O's allow two in last of ninth, lose 6-5 to Jays
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The Orioles lost another lead and another game. Toronto scored twice in the last of the 9th to stun the O's, 6-5.
George Sherrill came on in the last of the ninth looking for his 28th save. After a strikeout, he allowed a single by Rod Barajas and a bloop double to Scott Rolen. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Lyle Overbay's sac fly tied the game at 5-5. Then number nine hitter Adam Lind singled to right for the walk off, 6-5 win. It's Sherrill's 6th blown save.
The Orioles have lost five in a row, are 0-3 on this trip and fall to 44-46.
Once again, Jeremy Guthrie pitched a solid game, but did not get a decision. He allowed just two runs over seven innings for his 14th quality start of the year. Former Oriole John Parrish, starting for Toronto, gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings.
Right after the O's gained a three-run lead, Toronto sliced it back to a one-run lead in the last of the 8th. Lyle Overbay led off with a single vs. Jim Johnson and went to third on an Adam Lind double. Then groundouts by Joe Inglett and David Eckstein both scored runs to make it 5-4, O's.
Melvin Mora's two-run single in the 7th gave the O's a 5-2 lead and added a couple of insurance runs. It scored Brian Roberts, who singled, and Aubrey Huff who walked. Mora now has 46 RBI.
The Jays scored once in the 6th to cut the O's lead to 3-2. Lind led off with a double, advanced to third on a grounder and scored on Eckstein's RBI grounder.
Toronto got on the board with a run in the last of the fourth. Inglett singled, went to second on a sac bunt, to third on a passed ball and scored on an Alex Rios groundout. That cut the O's lead to 3-1 on an unearned run.
The Orioles scored twice in the third for a 3-0 lead. Mora and Payton led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Payton advanced to third on a flyout and scored on Brandon Fahey's RBI grounder to second for a 3-0 edge.
The Orioles took a 1-0 lead on a Huff RBI single in the first. It produced his 57th RBI and scored Nick Markakis, who doubled to right and advanced to third on a groundout. Markakis' two-bagger extended his hitting streak to 17 games.
Balt 5-9-0
Tor 6-9-0
Final Notes
The Orioles' five-game losing streak matches their season-high........They had two five-game streaks in May.......The Orioles' last four losses have been by one-run and they have dropped their last seven games, each decided by one run........They are now 17-17 in one-run decisions........The Birds are 0-3 on this road trip and 19-30 in road games.......The Orioles have fallen two games under .500 for the first time since they were 28-30 on June 4th.
Nick Markakis had just one hit, a first-inning double, but that extended his batting streak to 17 games. During the streak he is hitting .397-2-18 with 9 doubles........Over his last six games, Markakis is 13-27........Adam Jones went 1-4 with a triple and is batting .404 over his last 13 contests.......Ramon Hernandez was 0-3 and has just one hit over his last 16 at bats.
The Orioles have lost five in a row by a total of six runs...........Toronto swept this series by scores of 7-6, 9-8 and 6-5.......O's pitching has allowed 52 runs over the last seven games.
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Boston Series Probables
Fri 7:05pm: Brian Burres (6-5, 5.07) v. RH Clay Buchholz (2-3, 5.53)
Sat 7:05pm: Radhames Liz (3-1, 5.94) v. RH Tim Wakefield (5-6, 3.75)
Sun 1:35pm: Daniel Cabrera (6-4, 4.40) v. RH Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-1, 2.84)
JP On A Roll
After he allowed three runs on four hits in the first two innings, John Parrish has given up just two hits since. He has turned this into a real pitchers duel with Guthrie. Parrish is sharp, even though he must have been skipped his last time through the rotation, since he has not pitched since June 28th.
Guthrie Good Again
It's a bit of a broken record, but he is good again. He's the one pitcher who can restore order to the O's staff right now. In the last six games before tonight, O's starters have pitched to an ERA of 7.84. Tonight Guthrie has allowed just two hits and one unearned run through five frames. He's thrown only 69 pitches so far.
Still Huffin'
Can Aubrey Huff's hot bat get hotter? Tonight he is 2-2 with an RBI single and double. Huff is 7-13 during his current four-game hitting streak and over his last 26 games is now batting .402 with 9 homers and 26 RBI. He has 10 RBI over his last 8 games.
