Brian Bannister, who entered with an ERA of 8.02 over his last four starts, pitched eight shutout innings as the Royals beat the O's, 4-0. Both hits he allowed were singles.

With the win, the Royals end their 12-game losing streak vs. the Orioles.

Mark Teahen's RBI single gave KC a 1-0 lead in the 2nd and they made it 2-0 on an RBI double by Jose Guillen in the third. KC added two in the 7th.

O's starter Brian Burres gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings in falling to 3-4.

The O's begin a two-game series vs. division-leading Boston Tuesday night at Camden Yards.

BANNISTER PITCHES ROYALS TO 4-0 WIN IN SERIES FINALE

Righty Brian Bannister ended a four-start winless slide, pitching a two-hitter over eight innings as KC beat the Orioles today, 4-0. That ends the Royals 12-game losing streak vs. the Birds and is their first win over Baltimore since July 25, 2006.

The Orioles had a chance for a 5-5 road trip, but after getting 42 hits the last four games, today were shut down by Bannister, who is now 4-4. He fanned five in his first-ever start vs. Baltimore.

The O's, who got just two singles from Guillermo Quiroz and Luke Scott, did not have a single runner reach second base, as they fall to 19 and 19.

Mark Teahen had an RBI single in the 2nd and Jose Guillen's RBI double an inning later made it 2-0. The Royals, now 16-21, added two in the seventh.

Losing pitcher Brian Burres gave up four runs and nine hits over six frames in falling to 3-4.

The Orioles are off Monday and begin a two-game series vs. division-leading Boston on Tuesday at Camden Yards with Jeremy Guthrie facing Josh Beckett.

Balt 0-2-0
KC 4-11-2

POST-GAME NOTES

The O's were held to a season-low two hits, both singles and no runners even reached second base. It's the first time this year the O's have been shutout and the 4th shutout pitched by KC. Only Tampa, with five, has more in the AL.

The O's 12-game win streak vs. the Royals came to an end. They outscored KC 64-28 during the streak. KC's last win vs. Baltimore was on July 25, 2006. The last time the O's beat any team 13 times in a row was Toronto, and that was a 15-game win streak vs. the Jays during the 1978-79 seasons.

The Birds, who batted .284 as a team the previous four games, had just two hits in 28 at bats today for an average of .071.

Both Brian Roberts (left foot) and Ramon Hernandez (left wrist) missed the game but both should be able to play on Tuesday vs. Boston.

The Royals improve to 2-5 on a 10-game homestand and win for just the second time in seven games.

Brian Burres has lost his last three starts and during that stretch is 0-3 5.19.

Steve Melewski's live GameBlog

ROYALS GETTING CLOSER TO VICTORY

KC 4 O's 0......end of 7th

KC picks up two big insurance runs and knocks Burres out in the 7th. Gordon and Butler came up with RBI's to make it 4-0. Now KC is six outs away from ending its 12-game losing streak vs. the O's.

Burres line: 6ip, 9h, 4r-er, 2b, 1k.......103 pitches

NO ORIOLES MAGIC TODAY

KC 2 O's 0......middle of seven

It's not looking good with Bannister hurling a two-hitter thru seven. Maybe the O's are waiting for a 9th-inning rally to exorcise the demons of last year's Mother's Day Massacre.

WHERE'S THE HITTING TODAY

Coming into this game, the O's had 42 hits and a team average of .284 the past four games. Coming into this game, KC starter Brian Bannister had an ERA of 8.02 his past four starts.

Of course, Bannister is pitching shutout ball thru five vs. the O's. He has allowed just one hit, a Quiroz single in the 3rd.

WHAT TO MAKE OF THIS ???

From O's PR: According to Baseball Analysis and Tracking System (BATS) the Orioles have hit more line drive outs (73) than any team in the majors. Colorado is second with 69. I guess that's a positive stat for the offense. Or maybe the O's are just not lucky in that regard. But aren't those liners that get caught start to even out with bloops that fall in over the course of a season ?

ANOTHER ROYAL RUN

KC 2 O's 0.........end of 3rd

Jose Guillen with a booming RBI double to left center in the 3rd gives the Royals a 2-0 lead. They already have six hits off Burres and they've hit some balls hard early in this game.

KC SCORES FIRST

KC 1 O's 0.......end of second

Brian Burres got out of a major jam in the second inning with just one run scoring. First, the Royals started the inning with four straight singles for a 1-0 lead.

There were no outs. He then got Callapso to ground to third, Huff threw home for the force out. Then he got Gathright to ground to the mound and Burres got the force at home. Then leadoff hitter David DeJesus, batting .500 with runners in scoring position, flied out to center.

The first batter of that inning, Jose Guillen hit a soft liner that Bynum leaped for at short and it pop out of his glove. It was scored a single.

BOSTON PROBABLES

Tuesday 7:05p: Jeremy Guthrie (1-3 4.32) v. Josh Beckett (4-2 3.70)
Wednesday 3:05p: Daniel Cabrera (3-1 3.54) v. Jon Lester (2-2 4.06)

UNDERWAY IN GAME FOUR IN KC

Game four of this series has begun. The O's are going for their first four-game sweep on the road since July 6-9, 1995 at Chicago vs. the White Sox.

They have won 12 in a row and 15 of the last 16 vs. the Royals, who are now a season-high six games under .500.

PRE-GAME NOTES

The Orioles have won 12 in a row and 15 of the last 16 vs. Kansas City. During the win streak, they have outscored the Royals 64 to 28.

They have seen their offense come to life and after not getting a three-run homer in the season's first 34 games, they have three in three games in KC.

Over the past four contests, the O's have 42 hits and a team batting average of .284.

They have won the first three contests in KC by scores of 4-1, 7-4 and 6-5. In last night's win Kevin Millar had three hits including a three-run homer. Garrett Olson improved to 2-0 and George Sherrill picked up his 13th save.

PITCHING MATCHUP

Brian Burres (3-3 3.19) will make his 7th start of the season as he tries to snap a two-start losing streak. Burres has lost back to back starts vs. Tampa and Oakland, pitching to an ERA of 4.77.

But going back further, over his past four starts, he is 2-2 2.16 (6er - 25 ip).

In four road starts in 2008, Burres is 2-2 3.75. He has pitched just one inning in his career vs. KC. He did not allow a run in that inning last season.

This year, right-handed batters are hitting .242 vs. Burres and lefties are at .279.

Righty Brian Bannister pitches today for KC. He is 3-4 4.46 on the season. He won his first three starts, but has lost his last four.

He was pitching great early in a 3-0 start where his ERA was 0.86. But over the last four outings, he is 0-4 8.02 (19er, 5 HR's in 21.1 ip).

In his last start, Tuesday vs. the Angels, he gave up 5 runs and 13 hits in 6.2 innings.

He had a strong rookie season in 2007, going 12-9 3.87. Among AL rookies, he was second in wins and fourth in ERA. He had a 17-start stretch last season, from June 1st to September 2nd, where he was 12-4 2.75.

The 27-year-old Bannister has never pitched vs. the Orioles.

THESE GUYS ARE HITTING ON THE ROAD TRIP

Bynum: 5-12 his first three games, 4 runs scored
Huff: batting .306 (11-36) on the trip, he is 4-13 in the KC series
Markakis: is 6-16 the past four games
Millar: batting .323 (10-31) on the trip, he is 8-19 the last five games
Mora: batting .353 (12-34) with two homers, 7 RBI on trip

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Both Nick Markakis and Freddie Bynum had two hits and two runs scored.

