Garrett Olson looked like a reliable big league pitcher again in his second start of the year for the O’s.  He was bested in a pitcher’s duel by Dana Eveland in this 2-1 Orioles loss, but not by much.

Losses behind this much strong starting pitching are hard to swallow.  Each 1, 2, or 3 run start is a little pleasant surprise that’s not to be wasted and I get the feeling we don’t know just how many of them we can count on getting.

Ramon Hernandez had the team’s only RBI, driving in Melvin Mora on a grounder in the ninth to ruin Hudson Street’s save chance.  Trembley had given Ramon a stern talking to about his little homerun trot from Monday night- let’s hope the skip can keep the ship afloat.

While the Orioles have lost 7 of their last 9 games, they’ve only scored 14 runs in their last 6 outings.  Huff leads the team with a .278 and it’s all downhill from there, but even Huff is searching for excuses: 

“You're going to go through dry spells. We'll bounce back. We've had a pretty killer road trip; we haven't had much time off. Hopefully, that's it. I'm just trying to make an excuse somewhere.”

This loss parks the Birds at .500 with a record of 16-16, 4 full games behind the Red Sox.  The season’s honeymoon April may be over and reality looms.

(Monday Box Score)

Loewen Non-Information

Adam Loewen’s surgeon can’t find anything wrong with his elbow either so the recommendation is to rub some dirt on it and get out there.  He’ll start throwing forthwith and I’d say he’ll be back up and struggling in 3-4 weeks.

It is hard to tell if no diagnosis is better than a moderate diagnosis.  Something is obviously wrong, so saying ‘get back out there’ shouldn’t offer us much comfort.  This could be the nagging injury that wears out Loewen’s welcome.

(Photo: AP/Ben Margot)

A 2-run shot off the bat of Adam Jones to tie it in the fourth wasn’t enough as the Orioles lost to the Rays 4-2 and dropped the series 2 games to 1.  The loss moves the O’s back into third place in the division behind both the Rays and the Red Sox.  

Bob McCrory got his second chance out of the pen not 24 hours after his Wednesday night major league meltdown.  The Trembley hook was far quicker this time as McCrory was pulled after recording a walk, an out, and a second walk in the ninth.  That significantly improves McCrory’s ERA from 108.00 to a still unearthly 54.00. 

Shortstop Eider Torres got his second start in place of the sore Luis Hernandez, but still failed to impress.  He was 0 for 3, though not the one committing errors.  That distinction was left for Adam Jones whose misplay in center allowed one of the Ray runs.  

This has been a tough pair of games for the O’s who have gotten solid starting pitching, but haven’t been able to capitalize for a win, primarily due to lack of run production.  Not one of today’s Oriole starters finished the game near a .300 batting average and they’ve managed only 3 runs in the last 2 games, with only 3 hits Thursday.  

The Birds now fly off for a 10 game road trip starting Friday night in California with 3 in Anaheim (or is it Los Angeles), then 3 in Oakland, followed immediately by a 4 game set in Kansas City.

Ex-Oriole News

Sidney Ponson got his first win of the year for the Rangers, striking out who cares in good riddance innings to get the 2-1 victory.

(Thursday's Box Score)

(Photo: AP)

Bob McCrory made his major league debut last night in the worst fashion possible.  Handed the ball down 3-1 going into the seventh inning, with Matt Albers, reliever turned spot-starter giving us all we could ask for, McCrory turned self-destructive on the way to an 8-1 Oriole loss.

Maybe it was the hot lights, the cold air, or just an off night, but Baltimore is less likely to greet McCrory with open arms the next time he walks out of the bullpen.  The recent call-up recorded only 1 out but was credited with 4 runs on 2 walks and 2 hits.

Sarfate had come on to try and stop McCrory’s bleeding, but not only surrendered McCrory’s runs but earned 1 of his own – all in the seventh inning.

The offense wasn’t helping the cause with a missed hit and run sign while Mora was at bat and Roberts was moving off of first.  Millar trying to take second on a liner to left-center wasn’t supporting the pitchers either.  Sure, he was safe and called out on an inept tag, but he had no business being anywhere off of first with that hit.

My heart did jump when Luis Hernandez slid awkwardly into third and appeared to have sprained his knee, but no such luck.  I really thought we might be getting our first look at Cintron in an Oriole uniform this weekend – or at least getting Fahey back.

Trembley said Cintron isn’t quite ready yet, but his line is looking pretty ready:  2 homeruns and 13 hits in 47 at bats (that’s .277 if you don’t have a calculator handy).  Not all-star numbers from Norfolk, but at least he isn’t Luis.

The only late-game reward for waiting out the final pitch was a little scuffle between Sarfate and Pena.  The slugger was lingering outside the batter’s box, looking a little too comfortable when Sarfate did a little barking.  I thought I heard, “Get back in there,” while others thought is was more like, “I’m going to bean you.”

Nice to see some fire- you sure don’t want to let any one get to comfortable, especially in your own house when you’re down by so much.  Nothing came of it, but the message was sent and the Rays bench had a reason to get some late game stretching in at the top of the dugout. 

That finishes off a better than expected April for the Birds, leaving them tied with Tampa Bay for second behind the Red Sox.  This was the hottest April on record for the Rays, and adds another strong start to the Oriole books.  Let’s hope the seasonal decline can stay at bay.

Loewen Update

The bone scan was clear (not sure what they were looking for, exactly) so they’re not sure what the problem is still.  Adam’s going back to the surgeon so he can check things out.  I think we can look forward to Olson’s next few starts.

 (Wednesday's Box Score)

(Photo of Alex Cintron: Minor League Baseball)