Game Three Is Underway
The series finale is tonight in Toronto as the Jays go for the sweep. John Parrish facing Jeremy Guthrie. Check back for more info and updates during this game.
Starting Lineups
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
DH Kevin Millar
1B Aubrey Huff
C Ramon Hernandez
3B Melvin Mora
LF Jay Payton
CF Adam Jones
SS Brandon Fahey
P Jeremy Guthrie
Blue Jays
2B Joe Inglett
SS David Eckstein
CF Alex Rios
DH Matt Stairs
C Rod Barajas
3B Scott Rolen
RF Brad Wilkerson
1B Lyle Overbay
LF Adam Lind
P John Parrish
The O's are trying to avoid tying their longest losing streak of the year as they had two five-game streaks in May. The last time the O's were two games under .500 was June 4 when they were 28-30. The O's have allowed 46 runs the last six games, the most they have allowed in any six-game stretch this season.
Game Preview
Orioles (44-45) at Toronto (44-47)
The Orioles have lost four in a row, but certainly can't blame their offense. The Birds have scored 27 runs during the four games and hit .282 during the streak. But the team ERA is 7.53 over the past four contests.
And even after scoring 10 runs on Sunday, six Tuesday, and eight last night, the O's have lost all three of those games by one run.
Toronto scored seven runs in the 4th Wednesday, overcoming the Orioles six-run 6th. Garrett Olson took the loss, allowing 7 runs in 3 2/3. His ERA is 8.38 over his last six starts.
Adam Jones hit a three-run homer for the Orioles, who have lost 5 of 6 and 8 of their last 12 games. The Birds are 0-2 on this six-game road trip and 19-29 on the road this season.
Nick Markakis had three hits including a solo homer in the 9th inning last night. His hitting streak has reached 16 games and during the streak he is batting .406, 2-18. Markakis has put together five straight multi-hit games and is 12-23 with 9 RBI over the five games.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Jeremy Guthrie (5-7, 3.61) tonight makes his 20th start of the season, his 11th on the road and his second this season vs. Toronto.
Guthrie has not taken a loss since June 12 at Boston. Over his last four starts, he is 2-0, 3.29. The Orioles are 9-10 when he starts this year.
Guthrie, the Orioles Opening Day starter this season, has walked just 36 and fanned 80 in 122 innings. He has recorded a quality start in 8 of his last 11 outings and in 13 starts this year.
Guthrie has struggled in the first inning at times. He has given up 11 runs in the first this year, the most runs he has allowed in any inning. Opponents bat .321 against him in the first inning of his starts.
Guthrie picked up the win vs. the Jays on June 7th at Toronto. He gave up just one run and six hits over seven innings with no walks and six strikeouts.
Guthrie vs. Toronto:
2008: 1-0, 1.29 one start
2007: 0-0, 3.60 three starts
Career: 1-0, 3.00, four starts
In 27 career innings vs. the Blue Jays Guthrie has walked just 3 and fanned 18.
LHP John Parrish (1-0, 1.50), the former Oriole, tonight makes his second big league start of the season after spending most of this year at Triple-A Syracuse.
Parrish had his contract purchased from Triple-A on June 27th and started the next day vs. Atlanta. In that game he pitched six innings, allowing just one run on four hits. He threw 98 pitches and has not gotten into a game since.
With Syracuse, Parrish was 10-1, 2.74 in 15 games, 11 starts. In 82 innings at Triple-A, he allowed 73 hits and a .237 batting average against. In his 11 starts only, he was 8-1, 2.49. Parrish pitched to an ERA of 1.78 in June for Syracuse.
Parrish was drafted by the Orioles in the 25th round in 1996 and made his Major League debut on July 24, 2000. He pitched for the Orioles in parts of 2000-01 and 2003-05 and last year.
The Orioles traded him to Seattle last August and he signed as a free agent with Toronto in January of this year.
The Four-Game Losing Streak
O's offense during streak: .282 average, 27 runs, 7 homers
Team pitching during streak: 7.53 ERA (29ER - 34 2/3 IP)
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