The Orioles pick up their 11th win in a row vs. Kansas City, dating to July 25, 2006.

O's starter Steve Trachsel, who had pitched to an ERA of 11.05 his previous four starts, gave up just two runs in 5.1 ip in picking up his second win of the season.

TRACHSEL AND TWO HOMERS LEAD O'S PAST KC, 7-4

Steve Trachsel reversed his four-start slide and Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff homered as the Orioles beat KC, 7-4 Friday night. The O's are 2-0 in this series and have won 11 in a row vs. the Royals.

Trachsel picked up his first win since April 4th. He allowed two runs and five hits in 5.1 ip, throwing 80 pitches. He had pitched to an ERA of 11.05 his previous four starts and gave up three homers last Sunday vs. the Angels.

With the win, the O's moved to 3-5 on this road trip and back to .500 on the season, at 18-18.

Alex Gordon, who had a 3-RBI night, staked KC to a 2-0 lead with his first-inning homer, his 5th of the season.

The O's tied it on Mora's homer in the third. It scored Freddie Bynum who had doubled and was Mora's 5th of the season.

Huff hit a three-run shot in the 5th that broke a 2-2 tie. It was the Orioles second three-run homer in two nights after they didn't have one all year.

Nick Markakis and Bynum added two hits and two runs scored for the O's. The O's seven runs was their most since April 29 when they plated seven vs. Tampa Bay.

Baltimore went 7-0 vs. KC last year and is now 14-1 in its last 15 vs. the Royals. The O's are 24-6 vs. KC since 2004.

Balt 7-12-0
KC 4-10-1

POST GAME NOTES

THE THREE-RUN DINGER

Aubrey Huff's three-run shot in the 5th broke the 2-2 tie and gave the O's breathing room. That's a pair of three-run shots the last two nights to break games open after no three-run shots or Slams in the season's first 34 games.

The last time it took the O's this long into the season to get a homer scoring 3 or 4 runs was 1988 when they went without one for the first 34 contests.

THE OFFENSE COMETH

Nice to see this club get some offense. The O's had 12 hits as five different players had two each and three drove in runs. The O's are now 8-2 when they get ten hits or more and they've now done that 3 times in the past six games.

TRACHSEL'S REVENGE

Trachsel, whose position in the rotation was probably on the line tonight, saved it for now with a solid effort. He allowed just two runs in 5.1 ip and probably could have pitched deeper, but you can't blame Dave Trembley for not exactly having great confidence in him right now.

The biggest difference I saw tonight was his command and ability to get ahead of some hitters. He walked just one, the best control he's had all year. He had walked seven in his previous six innings.

B-ROB STRUGGLING

After going 1-5 tonight, Brian Roberts is hitting just .252. He is 2-15 the past four games and is just 5-33 (.152) on this road trip. He has had just one multi-hit game in his last nine contests. Meanwhile, Freddie Bynum has given the club a real spark from the nine hole. He had two hits tonight and is 4-8 with three runs scored in the series.

WHAT ROYALTY

That's 11 wins in a row vs. the Royals. They have outscored KC, 58-23 in those games. The O's are 14-1 vs. KC since the start of 2006 and 24-6 since 2004.

Steve Melewski's live GameBlog

ADDING ON

O's 7 KC 2.......middle of 7th

The O's add two in the 7th for a 7-2 lead. With one out, Markakis singled and Huff doubled for second and third. Ramon Ramirez came in for Mahay.

On a passed ball, both runners moved up, Markakis scoring from third. Seconds later, Millar hit an RBI single to left for a 7-2 lead.

The last time the O's scored seven runs was April 29 vs. Tampa, 10 games ago.

They now have scored 16 runs the last three contests.

QUICK HOOK......BIG ESCAPE

After Trachsel gave up a walk, then got a groundout in the 6th, Dave Trembley hooked him. Matt Albers came in and made everyone nervous walking back to back hitters to load the bases. With Jim Johnson getting loose, Trembley stayed with him and Albers got Ross Gload to bounce into a 4-6-3 DP. Nice job in the middle of that by Bynum.

Trachsel tonight: 5.1ip, 5h, 2r-er, 1b, 2k, 1 HR......80 pitches

SUPRISE, SUPRISE

No that's not Gomer Pyle talking, it's about Steve Trachsel's pitching tonight. He has allowed just four hits tonight thru five innings and has not given up a hit the past three frames. It is the same guy that got rocked Sunday in Anaheim.

With a three-run lead I'm sure the O's would love him to go deep, but also, with a rested pen after last night, they won't let him get into a major jam either, I wouldn't think. He has thrown 73 pitches thru five.

THE STRATEGY DIDN'T WORK

O's 5 KC 2...........middle of 5th

With a man on second and two outs in the 5th, the Royals chose to intentionally walk Markakis, putting two on in a tie game for Aubrey Huff. The count went to 1-2, then Huff ripped a Meche curve into the right-field bullpen for a three-run HR and 5-2 O's lead.

The Orioles went 34 games without a three-run HR and now get two in two nights.

Both homers have come off Meche curve balls and both came with two outs. Freddie Bynum is 2-2 with two runs scored tonight and is now 4-6 on the season.

It's only the second time in 11 games the O's have hit more than one HR in a game.

MORA HOMERS

O's 2 KC 2......middle of third

Melvin Mora hit a two-out, two-run homer in the third off Meche to tie the game at two. It's his 5th homer of the year and second on this trip. Freddie Bynum doubled to right with one out and Mora hit his blast to left with two down.

Mora is now 10-27 with two career homers vs. Meche.

WIETERS HOMERS TWICE

Matt Wieters homered twice tonight for Frederick in its 8-1 win at Lynchburg. Brandon Tripp of the Keys began the day leading the Carolina League with 7 homers. Wieters now ties him with seven. He went 3-4, with 3 RBI and Wieters is now hitting .355. Wieters now has a season-high 8-game hit streak.

Brandon Snyder added a solo shot and Billy Rowell had 2 RBI. Rowell now has four multi-hit games in his last five contests. Winning pitcher Jake Renshaw allowed just one run over six innings.

TRACHSEL STILL STRUGGLING

KC 2 O's 0.......end of first

It took KC just three batters tonight to exceed their run total of all of last night. With one out, Teahen singled and Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer to right off Trachsel. It's Gordon's 5th homer of the year, first-ever vs. Baltimore, and 5th given up by Trachsel in his last seven innings.

UNDERWAY IN KC

The O's and Royals have begun game two of their series in KC. Dave Trembley is calling this "an important start" for Steve Trachsel. The O's can get back to .500 with a win. Check back during the game for updates, stats and analysis.

PRE-GAME NOTES

The Orioles have now won 10 in a row vs. Kansas City and 13 of the last 14 meetings. The Orioles went 7-0 last season vs. KC, pitching to an ERA of 1.41 in the seven games.

Last night's result ended a string of seven O's games in a row decided by two runs or less.

The Birds are 2-5, with three games left on the season's longest road trip. The Royals are just 4-10 in their last 14 games at Kauffman Stadium.

MOUND MATCHUP

Steve Trachsel (1-4 7.43) will make his 7th start of the season and 10th career appearance vs the Royals. Trachsel has pitched 3 innings or less in three of his last four starts.

