 2,327-mile trip. Follow the adventures at baltimoresun.com/mutts

John Woestendiek, a features reporter at The Sun for six years, lives in South Baltimore with his dog, Ace. Work on the series began in February, when reports came out about a new DNA test that identifies what breeds are in dogs. Woestendiek, 53, who adopted Ace from the city animal shelter in 2005, pursued that and several other avenues on a quest to find his pet's roots and answer the question everybody asks: "Hey, Mister, what kind of dog is that?" Along with the Ace stories each day this week, baltimoresun.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Running out of ways to describe the recent dominance by teammate Erik Bedard, Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons went unconventional. "He's been Hershiser-esque, really," Gibbons said. Gibbons was making a comparison to former Los Angeles Dodgers' ace Orel Hershiser, who once pitched 59 consecutive scoreless innings. Bedard's streak never got remotely close to Hershiser's, ending at 21 innings when Mark Ellis hit a bases-empty homer with two outs in the sixth inning of the Orioles' 6-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

John Woestendiek has been a features reporter at The Sun for six years. Previously he worked as a reporter, columnist, national correspondent and editor at four other newspapers -- the Arizona Daily Star, Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer and The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he received a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 1987 for his reporting on prisons and mental institutions. Woestendiek, 53, lives in South Baltimore with his dog, Ace. Work on the series began in February, when reports came out about a new DNA test that identifies what breeds are in dogs.

Old Mill center fielder Brandon White said he knew it was just a matter of time before he and the 15th-ranked Patriots got to Westminster ace Mike Taylor in yesterday's Class 4A East quarterfinal.After spending most of the game lagging behind the right-hander's heater, however, they did it with little time to spare.Trailing by a run, Old Mill scored three in the seventh inning, including two on White's triple into the gap in right-center, as the Patriots came from behind to beat the host Owls, 5-3.White, who entered his final at-bat 0-for-3, said he was anxious for another chance.

It was his house, his girlfriend who got the alcohol. The shotgun was his 2-day-old toy, and he was the one who, drunk and high, pumped a bullet into a friend's forehead. Within hours, he dumped the body in nearby woods, lied to the youth's mother, and cleaned the blood-splattered Odenton home so thoroughly that he recarpeted and patched the wall.That was Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Philip T. Caroom's assessment yesterday of Jason K. Hamel, 19. When Hamel tearfully apologized for the first time moments before sentencing, Caroom said, "He, in court today, cries perhaps as much for himself as for his friend."

Mike Ziegler, an All-Metro pitcher at Old Mill last spring, has been named the Alabama Junior and Community College Division I Conference Player of the Year.Going 11-2 with three saves (two in a doubleheader) and a 2.21 ERA for Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals, Ala., Ziegler nosed out an Alabama native and the ace pitcher for regular-season champion Wallace-Hanceville (Ala.) by four votes for the honor.In two starts against Wallace, Ziegler was 1-1; as a team, the Stallions were 1-3 against the top seed.

SAN DIEGO -- Bruce Bochy doubled down with twos on Monday night. He drew a pair of face cards and busted twice.Bruce Bochy bought orange juice futures after a freeze and sold short.The San Diego Padres manager treated the 4-2 lead he got from deep reserve John Vander Wal's two-run homer in the sixth as if it were the six-spot the Atlanta Braves hung on his bullpen Sunday night in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.We would be telling you the Padres' crap-shooting skipper is smarter than a treeful of owls if the calculated gamble he made in the seventh inning had worked.

FRIDAY "ON THE WATERFRONT": Marlon Brando's longshoreman battles the unions in Elia Kazan's 1954 film, screening at this week's Little Italy Open Air Film Festival, High and Stiles streets. The film starts at 9 p.m., but come earlier for gelato and people-watching. The event is free. Go to littleitalymd.com. BBQ ACROSS AMERICA: Ace Enders and his band, A Million Different People, host a straight-up barbecue for pre-sale ticket-holders before the show. Bring your meat and veggies and plop them down on the provided grill space.

