Fenway Park

The Orioles were already a little angry about the way they were treated in Boston, and that fire has been flamed by Major League Baseball's ruling Thursday to suspend two Orioles players and manager Buck Showalter and only one Red Sox player, slugger David Ortiz, after last weekend's bean-brawl series at Fenway Park. "I definitely think they need to go back and do their homework," said Orioles left-hander Michael Gonzalez, who was suspended three games and fined $1,500 for throwing behind Ortiz on Sunday.

While you waste another summer wondering why the Orioles continue to be the stumbling, bumbling Orioles year after year and the Red Sox and Yankees continue to dominate the American League, perhaps you might benefit from a bit of comparative analysis. Sure, those teams have more revenue and bigger payrolls, but the low-budget Tampa Bay Rays have removed that as a legitimate excuse for failing to compete for what will soon be 14 consecutive seasons. The cause-and-effect relationship between money and success in professional sports is well-documented, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

Just when things were starting to look up for the Orioles, they banged face-first into their glass ceiling again this weekend. They battled back to the .500 mark with an impressive five-game winning streak at Camden Yards, but faced with an opportunity to rise above sea level for the first time since mid-April — and a very ripe opportunity to beat one of the hottest young pitchers in the game late Friday night — they showed again why they are...

Orioles starters Chris Tillman and Zach Britton will experience an important first this week: their first appearances at Fenway Park in Boston. "It's time. What are we going to do, keep them from pitching there?" Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "They pitch. It's part of the process. I'd like to think it won't be the last time they pitch there. We'll see. " Tillman, who is 2-3 with a 6.15 ERA, will start Monday's game against Daisuke Matsuzaka . Britton (5-2, 2.42)

April 18, 1975: Lee Mays hit a pair of homers and drove in seven runs in his first career game at Fenway Park. The Orioles beat the Red Sox, 9-7.

The emotions were already running high for Orioles left-hander Troy Patton on Wednesday in Boston, as he was pitching in his first big league game in more than three years. But there was something else extraordinary that guaranteed it would be a night he'll never forget: He pitched in front of his 34-year-old half-sister, whom he hadn't met before this week. It's an incredible story, and one that was made possible by the social media site Facebook. Patton's father had been married previously.

For those worried about Orioles rookie left-hander Brian Matusz and focused on his poor win-loss record and mid-4.00 ERA, there is one statistic that you may want to consider. In eight starts this season against the three heavyweights of the American League East, Matusz has a 2.90 ERA and has allowed just 41 hits in 492/3 innings. That includes three solid starts against the Boston Red Sox, whom Matusz completely shut down Sunday, pitching seven shutout innings and tying a career high with eight strikeouts in the Orioles' much-needed 6-1 victory in front of an announced 37,742 at Fenway Park.

Orioles interim manager Juan Samuel had a tough decision to make after Marco Scutaro's double in the eighth inning put the go-ahead run on second base with two outs. Starter Brad Bergesen had retired 10 straight batters before Scutaro's double and he was working on one of his best starts of an otherwise frustrating season. Samuel knew that if he brought in left-hander Will Ohman to face the left-handed hitting Eric Patterson, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona would likely go to his bench and summon a right-handed hitter.

— On the 17th day, they rested. On the 18th day, the Orioles lost again. With their brutal stretch of 16 consecutive games to start the season officially behind them, the Orioles were hoping Thursday's first off day of the season would translate into a better outcome Friday at Fenway Park. Instead, it was more of the same, with the Orioles squandering another solid starting pitching performance while failing to take advantage of myriad offensive opportunities in a 4-3 loss to the Red Sox, a game that they easily could have won. The gut-puncher also had a new twist: Orioles relievers walked five batters in two innings, including Jim Johnson's free pass to swing-happy Adrian Beltre in the eighth inning with the bases loaded that forced in the winning run. "We didn't throw a whole lot of strikes, and you obviously can't defend against the walks," Johnson said.

The Flyers and Bruins took their first look at Fenway Park - hockey-style - less than one month before the clubs meet in the NHL's Winter Classic. The atmosphere was light as players and personnel from both teams were given a guided tour Sunday of the uncompleted rink, the locker room and other facilities. Fenway Park, the 97-year-old home of baseball's Boston Red Sox, is in the early stages of being converted to a hockey rink for the New Year's Day game between the Bruins and Flyers.