Yankee Stadium

One of the most important players in the Orioles' last two runs to the World Serieshas to be honest. Ken Singleton is thrilled that the Orioles are in the playoffs, but he's got to pull for the New York Yankees. The former big league outfielder and a member of the Orioles' last two World Series teams in 1979 and 1983, is a long-time broadcaster for the Yankees-owned YES Network. That's why he was at Camden Yards on Sunday. “I've worked for the Yankees for 16 years now, I know who pays all my bills,” Singleton joked.

If the Orioles get past the Texas Rangers tonight, they now know when they'll be playing the New York Yankees on Sunday and Monday. Major League Baseball released the times for the division series games through Tuesday. The Orioles would host the Yankees at Camden Yards on Sunday at 6:15 p.m., ET. Monday night's game at Camden Yards would be at 8:07 p.m., ET. Both games will be broadcast on TBS. The Orioles would have a travel/work out day Tuesday and play in Yankee Stadium.

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.

Following Pedro Strop's forgettable eighth-inning performance in the Orioles' 10-6 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night, the right-handed setup man immediately retreated to the clubhouse film room to review his performance. Nobody needs to tell the 27-year-old reliever that he isn't pitching well. Despite some unsettling wildness, Strop's 23 holds are tied for fifth-most in the American League. But he has blown leads in two of his last three outings, both against the Yankees.

The last time the Orioles took three series at Yankee Stadium in a single season, just two players on the team's current 25-man roster had even been born. The Orioles' struggles in the Bronx run deep. And their fortunes didn't change when the Yankees moved into a new home across East 161st Street. But these Orioles aren't fond of history lessons. They'd rather write their own. The newest chapter was written Sunday, when the Orioles' 8-3 win over the Yankees' gave them three series wins in the Bronx for the first time since 1976.

Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds recorded his second two-homer game of the series in today's series finale at Yankee Stadium, driving in four of the Orioles' five runs so far as the O's have taken a 5-3 lead here in the Bronx. Reynolds' first homer, a solo shot in the fifth inning, was a mammoth shot to left field off Phil Hughes that landed about 15 rows up into the Yankee Stadium outfield bleachers. His second one -- another bomb into the left-field bleachers -- was a three-run shot off Hughes that gave the Orioles a 5-3 lead in the team's four-run sixth inning.

NEW YORK -- If the Orioles win the next two games here at Yankee Stadium, they will clinch series wins in all three of their series in the Bronx this season. The O's have outscored the Yankees 38-25 in seven games here this year, and their five wins here are already most since 1997, when they also won five games. The last time they've won more than five games in the Bronx was 1976. They won eight that year. The Orioles have wons five of their last six here and completed the month of August with 18 wins, their most wins in a single month since September, 2004.

The Orioles spent the first half of the season committing fielding errors at an astronomical pace, but as they continue to close in on the Yankees in the AL East race, their improved defense is one factor that's allowed them to compete. At the All-sSar break, the Orioles had committed a major league-leading 75 errors through 85 games, an average of 0.88 errors a game. Since the break, they've cut that mark in half. In 48 games since, the Orioles have just 21 errors for an average of 0.44 a game.

Miguel Gonzalez spent two full years out of the game, one with a torn miniscus in his knee and the other recovering from Tommy John surgery. When the Orioles signed him to a minor-league deal in late February, the Angels and Red Sox had already given up on him. And on Friday night - in the middle of a pennant race - the 28-year-old right-hander put the Baltimore Orioles within two games of the AL East lead with seven shutout innings against the...

For many years my wife Fran and I were subscribers to the Baltimore Pops series at the Meyerhoff. We especially enjoyed the years during Marvin Hamlisch's tenure as principal pops conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Little did we know that he was also a big time baseball fan. My wife Fran, known throughout Camden Yards for many years as one of the Orioles' best fans, was delighted when we were invited to a Yankees-Oriole game at Yankee Stadium to see Mike Messina, after leaving Baltimore, pitch for the Yankees against the Orioles.