brad lincoln

The Orioles acquired the left-handed-hitting outfielder they had been seeking all offseason, trading a minor league pitcher and a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night for Travis Snider.

By the time Chris Davis reached the Orioles dugout after his third homer in Friday night¿s 6-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, his teammates were already waiting for him on the top step.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he doesn't pay attention to the standings until August. For the past 14 years, Orioles fans haven't had the need to, their team usually already long out of contention by this time of the year.

With one click of his laptop mouse, Bill Squadron, the head of Bloomberg Sports, shows every pitch thrown to Orioles centerfielder Adam Jones this season. It shows a strike zone full more than 1000 marks of different colors and shapes ¿ much like abstract art, Squadron jokes. One click later, it graphic shows the 600-some fastballs thrown to Jones. Another click and it¿s down to 200 pitches that show pitches with one out. Then, Squadron filters the data to show just home runs and it¿s down to three dots. The mouse pointer find one of the three dots and up comes a video of Jones¿ home run against Pirates pitcher Brad Lincoln on June 12.

Batting from the leadoff spot and starting at second base, Brian Roberts hit three singles and drove in a run in the Orioles¿ 8-6 win over the Pirates, their third straight victory.