O's give up two in the 8th, fall short in Cleveland, 7-5
It was a familiar story line for the Orioles Tuesday night. A starter gives up first-inning runs, the offense battles back, but the bullpen gives it up late and the Orioles lose. Cleveland scored twice in the 8th off Jim Johnson to break a 5-5 tie and beat the O's, 7-5.
The Orioles have begun this seven-game road trip at 0-2 and have allowed 35 runs in losing the last three games.
Johnson hit the leadoff batter of the 8th, pinch-hitter Shin-Soo Choo, who later scored on Asdrubal Cabrera's single. A Ben Francisco single made it 7-5.
After the O's took a 2-0 lead in the first, Cleveland scored four off Garrett Olson in the last of the first. Olson allowed five runs and nine hits in six innings.
Aubrey Huff went 0-3 with an RBI as his 19-game hitting streak ended.
Cleveland ties its season-high with a 5-game winning streak. The Tribe is 17-11 in its last 28 contests.
The Orioles scored twice in the 7th to tie the game at 5-5. Lou Montanez led off the inning with a single, and one out later Luke Scott doubled. A Brian Roberts single made it 5-4 and a Nick Markakis single to center tied the game, 5-5. It gave Markakis 6 RBI in this series and 16 in his last 8 games.
Jay Payton led off the O's 5th with a single and went to third on Juan Castro's single. Later, a Markakis sac fly pulled the O's within 5-3.
The Tribe lead grew to 5-2 in the fourth. Asdrubal Cabrera doubled and later scored on Melvin Mora's throwing error for a 5-2 edge.
Cleveland scored four runs in the last of the first to take a 4-2 lead as five straight hitters reached with two outs and one on. Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Garko, Franklin Gutierrez and Andy Marte had RBI singles in the four-run rally. O's pitching has allowed 99 first-inning runs this year.
The Orioles moved ahead 2-0 in the first. Roberts walked and moved to third on a Markakis double. Mora's single to center scored Roberts for a 1-0 lead. That's Mora's 80th RBI. Aubrey Huff picked up his 77th RBI on a sac fly to deep center for a 2-0 lead.
Balt 5-10-4
Clev 7-12-0
Postgame Notes
Seen it Before
Two problems for O's pitching surfaced again tonight. For the third game in a row, the O's starter gave up four runs in the first inning. And once again, the bottom of a team's order did major damage. Tonight, Asdrubal Cabrera, batting ninth, drove in the go-ahead run in the 8th and had three hits, two runs scored and that RBI. In the series he is 5-8 with a homer and 3 RBI along with two doubles. He began this series batting .206. Tonight, number eight hitter Andy Marte, hitting .182, had a first-inning RBI.
Nick Again
A second straight strong game for Nick Markakis. He knocks in two more runs tonight. In the series he is 5-8 with three doubles and a triple and 6 RBI. He has raised his average from .297 to .303 in two nights. He now has 9 RBI his last 4 games, 16 his last 8 and 41 RBI over his last 45 contests.
Olson's Night
Olson's night was ruined by about 7:30. He allowed four runs on five hits in the first inning. He got better after that and gave the club much-needed innings, but the end result is another mediocre start for Garrett. He did not get a decision but has recorded just two quality starts in his last 12 outings. His ERA was 8.77 in June and is 6.88 in July.
Olson's first 8 starts: 5-1, 3.86
Olson's last 12 starts: 3-5, 7.61
Final Notes
The O's have allowed 35 runs on 45 hits in the last three games.......Jim Johnson suffered his first loss since July 8th......Lou Montanez went 1-4 and is 6-12 at bat in his three starts......Aubrey Huff went 0-3 with an RBI, ending the O's longest hitting streak of the season at 19 games......He batted ..390-5-15 during the streak and has 46 RBI over his last 54 games..........Brian Roberts extended his batting streak to 14 games, going 1-3 with an RBI single.....B-Rob is batting .368 during the streak.
The Orioles have scored 38 runs the last five games, but are 2-3......They are batting .341 as a team over those five games.........Kevin Millar is 0-8 with 5 strikeouts in the series........He is 2-18 at bat..........Jay Payton went 1-4 and is 8-23 during a six-game hitting streak......Melvin Mora went 2-4 with an RBI and is batting .405-2-14 over his last 10 games......Mora is hitting .372-6-32 since the All-Star break.....The Orioles had homered in six straight games, but went without one tonight.