His recent struggles:

Trachsel last two starts: 6ip, 12h, 10er, 4 HR's, 15.00 ERA
Trachsel last four starts: 14.2ip, 24h, 18er, 5 HR's, 11.05 ERA

Trachsel got bombed for three homers and gave up six runs over three innings Sunday vs. the Angels.

In his last four starts he is 0-3 11.05 and has had starts of just 2.1 ip, 3ip and 3ip in that stretch.

He pitched a complete-game, five-hit win last May 28th at KC and in two starts in 2007, went 1-0 1.13 vs. the Royals.

His career numbers vs. KC are 1-3 4.81 in 9 games covering 58 innings.

Gil Meche (2-4 5.98) will make his 8th start of the season and 4th at home for the Royals.

Meche is 0-4 in his last six starts vs. Baltimore, despite a career 2.95 ERA vs. the Orioles. His last win vs. the O's was on July 17, 2005.

Meche, who gave up 8er to Cleveland on April 22, rebounded to shut down the Tribe last Sunday. He beat Cleveland 2-0, giving up just four singles in seven innings with four strikeouts and allowed just one runner to reach second.

The 29-year-old righty made the 2007 all-star team and went 9-13 3.67 in 34 starts last season for KC. He was 8th in the league with 216 innings.

In 2007 vs. the Orioles, he went 0-2 1.69 and in his career, in 15 starts, is 4-4 2.95 (30er/91.2 ip).

MORE ON LAST NIGHT

Some more notes on Cabrera's three-hitter Thursday night. It lowered the team ERA to 4.09, its best mark since April 10th. It's the third time on the season the O's have given up just one run. They have one shutout, April 19 vs. the Yankees. It was Baltimore's low-hit game on the year. Twice before the team had given up just five hits.

Cabrera improved to 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in seven career starts vs. KC. The Orioles are 7-0 in those starts.

Cabrera, who got 18 outs on ground balls, got the leadoff hitter out in every inning.

This was the 21st complete game in the American League this season.

HOW SOME ORIOLES HAVE FARED VS. MECHE

Brian Roberts: 13-30 (.433), one HR and 4 RBI
Melvin Mora: 9-26 (.346), one HR
Kevin Millar: 1-21 (.048)
Nick Markakis: 2-12 (.167), one HR

ORIOLES HOMERS IN 2008

33 on the year
22 solo shots
10 two-run shots
1 three-run blast (by Markakis last night)

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The O's have lost four in a row and fall under .500 at 16-17.

Losing pitcher Brian Burres gave up four runs on eight hits over 5.1 ip. Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott had RBI's.

Jeremy Guthrie pitches Wednesday afternoon as the O's try to avoid the sweep in Oakland.

A'S TAKE GAME TWO OF SERIES, 4-2 OVER ORIOLES

The broken record of a lack of offense costing the Orioles games, is still spinning. They were held to four hits Tuesday, all singles, in a 4-2 loss at Oakland.

At 16-17, the O's have lost four in a row and fall under .500 for the first time since they were 0-1.

They have just nine hits in this series and were held to two or fewer runs for the 12th time. The Birds have scored just 16 runs the past seven games, and are 1-6 in that stretch.

Emil Brown's RBI hit in the first gave Oakland a 1-0 lead. They went ahead 3-0 on RBI groundouts by Bobby Crosby and Mark Ellis in the third.

The O's pulled within one, with a two-run fourth. Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis walked. Aubrey Huff singled in one and a Luke Scott sac fly plated the other.

Losing pitcher Brian Burres fell to 3-3, allowing four runs and eight hits in 5.1 ip. Matt Albers pitched 2.2 ip of scoreless relief.

Justin Duchscherer got the win with seven innings of four-hit ball and Santiago Casilla picked up a save.

The O's have lost 8 of 10 and send Jeremy Guthrie to the mound Wednesday at 3:35pm to try and avoid a sweep.

Balt 2-4-2
Oak 4-9-0

POST-GAME NOTES

AGAIN THE OFFENSE

The O's have eight singles and one double in two games in this series. They are 9-60 the past two games for an average of .150. Tonight they batted three men in an inning six times. They have scored three runs or less in 10 of the last 16 games and have five hits or fewer in 5 of the last 10 contests.

Nick Markakis is 6-43, Kevin Millar is 7-47 and Adam Jones is 1-18 on this road trip.

Huff's single in the 4th was his only hit and extended his batting streak to ten games. He is 13-36 (.361) during the streak. Melvin Mora went 1-4 and is 8-19 during a five-game batting streak.

WHERE'S THE POP ???

The O's and A's have combined for 26 hits in this series. That's 25 SINGLES and just one double. Mora doubled in the 9th Tuesday vs. Huston Street.

NOW LOSING THE CLOSE ONES

The O's have lost four in a row by a total of six runs. They are 1-5 in their last six games decided by one or two runs. A lot has been made of their excellent one-run record of 8-4. But they are now 1-6 in two-run decisions. So they fall to 9-10 overall in the close ones. The Birds are suddenly just one-half game ahead of last-place Toronto and are five games out of first.

HE DESERVED BETTER

Not only did Burres not get the run support, Melvin Mora made a key error behind him leading to a run. Also, several of the hits agasint him were bloops or seeing-eye grounders. Still, he kept his team in the game. Over his last four starts, Burres has pitched to an ERA of 2.16 (6er - 25ip).

Steve Melewski's live GameBlog

COSTLY MISTAKE

A's 4 O's 2...........end of six

Burres hit Mark Ellis to start the home 6th. Then Donnie Murphy hit a sure DP ball to third, but Melvin Mora's throw to second was off the mark and off Roberts glove as the runners moved into second and third, instead of two out and none on. Rajai Davis hit a sac fly for a 4-2 lead.

Then Matt Albers replaced Burres who just had no luck tonight. Albers did a great job stranding a man on third with a pop up and K.

Burres line tonight: 5.1ip, 8h, 4r, 3er, 1b, 1k..........84 pitches

ADAM JONES STRUGGLING

He is 0-2 tonight and on this road trip is now 1-17 with five strikeouts.

Jones really needs some strike zone discipline. When he gets behind on the count he really chases pitches that are not strikes. As word gets around the league he may never see a strike again. He also is, at this point, defensless agasint the curve ball away from him.

His strikeout in the third inning tonight was his 28th on the year, and ties Markakis for the team lead.

He is an exciting player, with, as they say, upside, but there is also plenty of work to do as well.

O'S GET BACK IN IT

A's 3 O's 2.....middle of 4th

Roberts and Markakis drew walks around a groundout. Then Aubrey Huff ripped an RBI single to right, his 20th RBI. It also extends his bat streak to ten games.

Luke Scott came up with the bases loaded and hit a liner to center that went for a sac fly and a 3-2 game. It was nice to see a couple of hitters take some pitches last inning.

A'S GET TWO MORE

A's 3 O's 0....end of third

The last of the third started with three straight singles by Thomas, Cust and Brown. Then a couple of RBI grounders by Bobby Crosby and Mark Ellis gave the A's a 3-0 lead.

Burres is not lucky tonight. He has allowed seven hits but several have been bloops or ground balls that found a hole.

It should be mentioned that Cust was struck out, it so appearend, on, I think a 2-2 pitch. CB Bucknor must have been out getting a hot dog and clearly missed strike three. Then Cust, given four strikes, went on to get a hit.

