A ball off Huff’s glove at third.  A ball between Millar’s legs at first.  3 runs in.  Given credit for 2.  Really only earned 1.  Many starting pitchers would pack it in after a first inning like that.  Not Jeremy Guthrie.  Not Tuesday night in Baltimore against Josh Beckett and the Sox.

The Orioles number 1 has seen his share of tough losses this season, evidenced by the 2-3 record and 4.18 ERA despite how well he has actually pitched.  When Guthrie came back onto the field in the second, he looked like a kid who decided he just had to get tougher.

And so he did, striking out 7 over 6 innings and not giving up another run, allowing the O’s to win it 5-4.  

Guthrie was looking so smooth Trembley sent him back out in the 7^th with over 100 pitches under his belt.  The break from conventional managing wisdom turned out to be a mistake.

Guthrie had clearly lost his pop allowing the first 2 batters of the inning to reach base, followed by the struggling Walker walking Ortiz to load up the bases.

With no one out, O’s up 5-3, the young Jim Johnson was summoned from the pen to face Manny Ramirez in just the type of situation Manny has made a living on for nearly 16 seasons.

Seemingly by sheer will, in a Camden Yards pressure cooker situation, Jim Johnson delivered an unhittable, but irresistible, inside slider to the slugger that bounced in front of the plate back to the pitcher. 

Toss home, throw to first, double play, and with Mike Lowell’s lazy fly ball to left field, Jim Johnson was a magician for a night making a sure Red Sox comeback disappear.

“He worked a pitching miracle right there,” said a grateful Guthrie.

Johnson would give up a run before Sherrill locked it down in the 8th and 9th, but the kid showed signs of a deadly combination- poise and talent.

Luke Scott’s 3-run homerun in a 4-run third off Beckett was Scott’s first in Camden Yards and second on the season.  Given the Success the young left fielder/DH has had at home, his power numbers will likely spike as he gets more comfortable.

Adam Jones took a small step toward breaking out of a 4 for 35 May by going 2 for four Tuesday night.

Melvin Mora was hit in the shoulder by a ball during batting practice and is listed as day to day.  He will get x-rays and will be more thoroughly evaluated.  Don’t expect to see him until this weekend at the earliest.

Ramon Hernandez is worse than Trembley had originally let on.  He took a cortisone shot in the ailing wrist but still reports difficult swinging the bat.  Don’t be surprised if he goes on the 15-day DL.

Tampa Bay beat the Yankees to secure first place for the first time in franchise history this late in the season.

Steve Trachsel will be skipped this time through the rotation, as expected.  He will be used in relief only in "emergency situations."

 (Tuesday Box Score)

(AP Photo: Nick Wass)