Twins

Special K The suspense ended two batters into the game. Erik Bedard struck out Jason Bartlett on a 1-2 curveball to break Mike Mussina's team single-season strikeout record of 218. Fans gave him a standing ovation and waved orange signs with his first name printed in black, the "K" enlarged to signify a strikeout. One side of the card had the letter backward, in case the batter was caught looking. Bedard didn't acknowledge the ovation, remaining on the mound as Torii Hunter stepped into the batter's box. Costly error The Twins took a 2-0 lead against Bedard in the first inning, but the blame didn't rest entirely on his shoulders.

People in Union Bridge have been seeing double lately. Actually, they have had a double-dose of double vision. That's because the Francis Scott Key girls basketball team has two sets of twins. Dominique and Tommeaka Brown, both 5-foot-11 seniors, are fraternal twins, while 5-2 seniors Candice and Melody Voland are identical. Having two pairs of twins on the same team can cause some confusion, but it also has its advantages, Eagles coach Ed Williar said. "There is definitely a chemistry between twins," he said.

FORT MYERS, FLA.-- --With all the things he had to do this winter, the countless interviews, appearances and rubber-chicken banquets, Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau said there was only one awkward moment. Nothing was stranger than boasting to a rolling TV camera and several young baseball stars, "I'm the MVP." He had little choice. It's tough to say no to Spike Lee. "I didn't want it to come across too cocky so the first couple takes I didn't even say the lines," Morneau said.

Terry Tiffee was drafted in the 26th round of the 1999 first-year player draft by Minnesota and played parts of three seasons with the Twins before the Orioles signed him as a minor league free agent in November. Tiffee, who hit .244 last season with two home runs and six RBIs, plays first and third base. He is competing for a bench spot with the Orioles this spring. What do you think your chances are of making the Orioles' Opening Day roster? -- I don't know. It seems like there is one spot and a lot of guys competing for that spot.

In her studio at Mill Centre, Charlene Clark talks about her paintings and the people she's painted and those who look at them. Among other things, she's a kind of personal historian for residents of Baltimore and Ocean City and lots of the rest of Maryland. She paints the places that live in their memories. "They're always telling me stories," Clark says. "Constantly." "One year at Artscape a man pointed to my Edmondson Drive-In painting and yelled, `I lost my virginity there.' " The Edmondson Drive-In is gone now. Indeed, lots of the scenes captured by Clark have passed.

Today, @Twins 8:10 p.m., MASN Friday, @Yankees 7:05 p.m., MASN/Ch. 13 Saturday, @Yankees 1:05 p.m., MASN Sunday, @Yankees 1:05 p.m., MASN Monday, Tigers 3:05 p.m., MASN/Ch. 13 [ Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

Bringing the heat Making his major league debut, 24-year-old Radhames Liz wasn't trying to fool the Minnesota Twins. Eighteen of his 19 pitches in the first inning were fastballs, one of them clocked at 100 mph. Every pitch in the second was a fastball except for the slider that froze Michael Cuddyer and ended the inning. He mixed in three changeups and two sliders among his 21 pitches in the third, when Jason Bartlett's two-run single -- on a 96-mph fastball -- gave the Twins a 2-0 lead.

Today, Twins 7:05 p.m., MASN Tomorrow, Twins 7:05 p.m., MASN Saturday, Twins 7:15 p.m., Ch. 13, MASN Sunday, Twins 1:35 p.m., Ch. 13, MASN Tuesday, Devil Rays 7:05 p.m., MASN [Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

MINNEAPOLIS -- Welcome to September baseball in the land that franchise relocation forgot. In a setting where fans throw their voices to hear the echo, Scott Erickson gave the Orioles another strong showing against his former club in a 5-0 win before 9,263 at the Metrodome. As long as the game "survives" in the Great White North, the Orioles will always have somewhere to get well.Only 45-68 against the rest of the American League, the Orioles improved to 6-1 against their small-market competition.

Quote: "Sorry for the technical difficulties, but at least it's not raining." -- Scoreboard message at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., during part of a 15-minute power failure.It's a fact: Despite their no-name lineup, the Twins sold 7,619 season tickets for 1999, surpassing last year's 6,043. The $99 season-ticket deal, which includes an autographed Kirby Puckett bat for every pair of seats, still is available.Who's hot: Yankees starters have allowed 16 hits in 34 1/3 innings.Who's not: The White Sox's Jaime Navarro gave up seven runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings after going 4-1 in spring training.

MINNEAPOLIS - -There might not be enough time left in the season for Jeremy Guthrie to achieve the number of wins he had hoped for before the year began, or to get his ERA down to a number with which he can be satisfied. But if Guthrie continues over the next month to pitch the way he has in his past two outings, the Orioles will feel much better about their 2010 rotation and the right-hander's position near the top of it. Guthrie held the Minnesota Twins to just a run over seven innings, and the Orioles salvaged one game of the three-game set with a 5-1 victory Wednesday in front of an announced 28,446 at the Metrodome.

