Caleb Joseph, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-17

As I mentioned on Thursday, the Orioles are undefeated on Opening Day under Buck Showalter, with an 8-0 mark dating back to 2011. But it probably didn't hurt that they had their good luck charm in the ballpark this year.

Last year, I made it a point to bring my son Finn to Oriole Park as often as was practical; six games in all, a number to grow on. The O's won the first five of those games before dropping a 7-4 clunker to the Yankees at the beginning of their September slide. Janet and I were excited to bring Finn to his first Opening Day this year, and he seemed to be up for it, too. We decked him out in his "Future MVP" Orioles onesie and his trusty orange cap, and on the way from the parking lot into the stadium he kept exclaiming "Orioles!" as he spotted all of the other folks in their team colors. We entered through Gate C, which meant that Finn could romp around to his heart's delight in the Kids' Corner before we made our way up to our seats. (He was especially fond of the slide.)

I'm always glad to see familiar faces year after year at the ballpark, and that includes the usher who typically works our section. He keeps a stash of baseball cards on his person to hand out to kids at the game, and Finn got a 1991 Score Terry Leach and a 1989 Fleer Brian Holton. I must admit that he spindled, folded, and mutilated both of them, but he is only 20 months old. I'll wait a bit to teach him the finer points of baseball card care. As far as the pregame ceremonies go, Finn was especially taken by the fireworks that were shot off over the scoreboard, and the flyover by the Maryland Air National Guard. Me, I'm a sucker for Jim Hunter introducing the Birds' players and urging the crowd to welcome the new team members to Baltimore. It's even better when he welcomes the rookies to the major leagues.

I have to admit that Finn's disposition wasn't as sunny throughout the game as it usually is; since first pitch was at 3:05 PM, he missed his afternoon nap. But after an early-inning snack, he was in better spirits. Fortune smiled on us as the game marched on; the additional tickets we'd bought for Opening Day were in section 342, so Janet, Finn, and I were separated from my sister and father, who took our season ticket seats in 340. But if anyone had the two seats next to my sis and dad, they didn't show. So we were all reunited for the second half of the game, once we were reasonably sure that nobody would come around to displace us. That meant that we had an even better view for Caleb Joseph's clutch two-run triple, which broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning. That huge hit was all the sweeter because it came off the bat of one of our favorite O's players (and probably our favorite person on the team). After all, Finn's middle name is Caleb, and incidentally, he learned to say "Caleb" before he could/would say "Finn".

Through the late innings of the game, our kiddo was visibly exhausted. His eyelids were drooping, and he chomped down on his blanket and nestled into Janet's arms.When Brad Brach gave up the lead in the top of the ninth, Finn finally gave up the ghost. He slumbered through extra innings, and didn't even stir when Adam Jones crushed Fernando Rodney's first fastball into the left field seats in the bottom of the eleventh and we joined the rest of the sellout crowd in uproarious cheers and shouts. Janet leapt to her feet, pulled Finn to her chest, and rhythmically thumped him on the back in lieu of applause...and still he didn't wake. But as soon as we were out on the concourse, making our way out of the park with the rest of the thrilled O's fans, he snapped back to life, chattering and squirming. It still counts as a win on his ledger, even if he needed a little power nap to survive.

Tommy Hunter, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-16

At the rate I'm going, I'll have the entire team set posted by the end of the season. Anyhow, the Orioles parted ways with Tommy Hunter just before last Friday's 4:00 pm trade deadline, sending him to the Cubs in exchange for outfielder Junior Lake. It was a move that created more roster flexibility for the club, and Hunter's $4.65 million price tag was pretty high for a middle reliever, but that doesn't mean that he won't be missed. He played the role of gregarious meathead pretty well, as you might expect of somebody with the Twitter handle @TommyGoesBOOM. Last year there was a between-innings "Ask an Oriole" video feature on the Camden Yards scoreboard with most of Tommy's teammates picking him as the player most likely to be thrown out of a nice restaurant...it ended with him matter-of-factly agreeing. He also gave me - and thousands of other O's fans - a fantastic memory when he secured the final out of the team's AL East Divison-clinching win last year. Afterward, he celebrated in style. Good luck in Chicago, Tommy.

Bud Norris, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-8

I left town for a long weekend, and the Orioles lost two of their bigger personalities. Bud Norris was designated for assignment after Thursday's disastrous relief appearance, which left him 2-9 with a 7.06 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP in 2015. "Budford", as I liked to call him for no other reason than my own amusement, was never right this season, as he was hampered by a bout of bronchitis and also admitted to being overly concerned with his impending free agency. It was a far cry from his strong 2014 season, when he went 15-8 with a 3.65 ERA (8-2, 3.27 in the second half). Though he couldn't maintain that performance this season, Bud has etched out a place for himself in team history. O's fans are unlikely to forget his standout start in the Game Three ALDS clincher in Detroit last October, when the righty outdueled David Price with six and a third innings of two-hit, two-walk shutout ball. Norris struck out six batters in a 2-1 Baltimore win.

The other new ex-Oriole is Tommy Hunter, and he deserves his own sendoff. I'll do him right tomorrow.