Burres has given up 3er in 3ip tonight. He had given up 3er combined over his past three starts, in 19.2 ip.

SLOW START ON OFFENSE

A's 1 O's 0.........middle of third

The O's have been retired nine in a row, four on strikeouts, thru the first three innings tonight. At this point in the series, as a team, they are 5-40 for an average of .125. Early on they have hit two line drives that were caught while the A's have two bloop hits.

So far the O's aren't good or lucky.

A'S GET THE LEAD

A's 1 O's 0............end of one

Emil Brown begins tonight the way he ended last night, with an RBI single. This one was a two-out bloop just fair down the right-field line. After Burres got the the first two outs, Thomas, Cust and Brown hit singles.

He then walked Bobby Crosby to lead the bases, but Mark Ellis lined out to leave the sacks full.

GAME TWO HAS BEGUN

The O's and A's are underway in game of this series. For many reasons we're looking for a win tonight. To avoid falling under .500 and to avoid the first four-game losing streak of the season.

PRE-GAME NOTES

They have lost three in a row, 5 of 6 and 7 of 9 contests. Of the seven losses, five have been by two runs or less.

The A's lead the majors in team ERA and didn't hurt their stats at all, winning 2-1 last night in ten innings. Emil Brown's single in the tenth gave Oakland the walk-off win.

The A's have allowed two runs total in winning back to back games and have won 11 of their last 17 to get to 20-14. They have the third best record in the league.

The clubs split eight contests last year, but Oakland is 56-27 vs. the Birds since 1999.

THE PITCHERS

Lefty Brian Burres will make his 6th O's start of 2008 and the 23rd in his O's career. Over his last three starts, Burres is 2-1 with an ERA of 1.37 (3er - 19.2 ip).

Burres took the loss last Thursday at home vs. Tampa, giving up six hits and four runs over 6 ip. He threw 110 pitches. In his previous two outings he pitched a combined 13.2 ip without allowing a run vs. the Yankees and White Sox.

The 27-year-old lefty pitched well in two games last season vs. Oakland, with a 1-0 record and 1.00 ERA in 9 innings. Those are also his career numbers vs. the A's.

Burres was originally drafted in the 31st round by San Francisco in 2000.

His mound opponent is 30-year-old righty Justin Duchscherer, who is 2-1 2.40 this season. Duchscherer was on the disabled list this year from April 8-26 with a strained right biceps.

In three starts he has allowed 16 hits in 15 innings with 3 walks and 14 strikeouts. Lefty hitters bat .233 vs. him and right-handed hitters have a .310 average.

Duchscherer has made 8 career starts and 192 relief appearances. He has a 4.54 ERA as a starter and a 3.22 mark out of the pen.

He got the win in his last start, Thursday vs. the Angels. He pitched five frames and gave up six hits and six runs, but just one run was earned.

In eight career games vs. the Orioles, he is 1-0 2.87. He has just one career start vs. Baltimore and that came on July 25, 2001, when he pitched 6.2ip allowing four runs on six hits.

Duchscherer was drafted in round 8 by Boston in 1996

MOST HOMERS VS. THE ORIOLES SINCE 1954

Harmon Killebrew 68
Mickey Mantle 44
Frank Thomas 42

MORE FRANK NOTES

He was signed by the A's April 24, and, in 12 games with Oakland is hitting .244-0-1. He is hitting just .074 this year vs. lefties, with two hits in 27 at bats. Thomas is 6-9 lifetime off Brian Burres with one HR. He begins tonight with 516 career homers, 18th on the all-time list. He has 1690 career RBI, that's 22nd best all-time and just five back of Cal Ripken, who is 21st.

Thomas career vs. Balt: 145 gms........308--42--126.

THE OFFENSE AND ITS STRUGGLES IN STAT FORM

O's have scored three or less in 9 of last 15 games
O's have scored just 14 runs in the last six contests
Have five hits or less 4 times the last 9 games
Scored two runs or less 11 times during 2008
O's are 10th in AL in runs, 11th in OBP and 12th in average

STARTING PITCHING NOTES

The last 11 games, O's starters have pitched to an ERA of 3.90. Take Steve Trachsel's two starts during that time out and the ERA is a brilliant 2.76. The O's have gotten quality starts in 8 of 9 games, minus Trachsel, in that stretch. That's not good starting pitching, that's great pitching.

That's much better than anyone could have expected. Right now the O's have four of their five starters throwing well, most teams would love to have 3 of 5 going well.

It's why this team was contending for first place just a few days ago and even with very poor offense lately, still are at .500 starting tonight. With an improved offense and this pitching, this club could stay at or around .500 for a long time. It's been a very encouraging run of pitching which could get overlooked with so many players slumping on offense.

MORA AND HUFF STAY HOT

Aubrey Huff went 1-3 Monday and his current batting streak is at nine games. During the streak he is batting .375 (12-32). Huff is 6-14 on this road trip, but is without an RBI the past six games. He hasn't had many chances lately it seems, to drive in runs.

Melvin Mora has hit safely in all four games on this trip. He is 7-14 on the trip, with a homer, two doubles and 3 RBI. The hot stretch has raised his average from .230 to .260.

In the last of the tenth, Jim Johnson, the 5th O's pitcher, got the first two outs. But then Daric Barton singled and Johnson walked slumping Frank Thomas. That put the winning run in scoring position and seconds later Emil Brown singled to center to win it, 2-1.

The A's used a pair of infield hits to break the scoreless tie in the 7th. With two outs and the sacks full, Rajai Davis' RBI infield hit made it 1-0 A's.

Garrett Olson got a no decision. He pitched great, allowing just four hits and one run in 6.1ip. His ERA in two O's starts, is 2.08. Oakland starter Dana Eveland gave up just three hits in seven shutout innings.

The O's have lost back to back one-run decisions and fall to 16-16. They are at the .500 mark for the first time since they were 1-1.

The A's improved to 20-14 and are now 10-9 at home.

Balt 1-5-0
Oak 2-8-0

POST-GAME NOTES

OLSON AGAIN

Maybe this time the Orioles won't wait three days to confirm he's going to make another start. That's two good ones in a row and the biggest developement of the night. Olson was better this time and I'm still suprised he was taken out when he was.

Olson's line: 6.1ip, 4h, 1r-er, 1b, 7k......96 pitches, 64 strikes.

He has allowed 3er in 13 ip in two starts for an ERA of 2.08. His curve was excellent tonight and he had all three pitches working well. The great command he had tonight maybe shows he's finally settling in and is relaxed out there and showing the club the real him.

Isn't it great to see an honest to goodness O's pitching prospect come up and deliver. He won't be the last either.

THE (LACK) OF HITTING AGAIN

Take away yesterday's 15 hit game and the O's have these hits totals the last four times out: 3, 8, 3 and 5. So much for Sunday's breakout. No one expected big numbers from this offense, but could we have expected it to be this bad ?

Maybe it will get better but this was the 7th time this season they scored just one run and 11 times they have put up two runs or less and are 0-11 in those games.

HUFF STREAKING

Aubrey Huff went 1-3 with a walk. His 4th inning single extended his batting streak to nine games. He is batting .375 (12-32) during the streak. His career best streak is a 17-gamer set in 2002.

OAKLAND PITCHING

The A's began the night with the majors best ERA at 3.19 and lowered it.

Over the last 17 games, their team ERA is 2.62. They have the best starting pitching in the league and lowered their starter's ERA to 3.33. A's starters have allowed two runs or less 19 times in 34 games.

