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Orioles switch-hitting  catcher Matt Wieters was the hero of Sunday's 2-1 win over the Nationals with his two-run homer in the eighth inning. And while it continued Wieters' domination of left-handed pitching this season, it was just his second homer from the right side of the plate. Wieters' split stats are incredibly intriguing. He's hitting .413 against left-handed pitching -- 215 points higher than his average against right-handed pitchers, even though eight of his 10 homers came from the left side.

To a man, the Ravens insist that they don't have an explanation for why the team's offense has played so well at home and so poorly on the road. And as second-year wide receiver Torrey Smith wisely pointed out, if the Ravens knew the cause of the maddening inconsistency, they'd have it fixed by now. Either way, it's become impossible to ignore and if the Ravens are going to make a run at that elusive Super Bowl, they better figure it out soon....

In some of yesterday's editions, a photograph of Cal Ripken's old batting stance was identified incorrectly as his new stance. Above left is Ripken's former stance. Above right is the stance he has been using for about two weeks. The Sun regrets the error.2 ...... AB ... R ... H ... HR ... RBI ... Avg.92-93 .. 500 ... 48 .. 115 ... 9 ... 54 .... .230Avg. ... 598 ... 90 .. 166 .. 24 ... 87 .... .278

The American Legion Columbia Post 300 Patriots captured the 22nd annual Hillbilly Hardball Classic duringFather's Day weekend (June 14-17) in Elkins, WV. The Patriots went 7-0-1 in the tournament, playing eight games in four days with eight different starting pitchers, including Ben Goldsmith's 10-strikeout, one-hit shutout of then-undefeated host Elkins Post 29, the runner-up in the West Virginia state tournament each of the last two years....

&TC Mark McGwirefirst baseman, Oakland A'sMcGwire has homered in six of his past nine games and is riding a 15-game hitting streak.AB.. .. .. ..R.. .. .H .. ..HR.. ..RBI.. ...AVG.18.. .. .. ..6.. .. .6.. .. .3.. ...7.. .. .333Barry LarkinShortstop, Cincinnati RedsLarkin leads the league in batting average and is second in stolen bases;1AB.. .. .. ..R.. .. .H .. ..HR.. ..RBI.. ...AVG.14.. .. .. ..4.. .. .8.. .. .0.. ...4.. .. .571

The Ravens won the Super Bowl in January 2001 with a record-setting defensive performance. The Bucs appear to be following the same formula in their bid to reach the Super Bowl. Here is a comparison of the two defenses: .................2002 2000 Category Bucs Ravens Total yards 249.9 247.9 Avg. per play 4.1 4.3 Rush yards 98.2 60.6, Avg. per rush 3.9 2.7, Passing yards 151.7 187.3 3rd down pct. 32.3 34.1 Sacks 40 35, Comp. pct. 49.9 55.9 Interceptions 27 23 Turnover mar. +15 +23 Touchdowns 19 18, Points allowed 179 165 Points per game 12.8 10.3 Note: Bucs statistics through 14 games; Ravens through 16 games.

Yr G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI Avg. '99 51 159 35 48 14 3 6 33 .302 '00 55 191 44 59 13 7 6 35 .309 '01 *60 *218 57 *87 21 2 15 *74 .399 '02 47 168 54 71 15 5 13 48 .423 Totals *213 *736 *190 *265 *63 *17 40 *190 .360 * denotes Towson record

To a man, the Ravens insist that they don't have an explanation for why the team's offense has played so well at home and so poorly on the road. And as second-year wide receiver Torrey Smith wisely pointed out, if the Ravens knew the cause of the maddening inconsistency, they'd have it fixed by now. Either way, it's become impossible to ignore and if the Ravens are going to make a run at that elusive Super Bowl, they better figure it out soon....

DETROIT -- The long-awaited offensive breakout threatened to come Monday at Comerica Park, when the Orioles scored two runs and made Detroit Tigers ace Jeremy Bonderman throw 38 pitches in the first inning. However, Bonderman needed only 30 pitches to get through the next three, and the Orioles never could break the game open. The next day, they managed nine runners in 3 2/3 innings against lightly regarded Chad Durbin, but scored only two runs. They lost both games. Indians@Orioles Tonight, 7:05, MASN, 105.7 FM Starters: Paul Byrd (2-1, 3.50)

The American Legion Columbia Post 300 Patriots captured the 22nd annual Hillbilly Hardball Classic duringFather's Day weekend (June 14-17) in Elkins, WV. The Patriots went 7-0-1 in the tournament, playing eight games in four days with eight different starting pitchers, including Ben Goldsmith's 10-strikeout, one-hit shutout of then-undefeated host Elkins Post 29, the runner-up in the West Virginia state tournament each of the last two years....

