O's fall short, 4-3, vs. White Sox
Jim Thome's 535th career homer not only moved him into sole possession of 15th on the all-time homer list, but it helped the White Sox win a game. Thome's 435-foot blast off Chris Waters in the 6th broke a 3-3 tie and Chicago topped the Orioles 4-3 Monday night.
Since the O's earlier 4-3, 14-inning win in the completion of a suspended game goes to April's record, the O's now have a four-game losing streak.
The O's scored three in the 4th to gain a 4-3 lead before Chicago plated single runs in the 5th and 6th to move ahead.
The White Sox, who began the day ½ game up on Minnesota for the AL Central lead, have now won 7 of 9 and 14 of their last 20 games.
O's starter, Waters took the loss and is 2-1. He gave up four runs, three earned, over seven innings. Clayton Richard got the win and Bobby Jenks picked up his 26th save.
Thome hit a 435-foot homer to center in the sixth to give Chicago a 4-3 lead. It's his 28th of the year and 535th of his career, placing him 15th all-time.
Chicago tied it 3-3 in the fifth. Alexei Ramirez doubled, advanced to third on a grounder and scored on a Chris Waters balk.
The Orioles scored three in the last of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Lou Montanez doubled and Aubrey Huff singled. Then, Ramon Hernandez, Kevin Millar and Jay Payton followed with RBI singles. After not getting a hit in the first three frames, the O's had five in the fourth inning.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s RBI double gave Chicago a 2-0 lead in the fourth. It scored Carlos Quentin, who led off the frame by drawing a walk.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Alexei Ramirez led off with a single to right and advanced to second on a groundout. With two outs, Jermaine Dye's grounder got past O's shortstop Juan Castro for an error and Ramirez scored for a 1-0 lead.
CWS 4-8-0
Balt 3-9-2
Postgame Notes
Roster Move
After the game the O's optioned RHP Kam Mickolio back to Triple-A Norfolk. Mickolio appeared in two games with the O's pitching one inning and he gave up one earned run on four hits with 2 strikeouts.
Even though Dave Trembley said he would not name Tuesday's starter until tomorrow, an O's press release tonight says Brian Burres will start on Tuesday vs. Chicago.
Hitting Streaks
Ramon Hernandez continues his while Brian Roberts' comes to an end. Hernandez went 1-4 and now has a career-high, 15-game batting streak. He is hitting .305-2-12 during the streak. The last seven games he has had exactly one hit to extend that streak. Roberts' hitting streak ends at 10 games as he went 0-5 with two strikeouts. Roberts hit .385 during the streak.
Final Notes
Jay Payton went 2-3 with an RBI and has 8 hits in 12 at bats over his last three games.....Aubrey Huff went 2-4 with a pair of singles and is 8-16 during a four-game batting streak......Over his last 32 games, Huff is batting .366-9-29......Luke Scott went 0-4, snapping his four-game hitting streak.
The O's have lost four in a row and fall to 1-6 on this homestand.....They are now 32-30 at home on the season....Nick Markakis did not start for just the 3rd time on the season, but he pinch-hit in the 7th and stayed in the game in right field......The O's allowed a first-inning run for the 58th time and are 23-35 in those games, including 4-10 in their last 14.
Jim Thome's homer in the 6th was the 535th of his career, and he moved into 15th on the all-time homer list, breaking his tie with Jimmie Foxx. Next on that list at 14th is Mickey Mantle with 536 homers......It was Thome's 12th homer in the last 37 games and the 25th of his career vs. Baltimore......Chicago's Alexei Ramirez went 4-5 with two runs....It's his second career, four-hit game (also 7-8 at KC)......It extends his current batting streak to 11 games and he is batting .376 during the streak.....Among AL rookies, Ramirez is third in batting, hits and RBI.
Chris Waters needed just 90 pitches to pitch seven innings.....He is now 2-1, 4.71 in five Major League starts.......O's pitching ended its streak at 8 games of giving up 5 ER or more......The O's gave up just one homer, but have allowed 9 in the last 4 games and 15 in the last 7 contests......The Birds fall to 20-23 in one-run decisions and are now 16-12 vs. the AL Central.