Steve Melewski's live GameBlog

EXTRA INNINGS

O's 1 Oak 1......end of nine

Jim Johnson came on in the last of the 9th, pitching for the third day in a row. He got out of a jam and this game heads to extra innings tied at 1. O's 1-0 in extras on the year.

O's 1 A's 1......middle of 9th

Melvin Mora led off the 9th vs. Huston Street with a double. Huff then walked. Millar flied to deep center, sending Melvin to third. With first and third and one out, Ramon Hernandez hit a slow roller to short, it scored Mora as Crosby threw to first for the sure out. It looked like he could have tried for the 6-4-3 DP to end it, but he didn't risk it.

FRUSTRATION LEVEL MOUNTS

A's 1 O's 0......middle of 8th

The O's had runners on second and third with one out in the 8th and STILL COULD NOT SCORE. They had the hitters you would want up, but Roberts flied out to short right vs. Alan Embree on a 3-1 pitch and Nick Markakis grounded to short on a 2-0. Right guys, hitters count, no runs.

A'S GET THE LEAD

A's 1 O's 0........end of seven

I'm still upset Olson was taken out and madder even to see the A's get a lead on two infield hits after Olson left. Walker was late covering first on the last one, but what luck (bad luck) for Olson, who may even lose this game. Can the O's get a run ??

Is each O's loss getting tougher to take than the last ???

Come on comeback.

WHAT !!!!

I will first guess this move, before Albers throws a pitch. Olson pitching a gem of gems, gets taken out with two on and one out in the 7th. I can't believe that move. Let's see how Albers does, but the A's went 4-22 at bat today vs. Olson. He has all his pitches working but now can't use them again tonight.

NICK THE STICK ???

He's still got the stick its just not producing many hits. He was just robbed on a great diving stop by 3B Donnie Murphy who snared his liner and then doubled Roberts off first.

Coming into tonight, Markakis was 6-36 his last nine games, dropping his average from .324 to .273. And he is 0-3 tonight.

Still, 0-0, bottom of 6th.

WHO WILL CRACK FIRST ???

O's 0 Oak 0.......end of five

Both starters continue to roll. Olson has allowed just three hits, all singles and only one runner has even reached second base. He has fanned six without a walk, thru five. He is rolling, but so is Eveland. Last inning the O's were making quick outs, as well.

Eveland has 65 pitches and Olson has 72 pitches, 51 for strikes. Who blinks first. ?

THREE IN THE BOOKS

O's 0 A's 0.........end of three

Both starters going well early. Olson has allowed two leadoff singles, but no runs thru three. Eveland at 40 pitches and Olson at 44. While the change up was a big pitch for Olson last week vs. Tampa, his curve seems to be sharp tonight.

In 11 games since joining Oakland, Frank Thomas has no homers and just one RBI.

A LOT OF HITS

Note from O's PR. Since 1954 the Orioles have 74,871 hits. They need just 129 to get to 75,000 in team history.

Which Oriole has contributed the most to that amount. I'll answer in a couple of innings.

BIG OUTFIELD

O's 0 A's 0......middle of second

Garrett Olson used up a lot of it in that first inning as Sweeney and Thomas hit deep fly outs. Maybe this is a good stat for Olson. The A's are just 5-7 this year in games started by lefties and hit .234 vs. southpaws and .263 vs. RHP. Just 3 of the team's 18 homers have come vs. a lefty.

By the way, since 1999, the O's are just 27-55 vs. Oakland.

UNDERWAY IN OAKLAND

The O's and A's are underway in a matchup, not of vowels, but of baseball teams. They are begining a three-game set in Oakland. The A's team ERA of 3.19 is the best in the majors and their starting pitching ERA of 3.45 in the best in the AL.

PRE GAME NEWS AND NOTES

The team also had a tough day on the bases. Brian Roberts was picked off first and thown out trying to steal third. And Ramon Hernandez thought he had hit a homer on a deep first-inning drive to left and got thrown out at second base.

So the O's have now lost back to back series to Tampa and LA and have dropped six of their last eight. A loss tonight would drop the O's to a .500 record for the first time since they were 1-1.

The O's picked up 12 of their 15 hits Sunday off unbeaten Angels starter Joe Saunders, who entered with a 2.08 ERA. They picked up a dozen hits off the lefty in just five innings. On the day five Orioles had multi-hit games, led by Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff with three hits each. Kevin Millar ended a 4-38 slide with two hits and two RBI. Nick Markakis hit his 6th homer.

At 16-15, the O's begin play Monday in a three-way tie for second place with New York and Tampa, three games back of the 20-13 Boston Red Sox.

Last season, the Birds went 4-4 vs. Oakland. It was the first time in 9 seasons the O's were .500 or better vs. Oakland.

Oakland lost the first two games of its weekend series vs. Texas, but won 3-1 Sunday to avoid the sweep. Jack Cust hit a two-run homer in the 7th and four A's pitchers combined on a 4-hitter. At 19-14, the A's are one game behind the Angels for the AL West lead and they have the third best record in the AL.

The A's team ERA of 3.19 is the best in the AL. Over the last 16 games, A's pitchers are even better, with an ERA of 2.74 (43er/141 ip) in that stretch.

The A's, who have lost four of their last six, were 16-11 in April, their first winning April since 2003. The A's plus 38 run differential is the best in the league.

Oakland's offense has been inconsistent. While the A's have scored ten runs or more four times, they have gotten just one run or less eight times.

They are 8th in the league in batting average, but third in runs scored. A team batting average of .320 with runners in scoring position is a big number, in fact, the best in the majors.

MONDAY NIGHT MINOR LEAGUE NOTES

At Norfolk tonight, in a game still going, Hayden Penn outpitched Louisville's Homer Bailey, ranked by Baseball America as the 9th best prospect in all of baseball. Bailey, who entered with a 2.29 ERA, has allowed four runs in seven innings as the Tides hold a late 4-1 lead.

Penn went five innings and gave up six hits, one run and fanned five.

Freddie Bynum played SS again tonight for Bowie, going 1-5.

Frederick pitcher Jake Arrieta, 5th-round pick in 2007, had another good outing tonight for the Keys. In their game with Kinston, he goes 6ip allowing just one hit and one run that was unearned. He fanned five and his ERA is 1.86.

MOUND MATTERS
Garrett Olson, coming off a win Tuesday vs. Tampa, will make his second start this season and 9th of his career tonight.

The 24-year lefty began this season at AAA and was 1-1 1.85 in 24.1 ip. He took a shutout into the 7th vs. the Rays and wound up giving up just two runs on four hits in 6.2 ip. He threw 105 pitches, setting career bests for innings and strikeouts with six.

Olson showed better fastball command than he had last year when with Baltimore and an improved change up. He also was effective pitching in on right-handed hitters.

Olson, the 48th overall pick in the 2005 draft, went 1-1 7.79 in seven Orioles starts last season.

The A's starter is LHP Dana Eveland. He is 3-2 3.67 in six starts. Tonight he makes his 48th career major-league appearance and 13th start.

In his last outing, Wednesday vs the Angels, he gave up 7 hits and 6er in 5.1 ip.

He has kept the ball in the park, allowing just one homer in 34.1ip.

In the first five innings of his starts his ERA is 2.73 and, from the 6th inning on, it is 9.64.

Eveland has never pitched vs. the Orioles.