Orioles switch-hitting  catcher Matt Wieters was the hero of Sunday's 2-1 win over the Nationals with his two-run homer in the eighth inning. And while it continued Wieters' domination of left-handed pitching this season, it was just his second homer from the right side of the plate. Wieters' split stats are incredibly intriguing. He's hitting .413 against left-handed pitching -- 215 points higher than his average against right-handed pitchers, even though eight of his 10 homers came from the left side.

offense PASSING Com. Att. Yds. TD INT Rat. BENGALS C.Palmer 18 31 271 1 1 84.2 RAVENS Flacco 22 31 186 1 2 70.1 RUSHING Att. Yds. Avg. TD Lg. BENGALS Benson 27 120 4.4 1 28 C.Palmer 5 18 3.6 0 8 Scott 1 3 3.0 0 3 Leonard 1 1 1.0 0 1 RAVENS Rice 14 69 4.9 0 21 Flacco 1 9 9.0 0 9 L.McClain 2 6 3.0 0 5 McGahee 1 -2 -2.0 0 -2 RECEIVING No. Yds. Avg. TD Lg. BENGALS Ochocinco 7 94 13.4 0 21 Henry 3 92 30.7 0 73 Leonard 3 30 10.0 0 10 ...

Name, Pos. Key stat Grade Jeff Zrebiec's skinny Matt Albers, RP 28 games Inc. His season-ending injury in June was devastating to the Orioles. Randor Bierd, RP 4.91 ERA C- Was a totally different pitcher after returning from shoulder injury. Brian Burres, SP 1.66 WHIP D Started strong before losing ability to get major league hitters out. Freddie Bynum, SS .179 avg. F Given shortstop job, he was overmatched in most of 112 at-bats. Daniel Cabrera, SP 5.25 ERA D Nearly led league in walks, wild pitches and hit batters.

Player Key stat Grade Jeff Zrebiec's comment Matt Albers 28 games B+ Key in early bullpen success, his loss felt on nightly basis. Chad Bradford 2.70 ERA B- Allows a lot of base runners, though he has gotten big outs, too. Brian Burres 5.02 ERA C+ It hasn't been pretty, but staff-leading seven wins count for something. Freddie Bynum .179 avg. D Has struggled offensively, and defense becoming issue, too. Daniel Cabrera 129 innings B- Winless June hurt, but improvements clearly have been made.

Per your oft-repeated recommendation, I downloaded and installed Grisoft AVG anti-virus. I disabled Norton's anti-virus program. My computer works fine on Internet applications, but Outlook Express won't connect. Also, the computer won't always respond to commands. I removed AVG, enabled Norton and am back to normal. Any idea how to make AVG work? Also, you say in a recent column that XP has a backup program. I can't find it. - Ed Hutchison Let's start with your anti-virus problem. Simply disabling Norton's anti-virus isn't enough.

My subscription has expired for Norton's anti-virus program, and I am finally getting around to trying to check out a program you recommended years ago. Is AVG still around, and is it still free? -- Linda Gordon It's still available at free.grisoft.com. I really like Grisoft AVG and think it stacks up just fine with commercial programs. In the past several weeks, when I turn on the computer (Dell Dimension 4600 with Windows XP) as part of the boot process I have to run System Setup every time.

Name, Pos. Key stat Grade Jeff Zrebiec's skinny Matt Albers, RP 28 games Inc. His season-ending injury in June was devastating to the Orioles. Randor Bierd, RP 4.91 ERA C- Was a totally different pitcher after returning from shoulder injury. Brian Burres, SP 1.66 WHIP D Started strong before losing ability to get major league hitters out. Freddie Bynum, SS .179 avg. F Given shortstop job, he was overmatched in most of 112 at-bats. Daniel Cabrera, SP 5.25 ERA D Nearly led league in walks, wild pitches and hit batters.

DETROIT -- The long-awaited offensive breakout threatened to come Monday at Comerica Park, when the Orioles scored two runs and made Detroit Tigers ace Jeremy Bonderman throw 38 pitches in the first inning. However, Bonderman needed only 30 pitches to get through the next three, and the Orioles never could break the game open. The next day, they managed nine runners in 3 2/3 innings against lightly regarded Chad Durbin, but scored only two runs. They lost both games. Indians@Orioles Tonight, 7:05, MASN, 105.7 FM Starters: Paul Byrd (2-1, 3.50)

Lions wide receiver Roy Williams vs. Ravens cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle George Kokinis, the Ravens' pro personnel director, sizes up the top matchup against the Lions: The players Williams was the seventh overall pick of the 2004 draft. Last season, he set the Lions' rookie receiving records in receptions (54), yards (817) and touchdowns (eight). He leads the Lions this season with 10 catches for 163 yards. McAlister, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, leads the Ravens with five passes broken up this season.