Corrections officers escorted the twin brothers into the courtroom together, the smaller one trailing just behind the other, their hands shackled behind their backs, their feet shackled at the ankles. Both wore blue jeans and white T-shirts. They looked younger than their 17 years. The guards brought them into the sixth-floor room after most of the day's chaotic docket of drugs and violence had concluded and the spectator benches had emptied but for two women. The youths stood in front of Baltimore Circuit Judge Charles G. Bernstein to be arraigned on adult charges that they had weapons in their home on South Pulaski Street.

Orioles phenom Matt Wieters has beaten the baseball odds twice already. He was a top-five overall pick - one of only eight catchers to be selected so high in the past 20 years. And he has remained behind the plate on his way to the majors - unlike many catching prospects who are moved to less-demanding positions while in the minors. Wieters, who made his big league debut Friday, will attempt to pick up the nuances and accelerated speed of the major leagues while simultaneously calling games.

Losers of nine of their past 11, the Orioles were hoping to right the ship when they got home Wednesday from a difficult road trip. They didn't know they'd actually need an ark by the end of Wednesday night. Surviving three rain delays of two hours and 49 minutes, the Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1, in a game that was finally, mercifully called with two outs and one Twin on in the top of the sixth. The game was delayed 42 minutes before the first pitch, 40 more minutes with one out in the bottom of the second and then again for an hour and 27 minutes with two strikes thrown in the top of the fourth and the Orioles leading 3-1. If it had ended then - which looked like a distinct possibility - the game would be postponed and started again Thursday afternoon with none of the statistics counting.

Hendrickson back on mound Left-hander Mark Hendrickson, who threw in an intrasquad game last week but hadn't faced opposition since Feb. 27, allowed two runs in three innings and got the loss in yesterday's 5-3 defeat to the Minnesota Twins. Hendrickson gave up five hits and put men on base each inning but wiggled out of two jams thanks to a double-play ball and a pickoff. His lone big mistake was a two-run homer by Joe Crede. Hendrickson, originally targeted by the Orioles as a long reliever, is fighting with seven others for three open spots in the rotation.

Limiting runs, anyway Orioles pitchers gave up 17 hits to the Minnesota Twins yesterday at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, but they yielded just four runs in a 4-3 loss. Only Jim Johnson, in the sixth, pitched a perfect inning. The Twins put the lead runner on base in seven of the first eight innings but could not consistently score. Orioles starter David Pauley, who is out of options and is attempting to make the rotation, allowed nine base runners in three innings but allowed just two runs, thanks in large part to Adam Jones' defense in center field.

1 Do it now: It's down to do-or-die time for the Twins (left). Trailing the White Sox in the American League Central, Minnesota hosts Chicago at 8:10 p.m. 2 Brewing intrigue: If the Brewers can't get a postseason push against the Pirates (in Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.), whom do they fire next? The guy who makes the post-game spread? 3 Three in a row?: Radhames Liz has turned in quality starts in each of his past two outings and gets another shot tonight as the Orioles face the Rays (7:05, MASN)

1 Not over yet: Don't let the baseball races get away from you - Twins at Rays (7 p.m., ESPN). 2 Got signs ready?: Duke is at Maryland - does the sport matter? It's men's soccer tonight at 8. The Terps are No. 4 and the Blue Devils No. 25 (and likely overrated). 3 Loaded for Bears: Once upon a time, the notion that Baylor would play Connecticut (8 p.m., ESPN2) in football would have seemed ridiculous, much less that UConn would be favored by almost two TDs. 4 Another D.C. challenge: Having upset Washington-area football power DeMatha on the road, 21-14, No. 8 Gilman hosts Washington's Georgetown Prep at 5 p.m. 5 Probable ouch: Friday is always a big day for you fantasy leaguers.

1 No stress Sunday: With no Ravens game until next week, you can relax and enjoy today's NFL games on TV. Except for that last one (Steelers at Browns, 8:15 p.m., chs. 11, 4), when you root for both to lose. 2 Only one September: Three baseball telecasts have postseason implications - Twins at Orioles, 1:30, MASN; Blue Jays at Red Sox, 1:30, TBS; Tigers at White Sox, 8, ESPN. 3 A second look: You can't believe what you saw in the Maryland-California game yesterday? Watch it again tonight at 7:30 on Comcast SportsNet.

Fri Twins, 7:05 p.m., MASN2 Starters: Twins' Scott Baker (8-4, 3.66) vs. Daniel Cabrera (8-9, 5.26) Cabrera is 5-3 with a 3.92 ERA in nine career starts against the Twins, though he was beaten by them in their only matchup this year. On June 4 in Minnesota, Cabrera surrendered six earned runs in six innings in taking the loss. A day later, Baker picked up a no-decision against the Orioles, surrendering two runs over five innings. The Twins' right-hander has six no-decisions in his past eight starts.