PICKING IT UP AT THE PLATE
Melvin Mora went 6-11 in the series vs. the Angels, raising his average from .230 to .258. He picked up his second 3-hit game Sunday and scored three runs with 3 RBI in the series.

Aubrey Huff had three singles in four at bats Sunday to extend his batting streak to eight games. During the streak he is hitting .379 (11-29), upping his average from .241 to .277. Huff was 5-11 in the weekend series.

On the other hand, Adam Jones went 0-11 vs. the Angels and Brian Roberts was 2-14.

ORIOLES HITTING VS. OAKLAND IN 2007
LHernandez 2-8/0/0
RHernandez 3-15/0/1
AHuff 6-24/1/4
AJones 4-12/1/1
NMarkakis 6-28/1/4
KMillar 4-23/1/5
MMora 2-17/1/2
JPayton 10-28/0/2
BRoberts 10-30/1/8

The Angels hit three homers today, including a three-run shot from Torii Hunter that capped a four-run first inning.

Steve Trachsel gave up six runs on seven hits in three innings. His ERA over his last four outings is 11.05.

The O's fall to 16-15 and begin a three-game series in Oakland Monday night.

Angels use the longball to beat O's, 6-5

Steve Trachsel got rocked for three homers in three innings as the Angels beat the O's 6-5 today, to take the series, 2-1. Torii Hunter's three-run homer capped a big first inning, after which the Angels led 4-2.

Gary Mathews Jr. took Trachsel for a solo homer and Robb Quinlan added a two-run shot. Trachsel allowed seven hits and six runs in just three innings to fall to 1-4 with an ERA of 7.43

For the O's, Melvin Mora went 3-5, with a solo homer and three runs scored.
Kevin Millar snapped a 4-38 stretch with two hits and two RBI. Nick Markakis added a solo homer, his 6th of the season.

The O's, who had 11 hits in the series first two games, had a season-high 15 today.

Lance Cormier, in his O's debut, pitched three innings of scoreless relief.

The Orioles fall to 16-15 and have lost six of their last eight.

The Angels are 20-13 and are 14-7 since starting the season at 6-6.

Garrett Olson starts Monday night when the road trip continues with the start of a three-game series at Oakland.

Balt 5-15-1
LAA 6-8-0

SOME POST-GAME NOTES

The O's 15 hits is a season-high, the previous best was 13......Melvin Mora went 3-5 with a solo homer and three runs scored.......In the series, he was 6-11 with three RBI.........Trachsel has now exited early in three of his last four starts.......His ERA over his last four starts is 11.05 (18 er 14.2 ip).........O's fall to 8-3 in one-run games.

The Orioles have lost four of five and six of eight in falling to 16-15......the Angels are 14-7 since their 6-6 start........Torii Hunter, who hit a three-run homer in the first, went 5-9 in this series...............Kevin Millar snapped a 4-38 stretch with two hits and two RBI.....Nick Markakis homered twice in the series, but has just 6 hits in his last 36 at bats.

Steve Melewski's live GameBlog

NICK HITS ONE OUT

LAA 6 O's 5......middle of seven

Nick Markakis hits a solo homer off reliever Justin Speier to make it a 6-5 game, Angels leading. It's his 6th homer of the year and 2nd this weekend.

Sarfate comes on in the 7th after Lance Cormier pitched 3 scoreless in his O's debut.

GETTING ONE BACK

LAA 6 O's 4.....end of five

O's got one back in the 5th on a Millar rbi single. He is 2-3 with two RBI today. Ramon Hernandez hit into a double play to end the threat. The O's have 12 hits in five innings today. They had 11 hits in the first two games of this series. Their season high is 13 hits. Mora is 3-3 with a homer and three runs scored and is now 6-9 with three RBI in this series.

THE BOMBING CONTINUES

LAA 6 O's 3........end of three

Robb Quinlan hits a two-run homer to the rocks in center for a 6-3 Angels lead. Trachsel has allowed three homers today and it would be a shock to me if he comes out on the mound in the last of the fourth. Cormier was warming up.

MORA GOES DEEP

LAA 4 O''s 3..........middle of third

Melvin Mora hits a solo homer off Saunders in the third to bring the O's within 4-3. It's Mora's 4th homer of the year and first since April 15. He is having a big weekend, going 5-8 vs. Angels pitching with now 3 RBI.

O'S SECOND INNING

LAA 4 O's 2..........middle of second

The O's got two hits in the second, but stranded two. First time thru the order, they went 7-9 vs. Saunders but somehow scored only two runs out of that. They have seven hits in the first two innings after getting just 11 hits the first two games of this series.

But can Trachsel start to get outs ????

THE ANGELS FIRST

LAA 4 O's 2........end of one

The 2-0 lead is now a 4-2 deficit. Steve Trachsel, who had a 9.26 ERA his past three starts, allowed two home runs in the first. Gary Mathews Jr led off with a solo blast to center and later Torii Hunter ripped a 3-run homer to left. Hunter is 5-7 in this series.

It's looking like Trachsel doesn't have much left and his grip on a rotation spot has to be as slippery as can be right now. The O's actually got some momentum today but he could not hold it.

FIRST INNING OFFENSE

O's 2 LAA 1......middle of first

Steve Trachsel will take the mound with a 2-0 lead.

I am not sure how to even recap the O's first as they scored two runs but two Birds got thrown out on the bases.

Brian Roberts got a leadoff double but was thrown out trying to steal third.

So with two outs and none on, Mora, Huff and Millar all singled for a 1-0 lead. Then Ramon Hernandez hit one off the left-field wall, but went into his home run trot and got thrown out at second base. Only one run scored on the play. On the hit first-base coach John Shelby gave him a hi five as he got to first as if the ball was a homer and it was not. A real embarassment for the O's.

Trachsel just gave up a leaoff homer to Gary Mathews Jr to make it 2-1.

PLAY BALL !!!!

I'm on double duty today, here for masnsports.com and also working the O's radio pre and post-game shows with Dave Johnson. Dave says today is a reverse lock. The pitching matchup so heavily favors the Angels that no doubt the O's will win. We'll see. Check back during today's game for updates.

PRE-GAME NOTES

The Angels lead the AL West by a game over Oakland, and, at 19-13, tie Boston for the league's best record.

For the second time in three games, the O's offense was held to three hits on Saturday. Over the last four games the O's have totaled just eight runs on 21 hits. They are 7-0 this year when producing 10 hits or more, but they've done that just twice in the last 14 games.

MOUND MATCHUP

Struggling right-hander Steve Trachsel (1-3 6.08) will make his 6th start of the year and 415th of his career. After pitching well his first two starts, Trachsel is 0-2 9.26 over his last three starts.

He lasted just three innings last Saturday night in Chicago. He gave up 4er along with 5 hits and walks, in getting a no decision vs. the White Sox. Trachsel has pitched a total of just 11.2 ip over the past three starts.

Trachsel has walked 11 in his past three outings and 17 on the season in just 23.2 ip.

In his career vs. LA, he is 2-2 5.14 in six games covering 35 innings.

His mound opponent this afternoon is unbeaten Joe Saunders (5-0 2.08) who is set to make his 7th start of 2008.

The 26-year-old lefty pitched eight shutout innings vs. Oakland in his last start on Tuesday. He gave up just four hits and one walk. The team is 6-0 when he starts.