O's win completion of suspended game, 4-3 in 14
The Orioles beat the White Sox 4-3 today in 14 innings in the completion of the suspended game from April 28th. Lou Montanez came up with an RBI single in the top of the 14th to break the 3-3 tie.
In the last of the 14th Rocky Cherry got pinch-hitter Jermaine Dye to pop out with the bases loaded and two outs. Cherry picked up the save and Alberto Castillo got the win.
The O's took a 4-3 lead in the top of the 14th. Nick Markakis and Kevin Millar led off the inning with singles and advanced to second and third on a sac bunt. After Luke Scott was intentionally walked, DJ Carrasco replaced Horacio Ramirez. Montanez greeted Carrasco with a single to center that scored Markakis for a 4-3 lead. Juan Castro bounced into a double play, ending the inning.
Neither Montanez, who had the winning hit, or Cherry, who got a save, or Castillo, who picked up the win, were with the O's back on April 28th when this game started.
The White Sox left 18 runners on base in the contest that lasted 4 hours and 42 minutes. They left the bases loaded three times, including in the 14th. The Orioles used nine pitchers in the contest.
Balt 4-13-2
CWS 3-9-0
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog From Camden Yards
Waters Did Well
An O's starter (not named Jeremy Guthrie) pitching seven whole innings. Now that was a welcome sight.
Waters line: 7IP, 5H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 2K, 1 BK, 1 HR....90 pitches
In his first four Major League starts, left-handed batters went 8-13 vs. Waters for an average of .615. Tonight the three lefties in the Sox lineup went a combined 2-10 vs. Waters. But the two hits scored runs, one a Griffey RBI double and the other Thome's long homer.
Most second-half homers in MLB
14 - Carlos Quentin, CWS
12 - Migeul Cabrera, Det
12 - Carlos Pena, TB
11 - Melvin Mora, O's
Tonight's Attendance
Is 20,707.
Brandon Snyder
He is putting on a big finishing kick to this season. He is 3-4 for Frederick tonight, which is leading 5-0 at Lynchburg in the 7th, and is hitting now .316 for the season. Snyder is batting .386 this month, .354 in the second half and .405 over his last ten games.
Interesting Note
In today's first game, Alberto Castillo picked up his first career win and Rocky Cherry his first career save in the same game. The last time that happened with the O's was July 2, 2004 at Philadelphia in 16 innings when Eddy Rodriguez got the win and Daniel Cabrera the save.
About the White Sox
They have 74 wins, already two more than all of last year......The Sox have won 6 of 8 and 13 of their last 19.....Chicago leads the Majors with 194 homers, Philly is second with 174.....The Sox own a plus 111 run differential, which is tied with Boston for best in the AL......The Sox are 10-16 vs. the AL East.....Carlos Quentin has 36 homers to lead the Majors....No Sox player has ever led the Majors in homers and the last to lead the AL was Dick Allen with 32 in 1974.
Big Crowds
The weekend series vs. the Yankees drew 135,106 fans. It's the second largest three-day total of the season. The largest was the 139,511 fans that attended Boston at O's May 30-June 1.
Starting Lineups (regularly-scheduled game)
White Sox
SS Alexei Ramirez
C AJ Pierzynski
LF Carlos Quentin
RF Jermaine Dye
DH Jim Thome
1B Paul Konerko
CF Ken Griffey Jr.
3B Joe Crede
2B Juan Uribe
P Clayton Richard
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
RF Lou Montanez
3B Melvin Mora
1B Aubrey Huff
C Ramon Hernandez
DH Kevin Millar
LF Luke Scott
CF Jay Payton
SS Juan Castro
P Chris Waters
O's Minor Leaguer Suspended
Major League baseball has announced the suspensions of five Minor League players for 50 games. The players each tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
Among the players is O's pitcher Julio Sanchez of the O's Dominican Summer League team. He tested positive for a metabolite of Boldenone. Sanchez is listed in the media guide as a 17-year-old RHP from San Pedro de Macoris, DR. The O's signed him as a non-drafted free agent on October 23, 2007 and this is his first pro season.
Sanchez, who turns 18 this Saturday, is 4-0, 3.14 in the Dominican League in 15 games, 8 starts. In 48 2/3 he has walked 33 and fanned 35. The suspensions are effective immediately.
