In his 4^th and worst start of the season Radhames Liz was overwhelmed in the first 2 innings, but a huge night from Aubrey Huff pushed the Orioles ahead to win 8-5 in Milwaukee. 

After Liz’s shockingly strong start on June 3^rd it’s been a steady downhill decent for the 24-year old righty.  The youngster has not earned a decision since his debut win but has earned himself a ballooning 6.27 ERA – 13 runs on 18 2/3 inning, including 5 runs on 2 innings of work Friday night.

Trembley said of Liz, “I thought he got caught up in the environment of the game.  He just didn't have his delivery tonight or command of his fastball. ... You pitch behind, you get in trouble."  

Experience can cure that but hopefully he can stay mentally tough enough to get back to making quality major league starts.  (read: don’t hang out with Daniel Cabrera too much)

The bullpen went on to lock down the game in the following 7 innings not allowing a run after Liz’s exit in the 3^rd with no outs.  Aubrey Huff was as locked in as we’ve seen him while an Oriole. 

Huff was working first base Friday night while Millar got the night off due to the lack of DH spot and went 4 for 5 with 2 homeruns.  He’s now homered in 2 straight games and 4 of his last 5.

The two teams accounted for 11 combined runs in the first three innings getting the game off to a torrid start.  By the time the craziness was over 5 different Orioles recorded RBI.

Friday night was indeed a wild game with lots of early offense and odd plays including a dropped third strike to Freddie Bynum in the 4^th who was able to leg it out to first.  On the night, though, Bynum struck out in 3 of his 5 plate appearances and recorded no hits.  Cintron is showing a stark offensive contrast to Bynum making Trembley’s allegiance to Freddie look unwarranted.

Sherrill came on in the 9^th to earn his 25^th save of the season.  This one was as hard-won as any as the flat-capped lefty clearly did not have his best stuff, but battled for a save anyway.

Said his manager, “The guy's makeup and sense of competitiveness is as good as I've ever seen”

In Ex-Orioles news, Erik Bedard left his Friday night start after the third inning with back spasms.  More bad luck for the woeful Mariners.

Score: 8-5 Orioles, (Box Score)

Next Game: @Milwaukee 7:05pm Fri, Cabrera (5-2) vs. McClung (4-3)

Record: 38-34, 6GB

(AP Photo)

There were no heroics needed on Thursday night at the Yard in a 7-5 win for the Birds.  For the first time in the series, the Orioles took a lead and held it through the last 5 innings of the ballgame.  That’s not to say things didn’t get dicey. 

Alex Cintron must really like those come from behind games.  In the top of the ninth he looked like he wanted to let the Astros tie the score.  On a tailor made double play comebacker to the pitcher, Sarfate turned to second and made an iffy throw low to Cintron who couldn’t manage to get his glove on the ball. 

The infielder got the ‘E’ and deservedly so – that’s a ball a shortstop has to come up with and at least get one of the outs.  Cintron then went on to misplay a chop base hit that may or may not have been playable, but the shortstop did not put himself in a position to make a play in any case. 

2 runs scored in the top of the ninth because of Cintron. 

As Trembley said, “We got a little sloppy there at the end."  But the bottom line from the Skip: “When you get a sweep, I don't care if it's easy, hard, indifferent or whatever, you'll take it”. 

It turns out that the impact Cintron made with the bat on Thursday night outweighed the impact he made with his fielding.  The shortstop was 3 for 4 on the night, scoring 2 runs and recording an RBI - himself, on a solo shot in the 4^th off of Chacon.

The homerun came after another solo blast from Ramon Hernandez, and put the Orioles ahead where they’d stay for the remainder of the night. 

The O’s got plenty more offense to capitalize on Chacon again in the 5^th.  This time for 3 runs that would secure the win.

Chacon and Burres both put their share of runners on base.  Chacon gave up 8 hits and 4 walks on 5 innings and Burres allowed 7 hits and 2 walks over 5 and 2/3.  They both looked hittable.  Burres just found ways to get out of trouble and Orioles bats wouldn’t give Chacon that chance. 

That kind of pitching vulnerability may not fly as the Orioles head out on a 9 game interleague road trip.  First up are the surging Milwaukee Brewers with Prince Fielder who looks to be regaining his power after a weak start. 

The big first baseman has 2 homeruns in his last 3 games and is batting .322 in the month of June.  The Brewers are in the midst of a 4 game winning streak and are 7 for their last 10, 39-33 overall, as they make a move in the tough NL Central.

