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)