Red Sox

On a day honoring arguably the greatest third baseman of all time -- legendary Orioles Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson -- the rookie phenom now patrolling the hot corner for Baltimore showed a little of what he can do. Twenty-year-old third baseman Manny Machado stood attentively in the Orioles dugout as Robinson -- a sculpture of him just unveiled in the plaza behind center field at Camden Yards -- stood on the field and stirred up an announced sellout...

On the first anniversary of the Orioles' memorable Game 162 walk-off win over the Boston Red Sox, it was evident how much these teams have gone in opposite directions. In some ways, that night a year ago marked a rebirth of baseball in Baltimore as the Orioles played the role of spoiler, doing their part in Boston's historic collapse. To most inside the Orioles clubhouse, that day is history. They still respect what that night meant, but these Orioles are in a much different place this September.

You see the jerseys every time the Orioles play at Camden Yards, often on boys born 20 years after the man shelved his famous mitt - No. 5. Robinson. The combination of that name and that number will always stir the souls of those who watched Brooks Robinson make impossible play after impossible play along the third-base line at Memorial Stadium. But even their children and grandchildren, who never glimpsed his magician's act, have heard the stories of Robinson's kindness - the way anybody could run into him at the mall and receive not only an autograph but a few minutes of genial conversation with a Hall of Famer.

BOSTON -- There's something about playing the Red Sox that has brought out the best in Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds. After Reynolds' solo homer in the fourth inning of Saturday's game at Fenway Park, Reynolds is 16-for-36 (.444) in 11 games against Boston this season with four doubles, six homers, nine runs and 16 RBIs. He took a 2-0 sinker from Boston starter Aaron Cook over the Green Monster in left field to give the Orioles a brief 3-1 lead. Reynolds also had two hits and drove in a run in Friday's series opener against the Sox, a 4-2 Orioles win. He entered Saturday's game hitting /435/.563/.826 with two homers and eight RBIs in seven games this season at Fenway Park Sixteen of Reynolds' 22 homers and 40 of his 67 RBIs have come against the AL East.

BOSTON - When the Orioles acquired Jim Thome in early July, they did so hoping the 42-year-old had enough hits left in his bat to help get them get to the postseason for the first time in 15 years. Thome himself said being thrust into a pennant race re-energized him, but it was soon after that a herniated disk left the likely Hall of Famer's season in limbo. Thome returned to the starting lineup Saturday for the first time in eight weeks, and the veteran designated hitter provided his team with his biggest hit in an Orioles uniform.

BOSTON - Orioles closer Jim Johnson often refers to his teammates as a bunch of grinders, a group of blue-collar players who pay little attention to individual accolades and instead focus on doing the unnoticed essentials that lead to winning. Johnson uses the grinder term because it bears reference to the gritty third-liners of a hockey team (he's a die-hard New York Rangers fan), the guys who lay down hits instead of scoring goals. So when Johnson set a new Orioles single-season record with his 46th save to close out a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night, he didn't get caught up in the mark.

BOSTON - The Orioles arrived at Fenway Park on Friday focused on continuing their march toward the playoffs. The Boston Red Sox were waiting, their focus and motivation an open question after a season gone terribly awry. So, what exactly is anyone to expect of this three-game series or the one next weekend at Camden Yards with such important playoff implications for the Orioles and so little at stake for the Red Sox, other than the opportunity to make life less comfortable for the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year?

It was the second inning and Orioles were already in position to blow the game open. Mark Reynolds had started the inning off with a home run - his fourth in six games. Then Manny Machado doubled and Omar Quintanilla walked. There were no outs, and with Nick Markakis up, the Orioles had Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz on the ropes. On the first pitch of the at bat, Markakis tried to get a bunt down and bounced the ball right in front of the plate. Boston catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia had plenty of time to throw out Machado at third, which wouldn't have been the end of the world if Markakis was running out the bunt.

The Orioles left Baltimore on Thursday night having completed a 7-3 homestand that finally established themselves as contenders. They have admitted in recent days that they've started scoreboard watching, even though - with 44 games left in the regular season - there's still plenty of baseball to be played. Thursday, however, was a missed opportunity - especially considering a six-game road trip to Detroit and Texas looms. The Orioles had a chance to sweep the reeling Red Sox out of town, but instead dropped the series finale to Boston, 6-3, in front of an announced 25,483 at Camden Yards.