It wasn't that long ago that Orioles fans - and the media - viewed right-hander Jeremy Guthrie as the steal of the century, which wasn't hard to do since the century was only a few years old anyway. The Orioles claimed him off waivers in 2007 from the Cleveland Indians, who drafted him in the first round 4 1/2 years earlier, signed him to a major league contract and simply ran out of room for him on their roster. Guthrie quickly established himself in the starting rotation and made the Orioles' front office look good, for a change, and - faster than you could say, "Let's not get carried away" - he was anointed the club's No. 1 starter by default.

The Mariners aren't exactly balanced right now. They are among the league leaders in ERA, opponents' batting average against and fewest runs allowed. But they are near the bottom in most offensive categories and have made more errors than any other AL team, an astounding 41 in their first 50 games. They can pitch, though, and they'll be throwing three straight lefties at the Orioles - and that isn't a good thing. The Orioles hit about 17 points worse against lefties than righties. The most intriguing matchup will be Tuesday night, when former Orioles ace Erik Bedard faces his old team for the first time since he was traded in February 2008.

GEORGE H., of Pompano Beach, Florida, formerly of Baltimore, MD, on March 12, 2009. Beloved brother of Gerald L. Dengler and his wife Janet; loving uncle of Teresa Dengler; devoted cousin of Ace Anderson and devoted friend of Leonard Smith, both of Florida. Services will be private at a later date.

The hometown team needs the hometown boy. It's time to pull the trigger, light the candle, fire up the checkbook, call the equipment manager and tell him to stitch up an Orioles jersey with "Teixeira" and the number "25" on the back. Who are the Orioles waiting for? They didn't go out and buy a staff ace - the team's most pressing need - to anchor the rotation. Babe Ruth isn't coming back, Michael Phelps doesn't play baseball and the rest of the team isn't getting the job done, either on the field or at the turnstiles.

Chicago - The Chicago Cubs brought a heavy hitter to Wrigley Field yesterday afternoon, asking the Rev. James L. Greanias, a Greek Orthodox priest from St. Iakovos Church in Valparaiso, Ind., to spread holy water around the dugout to remove an alleged curse that has hovered over the ballclub since its last World Series appearance in 1945. But after Ryan Dempster couldn't find the plate and their hitters took another siesta in a 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of their National League Division Series, the Cubs might want to get out of the curse-removal business and concentrate on the game itself.

Who is that guy? : Indians ace Cliff Lee won't pitch in this series, but fellow left-hander Jeremy Sowers did quite an impression of the American League Cy Young Award favorite. Sowers, who had won two of 16 starts since being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, allowed just a run and four hits in eight innings. He had allowed three earned runs or more in 13 of those starts. Roberts robs them: : The Indians had eight hits off Orioles starter Radhames Liz, but it could have very easily been 10 if not for some nifty defense from second baseman Brian Roberts.

Baseball Tigers@ Orioles 7 p.m. [MASN2]: Orioles ace Jeremy Guthrie is scheduled to start against Detroit's Armando Galarraga. Galarraga hasn't been going very deep in games. He has lasted seven or more innings just twice in 15 starts. But he's been effective, with a 7-3 record and a 3.27 ERA.

Baseball Orioles@Cubs 8 p.m. [MASN] In the first game of an interleague series at Wrigley Field, the Orioles have Jeremy Guthrie pitching against Chicago's Sean Marshall, a big left-hander who's a fill-in starter for ace Carlos Zambrano. Although this seems like a break for the Orioles, the Cubs have the best record in the major leagues and are .800 at home (32-8).

SEATTLE -- In organizational meetings during spring training, Orioles officials pondered slotting right-hander Steve Trachsel, and not Jeremy Guthrie, into the No. 1 spot in the rotation. Their logic was that as a veteran, Trachsel, who had 141 wins entering the season, was better prepared to deal with the rigors of occupying that role. He wouldn't be overwhelmed by the high expectations or the challenge of facing the other team's top starter. It's not that Orioles officials felt Guthrie would be, but the right-hander did have just one full major league season of experience and 27 career starts.