Saunders, a first-round pick (12th overall) in 2002, has pitched 8 or more innings four times already. Left-handed hitters are batting just .107 vs. him.

In two career starts vs. Baltimore, Saunders is 2-0 4.91 (6er, 11ip).

O'S HITTERS THIS SERIES VS. THE LAA

LHernandez 1-6
RHernandez 0-7
AHuff 2-7, 2B
AJones 0-7
NMarkakis 2-7, HR, 2 rbi
KMillar 0-6
MMora 3-6, 2B, 2 rbi
JPayton 2-4, 2B
BRoberts 0-9
LScott 1-3, rbi

As a team, the O's are 11-62 (.177) with five runs scored.

Angels score two in the 6th for a 2-1 lead on RBI's by Reggie Willits and Gary Mathews Jr. Mathews RBI in the 8th makes it 3-1.

Daniel Cabrera allows just three runs in 7.1ip in his fifth straight solid start.

Steve Trachsel pitches for O's in series finale at 3:35pm on Sunday.

Garland pitches Angels to 3-1 win, evens series

Jon Garland, a pitcher with an ERA of 5.94, shut down the O's slumping attack Saturday afternoon as the Angels beat the O's 3-1. The Birds lack of offense wasted a fifth straight stellar start by Daniel Cabrera.

Garland, who had allowed 11er on 18 hits in 12 ip in his last two starts, gave up just one run on three hits in eight innings.

The only O's run scored on Luke Scott's RBI hit in the second. That snapped a 3-31 slump for Scott and scored Aubrey Huff, who singled and advanced to second on a groundout.

The Angels answered with a two-run 6th. With one out, Cabrera hit Brandon Wood on a 3-2 pitch and walked Chone Figgins. Reggie Willits tied the game on an RBI single and a Gary Mathews Jr. sac fly made it 2-1 Angels. They scored their final run in the 8th.

The O's fall to 16-14 on the year and 6-8 in road games.

The O's have scored just 8 runs their last four games and 19 in their last seven contests.

The Angels avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season and are 11-4 in the last 15 home games vs. the Birds.

Sunday, in the series finale, at 3:35pm, Steve Trachsel (1-3 6.08) faces LHP Joe Saunders (5-0 2.08).

Balt 1-3-0
LAA 3-6-0

POST-GAME NOTES

WAS IT GARLAND OR LACK OF GOOD HITTING ???

When a pitcher with Garland's track record allows just three hits in eight frames, normally he would get all the credit. But in his previous two starts he gave up 11er and 18 hits in 12 ip. Other teams torched him and the O's can't touch him. They sure seemed anxious at the plate with plenty of 1st and 2nd pitch hacking.

Here are the sad offensive numbers:

O's have scored just 19 runs the last 7 games
Held to two runs or less for the tenth time
Have ten hits or more just twice the past 14 games
Have just 21 hits the last four games

DAN WAS THE MAN AGAIN

I'm now ready to say it. Cabrera HAS turned the corner. A 5th straight solid start. With this lack of offense he almost needed to be perfect today. He did have a two-hit shutout thru five. Every mis-step hurt. HIt a guy, he scores, leadoff single, he scores. A pitcher should get a win with numbers like these:

Cabrera: 7.1ip, 6h, 3r-er, 2b, 6k..........102 pitches.

In his last five starts, he is 2-1 with an ERA of 2.62 (10er, 34.1ip).

JIM JOHNSON, WOW !!!

This righty, who gave up 10er in his first five major-league innings, continues with an ERA of 0.00. He came in today in the 8th and promptly got an inning-ending DP ball - in three pitches. On the year he's allowed no runs, 6 hits in 15.1ip over 9 outings. Remarkable.

MORE OFFENSIVE NUMBERS

Roberts 0-9 series
Jones 0-7 series
RHernandez 3-19
Millar 0-10 and 4-38
LScott 4-34

Steve Melewski's live GameBlog

ADDING ON

Angels scratched out a third run in the 8th on a single, sac bunt, wild pitch and grounder. It's 3-1 heading to the 9th.

TRAILING NOW

LAA 2 O's 1.........end of six

Cabrera made that one mistake we mentioned below, hitting number nine hitter Brandon Wood on a 3-2 pitch. He then walked Chone Figgins and of course, both came around to score. Reggie Willits with an RBI single and Gary Mathews Jr. a sac fly. Two runs on one hit for the lead.

Now, can the O's struggling offense bail Cabrera out. He derserves it

AMAZING

O's 1 LAA 0.........middle of 6th

The only thing worse than the O's offense so far today is their lack of patience on offense. Not only are they going down often, but fast as well. Plenty of first-pitch swinging today.

Garland, who entered with an ERA of 5.94, has these stats from his last two starts:

12ip, 18h, 11er, 3 HR's.........today the O's have two hits in six innings, but a 1-0 lead.

Certainly puts big pressure on their starters, who can make one mistake and lose a game.

ANOTHER PITCHERS DUEL

O's 1 LAA 0........end of four

An O's fan must be used to these low scoring games by now. The O's don't hit much, but their starters keep them in the game.

Cabrera thru four: 4ip, 1h, 0r, 1b, 3k........51 pitches

It would be nice to see some O's hitters try to work the count vs. Garland, but they all seem to be first or second-pitch swinging.

GOOD TO SEE

O's 1 LAA 0.........end of second

Great to see Luke Scott with a second-inning RBI single for a 1-0 lead. He enters today in 1-13 and 3-31 slumps. He did not have an RBI in his last 11 games. The hit scored Huff who had singled, extending his hitting streak to 7 games. He advanced to second on a groundout.

But Luke was thrown out trying to get to second. Poor move since the throw from the outfield bounced to the cutoff man and had zero chance of going thru.

Good start for Cabrera. After walking Figgins to start the first, he's retired six in a row on 31 pitches.

UNDERWAY IN ANAHEIM

Game two of this series and road trip is underway. Let's see how Cabrera does and how the new-look lineup performs. Check back here during this game for my news, notes and updates.

PRE-GAME NOTES

Dave Trembley made several lineup changes last night and his team picked up just enough offense to win. Four runs seems to be the O's magic number as they are now 13-3 when scoring four or more. They also improved to 8-2 in one-run games. They had a major-league low 13 one-run wins last season.

Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora had two RBI each helping Jeremy Guthrie end a 15-start winless drought. His last win was July 27 of last season vs. the Yankees.

The O's begin play today tied for second with Tampa, one game back of division-leading Boston.

The Angels have lost two in a row since they were a season-high seven games over .500 at 18-11. They are now 2-3 on a seven-game homestand. Since beginning the season at 6-6, the Halos are 12-7.

MOUND MATTERS
Daniel Cabrera (2-0 4.14) makes his 7th start of 2008 today. Since allowing 10 runs in his first two outings of the year, he is 2-0 2.33 over his past four starts, giving up 7er over 27 ip.

Monday, he did not get a decision in Chicago in the game that was suspended in a tie after 11 innings. That afternoon, he pitched 6.1ip, allowing only two runs on four hits. He did walk seven and struck out two. He has allowed 2er or less four straight starts.

Not bad for a pitcher who last year led the league in losses, earned runs and walks.

If it seems like Cabrera has been solid pitching out of jams this year, he has and some stats bear that out. He is giving up a batting average of just .161 this year when pitching with runners in scoring position.

In three road starts, he is 1-0 2.14

In two games vs. the Angels last season, he went 0-2 9.00. His career mark vs. the Halos is 2-3 6.55 in 33 innings.

