Orioles Manager

How it happened: The Orioles had no answer for New York starting pitcher A.J. Burnett, who dominated them on his way to his third victory of the season. Burnett allowed no runs on just three singles and a walk in eight innings, striking out four. Brian Matusz was solid in opposing him, surrendering three runs on nine hits in six innings for a quality start, but with no run support behind him, the 23-year-old took his first loss of the season. He said it: "We've played a lot of close games and our starters have gotten their fair share of quality starts, and we haven't scored a lot of runs for them.

How it happened: The Orioles' bats finally came to life with runners in scoring position, as the team went 5-for-11 in such situations. Ty Wigginton led the way offensively with a homer and four RBIs. Nolan Reimold drove in a pair of runs, and Nick Markakis and Lou Montaenez added RBIs as well. Orioles starter Brian Matusz turned in a solid outing, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out eight. He said it: : "We're starting the pennant drive.

I'm not sure what Buck Showalter did during his three-day vacation over the All-Star break. But I know one thing the Orioles manager didn't do: watch Robinson Cano win the MLB Home Run Derby on Monday night. “It's hard to watch the home run hitting contest,” Showalter said before Thursday's loss to the Indians . “Obviously, the balls are juiced. Those aren't normal balls that they're hitting. I've been in Arizona for a long time and you don't hit balls where they're hitting them.

It has been 14 years since Davey Johnson managed in Baltimore, but he still holds the distinction of being the last skipper to lead the Orioles to the playoffs or to get them above .500. Now, he'll be charged with trying to guide the club just south of Baltimore to its first postseason. Johnson, 68, agreed to become Washington Nationals manager on Saturday, according to multiple reports. Johnson, who hasn't managed since 2000 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, had been a Nationals' senior advisor since 2010.

The flashy $55,000 ring on Gene Woodling's finger trumpeted the five straight world championships he helped the New York Yankees win from 1949-53, but Woodling said yesterday that he left his baseball heart in Baltimore."

Orioles manager Buck Showalter will meet with his coaches before the season ends Sunday, but he said any definitive decisions on his 2011 staff likely won't be made until after the World Series. "I want to talk to them before the season is over to give them a heads-up about what our thinking is, what the time frame's going to be," said Showalter, who inherited the staffs of former managers Dave Trembley and Juan Samuel . "I wouldn't dare let them leave here without some idea.

How cold will it be Saturday night, when the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants meet in the Motor City for Game 3 of the World Series? Forty-three degrees, with temperatures dipping into the upper 30s by game's end, predicts meteorologist Jim Madaus, of CBS 62 in Detroit. "The [football] Lions have it better," Madaus said. "They play indoors. " The 1979 Orioles had it worse. It was a wintry 41 degrees at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 10 as they played host to the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 1 of the World Series - and downright frosty some 3 hours and 18 minutes later, after what was then the longest night game in the history of the Fall Classic.

The first lunatic trespasser of the season jumped on the field in the fourth inning and led the cops on the usual merry chase until one of them turned into Ray Lewis and took him down hard. What a charmer this rail-hopper was. He was shirtless and wore short shorts right out of the Richard Simmons Collection. Oh, and he wore a cape, too. Really. At first I swore it was Kegasus, so beered up he thought it was the Preakness, except I couldn't tell if the guy had a mullet or not. Other than that, the Orioles' season-opening 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday went off without too many problems, if you don't count that little heart attack Troy Patton gave them in the ninth inning.