Orioles Blow it in 13th

You would think it might be more difficult to fall asleep in the midst of a tie game going into extra innings when you have such a great view of the action.

Good pitching, a little hitting here and there to keep it interesting, and your Orioles are playing the proclaimed best team in baseball.

Sounds like a game you stay up late for, right?  Tell that to Melvin Mora and Freddie Bynum.

The left side of the infield fell asleep Friday night committing one error each during the pivotal top of the 13th inning handing the Red Sox a 5-2 victory.

This was actually Mora’s second error on the night and the ninth of his disappointing season. 
At least Melvin’s realistic about the impact of his gaffes, "If I don't play defense, we can't win the game -- especially at the hot corner."

Never mind his not hitting from the two spot (0-6 last night, .250 on the year) but the catch and throw have to be automatic from a veteran like this.

The same is expected of Ramon Hernandez whose terrible season continues to look worse allowing 6 steals, 3 to Jacoby Ellsbury, and throwing out only 1.  He also got into the error mix, kicking it off in the 13th with a dropped pop-up that, fortunately, still resulted in the Ortiz out.

Up until the collapse of the 13th inning, pitching was the story as Daniel Cabrera went toe to toe with Josh Beckett and matched him for dominance. 

The relief corps did their job as well and continued to look like one of the best bullpens in the league silencing the hot Red Sox bats.

Timely hitting hasn’t been there for most of the season for the O’s and Friday night was another instance of being just one hit away from wrapping up the game and heading to Power Plant Live.  But that hit never came and the infield, instead, handed the win to Boston.

The Orioles get a shot at redemption at 7:05 Saturday as Garrett Olson (4-1) faces Jon Lester (3-3) who is just one game removed from his no-hitter.

Trachsel in Limbo

Trembley still isn’t sure when and if Steve Trachsel will pitch again.  The next time his spot comes back up in the rotation is Tuesday but it’s still up in the air.  The Coach said, “We're not ready to announce who the starter's going to be yet. I have it in my mind.”  Looks like we’ll know more Saturday or Sunday on that situation.

(Friday Box Score)
(AP Photo)
Topics: Orioles , Daniel Cabrera , Ramon Hernandez , Steve Trachsel , Freddie Bynum , Melvin Mora