Score: 7-5 Orioles, (Box Score)

Next Game: @Milwaukee 8:05pm Fri, Liz (1-0) vs. Suppan (4-4)

Record: 37-34, 7GB

(AP Photo)

On Wednesday night Jeremy Guthrie poured in the performance of the season.  You can ask for no more from the righty who gave up only 3 hits in 8 innings while striking out 8 batters. 

The one run Guthrie surrendered was a Lance Berkman Eutaw St. blast in the 7th, the slugger’s 20^th of the season, that you can hardly call a blemish on Guthrie’s sparkling gem. 

This will serve as exhibit A when anyone points to the young pitcher’s woeful record because yet again he unjustly did not receive the win for his efforts.  Bradford was the recipient of Wednesday’s ‘w’ for his 2 hit, 2 inning, work in the 9^th and 10^th with the score 1-1.  That is, until the tenth.

Brian Moehler had a strong 1 run outing of his own going through 6 1/3, and the middle relief cobbled together 3 innings of shutout baseball.  Houston closer Jose Valverde was summoned in the 10^th looking for his 5^th win of the season (that’s right, 2 more than Guthrie). 

Melvin Mora, with 1 out, stroked a single to put the go-ahead run on base.  Mora then broke for second, pulling Tejada, who was 0 for 4 on the night, out of position to cover the bag, as Huff sent a short liner through the vacant shortstop hole and into left, allowing Mora to reach third.  Millar then stepped up, and on a 2-1 count, laced a game-winning single right back up the middle at Valverde.

The closer gave Millar the credit saying, “It was the same as last night -- I threw my best pitch. All of my pitches are working. My split-finger, my cutter is working. This guy was hitting good today -- nothing you can do about that."

After Luke Scott’s homerun in the 7th, the scoring should never have stopped there.  The O’s proceeded to load the bases with 1 out, but Nick Markakis struck out with his bat on his shoulder and Mora hit a weak grounder for an out. 

But, as Guthrie said after the game, “You just want to win. If the team wins, that's what's most important to me.”

Score: 2-1 Orioles (10), (Box Score)

Next Game: Houston 7:05pm Thurs., Burres (5-5) vs. Chacon (2-2)

Record: 36-34, 7.5GB

(AP Photo)

1 run deficits, 2 run deficits, 3 run deficits…they just don’t seem to matter to this Orioles team.  6^th, 7^th, 8^th inning?  No problem.  There’s either no pressure, or they’re thriving on the pressure.  In any case, it sure is fun to watch.

The drama before the game was around Miguel Tejada’s first return to Baltimore since the big trade that sent him to Houston.  Teammates hugged him, coaches shook his hand, and fans at once cheered and booed. 

Reaction was fittingly mixed.  The impact was light with only 21,535 in attendance, somewhat less than capacity of 48,262.  He clearly has friends still in the organization, and while some fans appreciated his effort, others remember the tiresome complaining, trade demands, and visible drops in effort. 

Melvin Mora seemed to be confused by the reaction.  “The only thing I don't understand is why the people booed him. He did everything he can do for this organization. He played day-in and day-out for us. He played hard every day, and I think you should clap when you see a guy like that."

Melvin must have missed a few days, a few press conferences, and more than a few headlines.  But in any case, there are things to cheer him for and a few things to remember less fondly.  But when it came to the game, the Orioles got the better of things.

Let’s see how the pieces of the trade stacked up:

Miguel Tejada - 0 for 3 outing with 1 walk

Luke Scott – 1 for 3 with 1 walk

Matt Albers – 2 and 1/3 innings, 1 solo HR, and 1 K

Advantage Orioles.

The real fun was happening away from the trade players.  Markakis hit his 12th homer of the season in the 7th to bring the Birds within one.  In another magical 8th, after Jim Johnson kept the Astros off the board, Mora drove in Adam Jones and Brian Roberts with a 3-2,1out, double to right-center putting the Birds ahead 6-5.  It looks like there’s no need to worry about George Sherrill who then locked down the 9th with a perfect inning, including 1 strikeout.

The Orioles are now a game above .500 once again and look to stay above that mark in the second game of the 3 game series Wednesday night.  The Astros have now lost 6 straight.

Score: 6-5 Orioles, (Box Score)

Next Game: Houston 7:05pm Wed., Guthrie (3-7) vs. Moehler (3-3)

Record: 35-34, 7.5GB

(AP Photo)

On Tuesday night Miguel Tejada will make his first start at Camden Yards against the Orioles since being traded to Houston for Luke Scott, Dennis Sarfate, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, and Mike Costanzo.

So far since the trade, Tejada has batted .300 with 41 RBI, 9 homeruns, 50 runs scored, but is now 2-over on his age. (link here)  (and here)

Brian McTaggert of the Houston Chronicle reports that Miggi is looking forward to being back in Charm City.