Cleveland is 13-11 in the second-half and 17-8 vs. the AL East.......The Orioles are 11-14 since the All-Star break and are 11-10 vs. the AL Central.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
Nice Relay
On a night when the O's defense giveth, it just taketh away, too. Quite a relay from Payton in center to Castro at short, who fired a one-hop strike to Ramon who tagged out Cabrera trying to score from first on a double. A real crisp, solid play to cut down a run. Maybe it will spark the offense to come back and win this game. Castro makes a real difference at short.
Quick Check on the Minors
Norfolk is off tonight. Bowie is winning 2-1 in the 4th vs. Trenton with Brad Bergesen on the mound. With him pitching tonight, is there any way he comes back on Saturday for the Orioles on three days rest ? Seems doubtful. Frederick leads Potomac 4-2 in the 4th. Brandon Snyder (#12) and Billy Rowell (#6) have homered. Aberdeen is at Vermont tonight. The IronBirds have won 7 of 11 to get over .500 at 27-26. Eric Perlozzo is hitting .387 in nine August games for Aberdeen.
The Defense Falls Apart
The Orioles have been charged with four errors in the first four innings tonight, following the trend of shaky defense from the last two days. Melvin Mora, overall having a solid defensive year, is suddenly booting everything. He just made two errors on one play. Plus there are plays not made that are not errors. Lou Montanez has had three chances to throw runners out on the bases tonight, but each time the throw was either off line or not strong enough. If he could, Dave Trembley would probably like to stop this game for a round of infield before resuming. It can't get worse, can it ?
First-Inning Woes
No inning has been as tough for the Orioles this year as the first. They have given up four runs in the first inning now in the last three games. That's awful. On the year, they have been outscored by 32 runs in the first. Next worst is the seventh, they've been outscored by 17 runs. Makes you wonder what's up with the pitcher's pre-game prep and what they could do differently or better. The first inning continues to be the worst inning.
First inning: minus 32 runs, outscored 99-67
Seventh inning: minus 17 runs, outscored 76-59
Fourth inning: minus 9 runs, outscored 57-48
Ninth inning: minus 9 runs, outscored 45-36
Game Two Underway
The O's and Cleveland are underway tonight in the second game of the four-game series. The O's are banking on Garrett Olson going deep tonight after their bullpen has allowed 15ER over 9 innings the last two days. Check back here often for news and updates during this game.
Starting Lineups
Orioles (Stats vs. JSowers)
2B Brian Roberts (4-6)
RF Nick Markakis (0-6)
3B Melvin Mora (1-5, HR, 2 RBI)
1B Aubrey Huff (1-2)
C Ramon Hernandez (3-5, HR, 6 RBI)
DH Kevin Millar (1-4)
LF Lou Montanez
CF Jay Payton (1-5)
SS Juan Castro (1-2)
P Garrett Olson
Indians
CF Grady Sizemore
2B Jamey Carroll
LF Ben Francisco
DH Jhonny Peralta
C Kelly Shoppach
1B Ryan Garko
RF Franklin Gutierrez
3B Andy Marte
SS Asdrubal Cabrera
P Jeremy Sowers
Trembley's Talk
The Orioles didn't make a roster move today and Dave Trembley was asked about that before tonight's game.
"We feel like we'll get a good game out of Olson and we'll back him up with Johnson and Sherrill. We didn't make a move, it's that simple."
Trembley said he would discuss Dennis Sarfate's spot in the rotation with Andy MacPhail. "We have a few days to make a decision on that," he said.
Trembley said Juan Castro is fine to play tonight with no restrictions. He called him "a welcome addition."
Game Preview
Orioles (56-61) at Cleveland (53-64)
After allowing one run combined on Friday and Saturday, O's pitchers have allowed 28 runs in losing the past two games. Stay tuned to see what the next few days will produce. Tonight the O's play game two of their four-game series in Cleveland.
The Tribe used three homers, 13 hits and some O's miscues in the field to post a 13-8 win Monday, one day after Texas hammered the O's, 15-7. The Indians scored in five at bats Monday in winning their fourth in a row.
O's starter Dennis Sarfate gave up seven runs in four innings and has an ERA of 11.45 in his three starts. The O's team ERA increased from 4.65 to 4.80 the last two days.
Nick Markakis had a huge game in Monday's defeat. He delivered two doubles, a triple and a season-high, 4 RBI. He has 14 RBI his last 7 games and 39 RBI his last 44 games. Aubrey Huff hit a solo homer to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. He adds on to his new career-high streak and the O's season-high for 2008.
Since the All-Star break, the O's are batting .302 and scoring 5.8 runs per game with 51 doubles and 33 homers in 24 games.
