Sox

So many times we have seen a late-season game between the Orioles and the Boston Red Soxend in a bloodbath. The sides couldn't be more flipped this year. On the one-year anniversary of Boston falling out of playoff contention thanks to Robert Andino and company, the playoff-chasing Orioles hammered Boston, 9-1. They outhit them 12-1. The Red Sox, for once, were the team that looked like it was counting down the days. At least one New Englander showed up. Ryan Flaherty, the Maine native who grew up a Red Sox fan, had a career night.

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?

Orioles manager Buck Showalter often has the same reaction when he thinks a question is obvious, when he thinks something is astounding or when he is sidestepping a pointed inquiry - he tilts his head slightly, cocks an eyebrow and utters one word: “Really?” With their 5-3 victory over the tough Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon, these surprising, befuddling Orioles (72-58) have moved within three games of the American League East-leading New York Yankees, who were idle Thursday.

In an unusual early start time - due to the pending Grand Prix of Baltimore - the Orioles' first pitch is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. If you are coming here, I hope you left early. Like Tuesday or last weekend. The streets are already a mess (and the Russell Street ramp is closed, though it wasn't supposed to be). The lineups are out and Matt Wieters is getting a day off, just protocol for the starting catcher for a day game following a night game. Mark Reynolds is batting cleanup for the first time this season.

Orioles left-hander Joe Saunders acknowledged he carried some extra adrenaline into his first start with his new team Wednesday night. Saunders grew up in Northern Virginia cheering for the Orioles, and said he spent a handful of times every season at Camden Yards. But his debut as a member of the Orioles didn't lead to positive memories. The 31-year-old veteran, dealt to the Orioles on Sunday from the Arizona Diamondbacks,  allowed four runs in the first inning in a 8-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The Orioles missed an opportunity to gain ground in the American League East with the loss.