Chris Davis, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-12

I won't be around these parts for the rest of the week, so I leave you with tonight's hero, Chris Davis. My sister and I endured the stifling heat and humidity to attend tonight's pregame Social Media gathering at the Upper Deck Rooftop Bar in Camden Yards. We dined on Esskay franks, picked up our #BirdlandSocial tees, and listened to the Q and A with Roch Kubatko and Jim Palmer. Afterward we took our seats in Section 352, down the third-base line and fairly near home plate, giving us an excellent vantage point for Chris Davis' go-ahead three-run homer in the first inning and his two-run shot past the reach of Nick Markakis in the second. It was the tenth multi-home run game of Crush's career, and if memory serves me correct, it's the third such game that I've seen live. He also made a fantastic running grab of an A. J. Pierzynski fly ball to deep right field in the eighth inning, when the Braves were making a late bid to get back in the game. That's four in a row for the Birds. It's good to have a productive Chris Davis in the lineup again.

Chris Tillman, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-14

Earlier this week I looked at the pitching matchups for this weekend's series in Detroit, and saw that tonight's game would be Chris Tillman vs. David Price. Naturally, I groaned, because I can't see the future. Tonight Tillman was masterful; he allowed a single and a walk in the first inning and then retired the last 23 batters he faced, making Manny Machado's third-inning solo homer off of Price stand up. The O's tall righthander left after eight one-hit innings, but a two-run single by Caleb Joseph in the top of the ninth made Zach Britton's job a bit easier. The All-Star closer retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning for his 24th save in 25 tries. So tomorrow Miguel Gonzalez takes the mound as the Birds have a chance to win the series. You can't ask for much more.

Ubaldo Jimenez, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-4

Are you sick of this year's Topps Orioles team set yet? My general boycott of new Topps products admittedly hampers variety when I want to feature current players. Anyhow, I'm a week late with this, but I just have to comment on the Birds' doubleheader sweep of the Indians two Sundays ago. As you may recall, the O's took the regularly scheduled afternoon game by a 4-0 score, with the rejuvenated Ubaldo Jimenez tossing a bullpen-preserving eight innings of four-hit, NO-walk, seven-strikeout ball. Brian Matusz and Chaz Roe made things interesting with a pair of walks in the ninth, but combined to get those ever-challenging final three outs. In the nightcap, a makeup of Saturday's rainout, Chris Tillman nearly matched Ubaldo's pitching line with seven innings, four hits, zero walks, and six whiffs. T. J. McFarland somehow kept Cleveland off the board for the last two innings despite allowing four hits of his own, and the Orioles cruised to an 8-0 victory. So not only did the O's win both ends of the twinbill, but they did so without giving up a single run. The last time the club blanked the opposition in both games of a doubleheader was September 6, 1974, when Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar each flummoxed...the Indians. And of course, I had just written about those two games (and the larger shutout streak surrounding them) two days before this latest turn of events. It's all very serendipitous.

Darren O'Day, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-6

I'm back from vacation, though I realize that I didn't mention I was leaving for a week. I'm back now, and I can't think of a better way to mark the occasion than by posting a card of 2015 All-Star Darren O'Day. Yep, three and a half years after the Orioles picked up the sidearming reliever on waivers from the Rangers, he's going to his first Midsummer Classic. O'Day (5-0, 1.14 ERA, 2 saves, 0.82 WHIP) and Zach Britton were both chosen for the American League squad by Royals manager Ned Yost. Meanwhile, Adam Jones and Manny Machado were voted in as reserves by their peers, giving the O's four representatives for next week's festivities in Cincinnati. It's been an uneven first half for the Birds, but a few of their standouts players are getting their just due.

Steve Pearce, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-10

Earlier today, Buck Showalter remembered that Steve Pearce is still on the active roster and penciled him in as the starting left fielder. Last season's breakout hitter rewarded his manager with a three-hit, two-double game, and the Orioles won yet another series in Fenway Park by eking out an 8-6 win in the rubber game. Most of the damage was done in a six-run fourth inning, as the O's heated up with seven straight hits against former Baltimore prospect Eduardo Rodriguez and chased him from the game. Rodriguez, sent to Boston last summer in the Andrew Miller trade, saw his stock immediately rise in the Sawx organization, leaving many Birds fans wringing their hands about the one who got away. On this day at least, the Orioles took a bit of luster off of him. So that's 15 wins in the last 20 games for the resurgent Showalters, and six straight series wins if you count the home-and-home four-game thing with the Phillies as a single series. That's how you climb in the standings. And the lovely capper on it all? Dating back to 2011, the Orioles have won nine of their past 12 series in Beantown. They've split two more series, and lost only one. I remember when arrogant Boston fans used to refer to Camden Yards as "Fenway South". What a difference a few years can make.

Wei-Yin Chen, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-15

Wei-Yin Chen, or "Weentsy", as I (and nobody else that I know of) call him, came through in a big way for the Orioles tonight. The bullpen has been working overtime lately, as O's starting pitchers had failed to complete six innings in eight consecutive games before tonight. But Chen was equal to the task, plowing through the Phillies for eight shutout innings in a 4-0 win, the team's ninth victory in the past 11 games. The Philly batters hit only four balls out of the infield, none before the fifth inning. The big blow for the Birds was a two-out, three-run homer by Matt Wieters in the sixth inning, but it's nice to see a starter give most of the 'pen a night off. Thanks, Weentsy!

J.J. Hardy, 2015 Topps Orioles Team Set #BO-11

I love this card, unfortunate numbering convention notwithstanding. This photo was taken in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 2 of the 2014 ALDS - Friday, October 3, 2014. Delmon Young had just roped a bases-loaded pinch double into left field, blowing the nonexistent roof off of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. J.J. Hardy is sliding home ahead of Alex Avila's tag to give the O's a 7-6 lead. It's the most exciting moment I've witnessed in person as an Oriole fan, and now it's preserved in card form.