Cleveland, which began a ten-game homestand Monday, is 16-11 over its last 27 games. Cleveland is 16-8 vs. the AL East.
Pitching Match-Up
LHP Garrett Olson (8-6, 6.06) tonight makes his 20th start of this season, his 11th on the road and the first of his career vs. Cleveland.
After pitching to an ERA of 3.14 over two starts, Olson struggled again in his most recent outing. He took the loss last Wednesday at Anaheim, giving up six runs and seven hits in just 2 2/3. Since beginning the season strong, the lefty has struggled over his last 11 starts.
Olson first 8 starts: 5-1, 3.86
Olson last 11 starts: 3-5, 7.78.
Olson, who has just two quality starts over his last 11 outings, gives up a batting average of .302 vs. right-handed hitters and .316 vs. lefties. When pitching with runners in scoring position, that average is .253.
In 10 road starts, Olson is 4-5, 6.93. The Orioles are 9-10 when he takes the mound in 2008.
LHP Jeremy Sowers (1-6, 5.70) tonight will make his 14th start, his 6th at home and the 4th of his career vs. Baltimore.
Sowers did not get a decision in his last start, last Wednesday, vs. Tampa. He pitched six innings and gave up six hits and four runs, three earned. He has recorded just 4 quality starts and the Indians are just 4-9 when he starts in 2008.
After failing to win the fifth starter's job in Spring Training, Sowers spent most of the first two months of the season at Triple-A Buffalo. In ten starts there, he is 4-3, 2.08.
In four second-half starts for Cleveland, the 25-year-old is 1-1, 4.39. He holds left-handed hitters to an average of .232 but right-handed batters hit .322 off Sowers.
Sowers was drafted in the first-round twice. Cincinnati selected him with the 20th pick in 2001, but he went to play college ball at Vanderbilt. Then Cleveland took him with the 6th pick in 2004.
Last season, Sowers went 1-6, 6.42 in 13 starts.
He is 0-2, 11.57 in three career starts vs. the Orioles. In 11 2/3 he has allowed 18 hits and 15 ER vs. the Birds.
Minor-League Notes
Pitcher Cory Doyne has ended his rehab assignment at Aberdeen and has been transferred to Triple-A Norfolk. Radhames Liz gave up just one run over six innings last night, but Toledo blanked Norfolk 2-0 and it's the 10th time this season the Tides have been shutout. At Frederick Miguel Abreu is hitting .486 (18-37) over his last nine games with 5 doubles.
The Delmarva Shorebirds can go a season-high, 13 games over .500 with a win at home tonight vs. Charleston. Chris Salberg (0-3, 3.69) will pitch tonight for the Birds. Delmarva 2B Ryan Adams is on a hitting tear, batting .461 (18-39) during a nine-game batting streak. He's now hitting .316 for the year, that's 7th best in the South Atlantic League.
Aberdeen closer Brandon Cooney picked up his 8th save last night and is 8-9 in save chances. The IronBirds have placed OF Lee Ellis on the DL. The Gulf Coast League O's dropped another one Monday to fall to 13-30 on the season.
Huff's Hitting Streak
Aubrey Huff is batting .390-5-15 during his 19-game hitting streak. He has 30 hits in 77 at bats during the streak. He has 9 multi-hit games. The streak began when he went 2-5, July 22nd, vs. Toronto. He has raised his average from .283 to .302 during the run. He has four multi-RBI games. Ten times he has extended the streak with a single hit including 7 times in the last 8 games. He had just one hit Monday, going 1-5 at Cleveland with a solo homer. Eric Davis holds the O's team record hitting streak. He hit in 30 straight games in 1998.
A Strange Game
O's pitching Friday/Saturday: 18IP, 11H, 1ER, 4BB, 1 HR........0.50 ERA
O's pitching Sunday/Monday: 17IP, 33H, 27ER, 12BB, 6 HR...14.29 ERA
Tyler:
Don't panic yet. The O's needed to give Sarfate at least two or three starts and that experiment is probably over. His turn in the rotation doesn't come up again until Saturday. The O's won't announce Saturday's starter for at least a day or two, so they have time for that decision. If healthy enough, Hayden Penn will probably make that start.
Penn has not been listed in the Tides rotation over the next few days, so maybe they'll just hold him out for Saturday's start with the O's.
The Orioles rotation has struggled since the beginning of the season they should put Sarfate back in the bullpen and give Hayden Penn or David Hernandez etc. So my question is why is it taking so long for them to bring up a minor league pitcher when Sarfate is blowing up the rotation.