Minor Notes
Bowie's Steve Torrealba has been named Eastern League Player of the Week. Last week the catcher went 9-22 with 2 homers and 6 RBI. He had a slugging percentage of .727. On the season he is batting .292-8-25.
OF Ronnie Welty of Bluefield has been named to the Appalachian League All-Star team. In 54 games, Welty is batting .310 with 13 doubles, 3 homers, 26 runs and 33 RBI. Welty was a 20th-round pick this year out of Chandler-Gilbert Junior College in Arizona, the same school that Frederick's Chris Vinyard attended. He goes 6-4, 200 and is a right-handed hitter.
On Sunday, Andy Mitchell allowed just one run in nine innings for Norfolk, but did not get a decision in the Tides 10-inning loss to Charlotte. David Hernandez improved to 9-4 for Double-A Bowie in a 4-2 win at Binghamton. He gave up just two runs over seven innings.
Suspended game has begun
The O's are batting in the top of the 12th of a 3-3 tie with Chicago. Check back here often tonight for news and updates during the evening.
Starting Lineups (suspended game)
Orioles (visitors)
2B Brian Roberts
3B Melvin Mora
RF Nick Markakis
1B Kevin Millar
DH Alex Cintron
LF Luke Scott
CF Lou Montanez
SS Juan Castro
C Ramon Hernandez
P Lance Cormier
White Sox (home team)
RF Nick Swisher
SS Orlando Cabrera
DH Jim Thome
1B Paul Konerko
C AJ Pierznski
LF Carlos Quentin
3B Joe Crede
CF Brian Anderson
2B Juan Uribe
Kevin Millar will lead off in the top of the 12th for the Orioles. The due hitter in the last of the 12th for Chicago is Carlos Quentin. Lance Cormier will start on the mound for the O's and it's expected to be LHP Horacio Ramirez for the Sox. Three Orioles move into the lineup left over from the April 28th game. Alex Cintron bats 5th as the DH for Aubrey Huff who was ejected in the 10th. Lou Montanez goes into CF batting 7th for Adam Jones, who has since gone on the DL. Juan Castro goes to SS batting 8th for Brandon Fahey, who has since been sent back to Triple-A.
Trembley's Talk
The O's will start Lance Cormier on the mound in the last of the 12th of the suspended game. Should they get the lead and need a closer, Trembley is not sure who that would be since George Sherrill is on the DL and Jim Johnson already pitched two innings in this game.
Trembley said he was not concerned that Daniel Cabrera is injured since he has said nothing at all about an injury to him or team trainers. Still, the O's doctor will look at Cabrera.
Trembley feels "Cabrera is upset with himself" right now and at this point, he is still scheduled to pitch on Saturday.
Trembley discussed the subject of players disclosing injuries to the staff.
"I'm not a mind reader. We tell them to be honest with yourself and with me. Don't tell me what you think I want to hear. Just be up front if you are hurt."
Trembley said there was talk of adding a positon player for today's suspended game, since the club has no one on the bench when play resumes. But with the pitching so shaky lately they decided to stay with 13 pitchers.
O's pitchers from the suspended game:
Cabrera: 6 1/3 IP, 4H, 2R-ER, 7BB, 2K, 1 HR.....102 pitches
Bradford: 0IP 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
Walker: 1/3 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
Sarfate: 1 1/3 IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 0K
Johnson: 2 IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
Sherrill: 1 IP, 1H, 1R-ER, 1BB, 1K, 1 HR
At bat, Ramon Hernandez and Aubrey Huff hit solo homers back on April 28th and Brian Roberts doubled and scored on a Melvin Mora single in the 9th.
Balt 3-9-2
CWS 3-8-0
Left on base so far - Chicago 14, Baltimore 3
Game Preview
Chicago White Sox (74-55) at Orioles (61-68)
After getting swept three straight at home for the first time this year, the Orioles host the Chicago White Sox tonight. The clubs meet at 6pm to complete a suspended game from April and after that will play the regularly-scheduled game for tonight.