"If I said no I'd be lying," he said. "I really want to go back there and say hi to all my teammates and all the people I know over there and get a chance to play there again."

And anticipating the fan reaction, "I always had a good relationship with the fans," said Tejada, who remains under FBI investigation because of ties to performance-enhancing drugs. "They were like family there, and they liked the way I played. I hope they keep liking what I do."

The Astros team site showed a bit more realistic expectation for Tejada’s welcome back to town understanding that he may not be greeted as a hero after all the whining and trade demands.

“I'm not really concerned with how [the fans] respect me," Tejada said. "I don't play for them anymore.”

“I think the best thing for the team was for me to go somewhere else and for the team to get what they got," Tejada said. "They should be happy with what they got."

It’s hard to disagree with him there, we should certainly be happy with what we got.  Luke Scott is batting .281 with 11 homeruns, Sarfate is 4-1 with a 3.38 in middle relief, and Albers is 3-2 with a 2.91 in long relief and even a couple starts. 

Patton is another story on the bench for at least this season and potentially for good after shoulder surgery that has ended other pitchers’ careers.  And Mike Costanzo is still working it out at third base in Norfolk.

Take a look at The Chronicle’s Scott vs. Tejada stats matchup.  Scott matches up better than you’d think.  

With 3 out of 5 pieces making big league impact, that trade was a success on both sides of the table.  The only question remains, how does Baltimore welcome back Miguel Tejada?

(AP Photos)

On Sunday afternoon at Camden Yards the Birds couldn't close the deal on a homefield interleague sweep losing 5-4 in extras.

Saturday night, the O's battled back after George Sherrill blew his third save of the season.  In the bottom of the ninth new Oriole Oscar Salazar hit his first Baltimore homerun, a solo shot.  Ramon Hernandez then finished off the Pirates with a walkoff single to take it 8-7.

After the game Salazar was caught up in the moment.  "It's unbelievable," he said.

Sunday was a different story.  The heroics weren't there to bail out Sherrill this time, despite Brian Roberts' best efforts which tied the game in the ninth on a 2-run shot. 

Sherrill then proceeded to give up a walk, single, and then the go-ahead run on a single to Adam LaRouche to finish the game off 5-4.

The Orioles had played most of the game from behind on Daniel Cabrera wildness.  He was looking like his old self, wondering where the next pitch might wind up.  Cabrera has now given up 16 runs in 16 innings over his last 3 starts.

In total Sunday, Cabrera walked 5 batters, gave up 6 hits, and earned 4 of the 5 Pittsburgh runs.

With the loss, the Orioles continue their bizzare inability to win on Sundays now bringing their streak to 10.

Finally, congrats to Dennis Sarfate whose wife gave birth Sunday morning. 

The Houston Astros come to town on Tuesday to continue interleague play.  The Astros are coming off a 13-0 thumping at the hands of the Yankees Sunday.

Score: 4-5 Pirates, (Box Score)

Next Game: Astros 7:05pm Tuesday, Olson (5-2) vs. Backe (4-8)

Record: 34-34, 8GB

(AP Photo)

Baltimore

In the first half of Brian Burres’ outing he was hit and he was hit hard.  He got himself into sticky bases loaded situations, and couldn’t get himself out.  Burres surrendered all 6 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks, but the offense bailed him out and got him the win. 

As Rick Kranitz said, “He’s not throwing real good right now.”  All Burres indiscretions came in the first 3 innings but were then followed by 3 additional innings of sparkling result. 

Jeremy Guthrie must wonder what he has to do to get a win when Burres can give up 6 runs and still record a W – and if he doesn’t I’ll do it for him.  The only difference, though, Guthrie can do it from the base-paths.  The righty hurler was tagged in the 8^th for rare base-running duties in place of Kevin Millar.

Fortunately, Guthrie wasn’t needed to pinch-hit as well – the offense had the hitting all taken care of scoring at least 1 run in all but 2 homeside innings.  The top 3 hitters in the order put together a 6 for 12 night accounting for more than half of the 10 team hits. 

One of those 10 hits came on a Luke Scott solo shot in the 7^th, his 11^th of the season tying him for the team lead with Millar.  Luuuke now has 4 homers in his last 4 games.

Radhames Liz will try to do a better job than Burres of limiting runs on Saturday night and add to his 1-0 record while taking on the 4-4 Zach Duke. 

Score: 9-6 Orioles, (Box Score)

Next Game: Pittsburgh 7:05pm Sat., Liz (1-0) vs. Duke (4-4)

Record: 33-33, 7GB

(AP Photo)

 In the second inning, Millar took a foul ball hard off of his knee and had to leave the game during his first at bat.  Oscar Salazar stepped in to fill his role in the clean up spot.  Why not? He was hitting 1.000 on the year before today (1 for 1). 