In the game that was played in Chicago and suspended by rain and poor field conditions on April 28th, the teams are tied 3-3 after 11 innings. The Orioles are the visiting team and Kevin Millar, in the lineup and batting fourth, is due to lead off in the top of the 12th. In the last of the 12th LF Carlos Quentin is due to leadoff for the White Sox.
The O's went to the top of the 9th trailing 2-1 that afternoon, but Melvin Mora's RBI single tied the game. In the top of the 11th Ramon Hernandez homered to give the O's a 3-2 lead, but Juan Uribe's homer in the last of the 11th off George Sherrill tied it at 3 before the umps halted play.
In the regularly-scheduled game the O's Chris Waters will pitch vs. Chicago's Clayton Richard.
The O's have lost 5 of their last 6 games, are 32-29 in home games and are 10-12 in August.
The O's were swept in three straight over the weekend by the Yankees, losing 8-7 Sunday in a game that took 4 hours and 1 minute to play. The Birds are now 19-22 in one-run games.
O's pitching has allowed 5 ER or more in 8 straight games with an ERA of 6.59 in that stretch. The O's hitters are batting .267 in the six games on this homestand with 30 runs scored.
Chicago, which beat Tampa 6-5 in ten innings Sunday, is 74-55 and leads the AL Central by a ½ game over Minnesota. Chicago has won 9 of 12 and 13 of its last 19 games.
The Sox have hit a Major League leading 194 homers. Carlos Quentin is first in the AL with 36 homers and teammate Jermaine Dye is second with 31. Chicago's Jim Thome, with 27 homers, is also in the top 10 in the AL.
The Orioles are 2-3 vs. the White Sox this season, 1-1 at home and 1-2 in Chicago.
Pitching Match-Up
LHP Chris Waters (2-0, 4.98) tonight makes his 5th Major League start of the season, his 3rd at home and his first-ever vs. the Chicago White Sox.
Waters picked up the win in his last start, Wednesday vs. Boston. He pitched five innings and gave up 4ER on 8 hits. Waters has wins over the Angels and Red Sox.
The lefty has struggled in the first inning just like most of the O's other starters. Of the 13 runs he has allowed, 6 have come in the first inning where opponents are batting .450 off Waters.
In a strange stat, Waters has allowed a batting average of .615 (8-13) when he faces left-handed hitters. He allows an average of .219 vs. right-handed batters and .368 when pitching with runners in scoring position.
Waters has recorded just one quality start so far, but the Orioles are 3-1 when he starts.
Earlier this year in the Minors, Waters made a combined 22 starts between Bowie and Norfolk and went 8-6, 4.65.
LHP Clayton Richard (1-2, 6.75) tonight will make his 5th Major League start of the season, his 3rd of the year on the road and his first-ever vs. the Orioles.
Richard was first recalled from the Minors on July 21st, was optioned back on August 5th and recalled for the second time on August 15th.
The 24-year-old made 20 Minor League starts this season between Double-A and Triple-A and went 12-6, 2.48. Over his last ten starts in the Minors, he went 9-0, 1.72.
After giving up 15 ER over 13 innings in his first three starts with the White Sox, he pitched six shutout innings Tuesday vs. Seattle. He allowed five hits in that start with one walk and he fanned two.
In 20 Major League innings he has given up 30 hits with 5 walks and 15 strikeouts. The Sox are 2-2 when he has started.
Richard, Chicago's 8th-round pick in 2005, gives up a batting average of .265 vs. lefty hitters and .375 vs. right-handed batters. He allows an average of .379 when pitching with runners in scoring position.
The Lafayette, Indiana native was the first high school athlete in that state to be named Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball.
O's Hitters, 2008 vs. Chicago White Sox:
Castro: 0-0
Cintron: 0-0
Hernandez: 2-14/1/3
Huff: 4-25/1/2, 8 strikeouts
Markakis: 4-24/1/2, 7 strikeouts
Millar: 4-20/1/1
Mora: 5-26/0/3
Payton: 3-10/0/0
Quiroz: 2-7/1/2
Roberts: 6-26/1/5, 3 doubles
Scott: 5-17/0/1, 6 strikeouts
O's are hitting .206 as a team with 21 runs scored this year vs. Chicago. The team ERA is 3.40 vs. the White Sox.
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