 Early in the game, the O’s had trouble getting anything going against Lester.  Adam Jones worked a no out walk in the fifth only to get caught stealing during Jay Payton’s subsequent at bat.

Guthrie looked pretty strong through 4.1 innings, but surrendered a grand slam to Mike Lowell in the fifth.  The O’s walked the bases loaded, giving an intentional pass to Manny in the previous at bat.  Manny runs like he’s in a vat of pudding, so with one out and men on second and third, Trembley was looking for the double play.  Not a bad strategy, if it works.  Since it didn’t, Guthrie is pulled with two outs in the fourth, his shortest outing of the season.

Chad Bradford steps in to retire the only batter he had to face in the fifth, stranding one of the Sox’s 19^th century strong men, Kevin Youkilis, on third, where he seemed to be lingering all day.   

The Orioles get on the board in the top of the sixth, thanks to Salazar’s two out double that drives in Brian Roberts, who hit his own double and advanced to third on a Markakis ground out.  Huff hits the third double of the inning to drive in Salazar and make it a 5-2 game.  But Lester induces an Adam Jones pop up with Huff on third and Hernandez on first to squelch a potential rally. 

Continuing a strong performance, Youkilis hits a two run homer off of Sarfate in the seventh, once again putting a five run distance between the teams. 

Salazar then pulls a muscle legging out up the first base line.  He is replaced in the game by Freddie Bynum.  At the top of the eighth, Alex Cintron shifts to first base and Bynum takes over at short.  Cintron is thus the third Oriole of the day to play first.  Is Eddie Murray still hanging out around the broadcast booth?

JD Drew hit another two run dinger in the eighth, widening the Sox lead to 9-2.  After that, the deficit was too great for the O’s, who head back to Camden Yards for an interleague homestand.  First up, a reunion with utility man Chris Gomez.  No word on whether his former teammates will finally teach Gomez their secret handshake.   

So the birds finish a 5-4 road trip, taking two of three from Minnesota and Toronto and losing the last two of three in Boston.  The team currently stands at 32-33, eight behind the East-leading Red Sox.  They’ll face the Pirates and Astros at home, then travel to face the Brewers, Cubs, and Nationals. 

Jim Hunter and Rick Dempsey were insisting after today’s game that a winning road trip foreshadows a strong performance in the team’s next stretch, but how do you feel?   Was this a successful road trip?  The team seamed to have a chance to win most of their recent games, with today’s being the most one sided.  Where do you see the team’s record after interleague matchups?  Hopefully, the team can get some more strong pitching performances from their young arms and timely hits from the middle of the lineup, or we’ll be talking about trade deadline maneuvers by the All-Star break.

Score: 2-9 Red Sox, (Box Score)

Next Game: Pittsburgh 7:05pm, Burres vs. Dumatrait (3-3)

Record: 32-33, 8 GB

(Youkilis: AP Photo, Orioles: Getty Images)

Luke Scott hit his 10^th homerun of the season to get the Orioles on the board with a run in the 5^th. 

Other than that homerun, Colon looked dominant through 6 with 7 K's and scattering only 5 hits on the way to his 150th career win.  Don't start up the Cy Young chants just yet Red Sox fans, but it sure did look like a start from the 2005 Bartolo.

The O’s then showed some scrap in the top of the 9^th scoring 2 more runs on a Millar double and a Pedroia error on a sure Jones out. 

Pinch-hitting in his first Orioles appearance Oscar Salazar (more on him here) tried to keep things going with a ground ball single of his own.  But as Brian Roberts, the tying run, stepped to the plate, Francona went right to the big gun Papelbon who came in and forced a Roberts ground-out.

With the loss, the Orioles once again hit the .500 mark and remain tied for last with the Blue Jays.  New York plays in Oakland Wednesday night and would join the bottom of the division with a loss.

Gibbons to Play Again

ESPN secured a copy of a letter written by Jay Gibbons to executives of each major league baseball team in which he pleas for a chance at playing, even if it means playing in the minors for free.  Read it here.  Could the desparate last attempt to atone for his sins really work?

As of Wednesday night, the Baltimore Sun is now reporting that Gibbons will be signing to play in the independent Atlantic League for a New York or New Jersey-based team.  Read that report here.  What does a team really have to lose by bringing him on?

Score: 3-6 Red Sox, (Box Score)

Next Game: @Red Sox  Thurs 6:05PM, Guthrie (3-6) v. Lester (4-3)

Current Record: 32-32, 7GB

(AP Photo)