His opponent today is Jon Garland. He is 3-3 5.94 in 6 starts in 2008. He makes his 230th career start.

Last season Garland went 1-0 2.57 in one outing vs. the Birds and his career record vs. Baltimore is 5-2 4.50 (23er in 46ip) in 7 starts.

ORIOLES HITTERS VS. GARLAND
LHernanez 0-1
RHernandez 6-15, HR
Huff 4-20, HR
Markakis 3-6, 2B, 3B
Millar 6-17, 3 2B
Mora 7-19
Payton 2-6
Roberts 6-16
Scott 1-3, 2B

SHERRILL THE SAVER
George Sherrill picked up his 11th save last night. That ties him for the AL lead and he's doing it in his first Orioles season.

Here are the three highest save totals by a first-year Oriole:

Lee Smith, 33 in 1994
Randy Myers 31 in 1996
Stu Miller 27 in 1963

Jeremy Guthrie pitched seven solid innings to get his first win of the season as the O's beat the Angels 4-3. Guthrie allowed just two runs on three hits and is now 1-3.

Nick Markakis homered and knocked in two. Melvin Mora went 2-3 with two RBI.

Losing pitcher Jered Weaver allowed four runs over seven innings.

The Birds are now 16-13 and improve to 8-2 in one-run games.

GUTHRIE PITCHES THE O'S PAST THE ANGELS, 4-3

Jeremy Guthrie pitched seven very strong innings as the Orioles beat the LA Angels, 4-3, to start the season's longest road trip off on a winning note.

It's Guthrie's first win of the season and ended his personal 15-start winless streak. His last win came on July 27, 2007 vs. the Yankees. Tonight he allowed just two runs on three hits, all singles. He walked two and fanned six in improving to 1-3 4.06.

George Sherrill allowed a run in the last of the ninth, but got out of a jam to record his 11th save.

The O's, who had lost four of five, improve to 16-13 and 6-7 in road contests. They are now 8-2 in one-run contests.

Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora had two RBI each as the O's improved to 13-3 when they score four or more runs.

Dave Trembley shook up his lineup tonight, moving five players to different spots in the order. Markakis, who batted second, hit a first-inning solo homer and later added a double and RBI groundout.

Mora, who batted third, went 2-3 with a walk and stolen base.

Mora and Markakis knocked in runs in the third as the O's scored twice to break a 1-1 tie. Brian Roberts went 0-5, ending his 11-game hitting streak.

The Angels, who had won six of nine games, fall to 18-13.

POST-GAME NOTES

LINEUP CHANGES

Markakis hit second, Mora third, Huff fourth, Ramon fifth and Millar sixth. The shake up worked for two of them as Markakis came up with his 4th two-RBI game and Mora his 5th. Markakis, who entered in a 3-24 slide, had just one RBI in his previous seven games. With a homer and double, this was the first game on the season where Nick had more than one extra-base hit.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE

The O's played error-free ball and several players, including Roberts, Mora and Jones made big defensive plays. They are all big in a close game. Luis Hernandez made a nice play on Vladdy Guerrero's hi chopper to short in the 8th. Adam Jones made a diving catch in center in the 6th on which he seemed to injure his left wrist. He stayed in the game and hopefully, will be fine.

THE NUMBER ONE STAR

It had to be Guthrie edging out Mora and Markakis. He never got discouraged with the lack of offense he's been dealing with and tonight recorded his 5th quality outing in seven starts. The Angels began the night tied for first in the league in batting average, but they went just 3-24 vs. Guthrie. He gave up two singles in the first and just one more after that. His last win was July 27 of last season, 16 starts ago.

THE NERVOUS NINTH

Was your heart pounding in the last of the 9th ??? George Sherrill allowed two singles to start the frame and then Aybar hit a grouder to third, Mora threw home but the runner, Torii Hunter was safe. After a sac bunt, the Angels has second and third with just one out, down now 4-3.

Sherrill then got pinch-hitter Juan Rivera to pop to Millar at first. Then he intentionally walked Chone Figgins to load them up. Then Reggie Willits popped up a curve ball, Roberts caught it and Sherrill got out of it with two big-time outs.

The O's are 8-2 in one-run games, this might have been the toughest to pull out.

FINAL NOTES

Brian Roberts went 0-5 with two strikeouts, ending his 11-game hitting streak.........Aubrey Huff's double in the 9th extends his batting steak to six.........Vladimir Guerrero went 0-4 and is now 7-40 his last 12 games...........Jered Weaver entered with 0 runs allowed in 14 career IP vs. the O's, but this time allowed four runs over seven innings.....The Angels are now 12-7 since their 6-6 start..............O's improve to 8-3 vs. AL West teams............Chone Figgins, who hit .538 vs. the O's last year, went 0-3 with two walks and a run scored...........Saturday's game will be televised by Fox and starts at 3:40 pm eastern time.

Steve Melewski's live GameBlog

PITCHING CHANGE

Guthrie is out after his 109-pitch outing. Chad Bradford comes on in the 8th.

Guthrie's line: 7ip, 3h, 2r-er, 2b, 6k......109 pitches, 70 strikes.

He lowered his ERA to 4.06

GUTHRIE WANTS IT

O's 4 LAA 2........end of seven

Turns out Guthrie pitches pretty well with a lead. Who knew ? He's pitching a 3-hitter tonight and has had four 1-2-3 frames. He has 109 pitches but I wouldn't have a problem with him coming out for the 8th.

O's are 9-0 this year when leading after seven and 10-0 with lead after eight.

THAT LEADOFF WALK THING

O's 4 LAA 2.............end of six

Guthrie has walked just two, but both were leadoff walks that scored. This one should not have though. With a man on first and one out in the 6th, Casey Kotchman hit a comebacker to Guthrie. Should have been an easy 1-6-3 DP. But the ball popped out of Guthrie's mitt and he got just the runner at first.

Given a fourth out (not really) of course Torii Hunter hit a seeing-eye single to center to score a run and make it 4-2.

Moments later, Hunter embarrased the O's when he stole second while Guthrie had the ball on the mound. Neither the pitcher or middle infielders reacted as Hunter just ran for second and slid in. He could have gone in standing. That brought Dave Trembley to the top of the dugout steps. Guthrie then got Garrett Anderson to ground out on a nice play by Millar. Inning finally over, O's up by two.

TWO OUT RALLY

O's 4 LAA 1............middle of 5th

With two out and none on in the 5th, Markakis doubled to left, his second hit. Then Mora waited on a curve ball and sliced it into left center for an RBI hit and 4-1 lead.

It's Mora's fifth 2-RBI game and he now has 16 on the year.

GUTHRIE, O'S STILL LEADING

O's 3 LAA 1.......end of four

Guthrie pitching a 2-hitter thru four. He hit a batter in the fourth, but has retired 10 of the last 11 hitters as the O's maintain a two-run lead. He has thrown 61 pitches to date.

THE BOTTOM OF THE ORDER COMES THRU

O's 3 LAA 1...........middle of third

The O's used a bloop and a bunt to take a 3-1 lead. Jay Payton walked leading off the third, and nine hitter Luis Hernandez blooped a hit over shortstop. A grounder advanced the runners and Markakis groundout scored Payton for 2-1.

Then Melvin Mora bunted one in the air, but it fell to the grass about halfway up the third base line, for an RBI bunt hit.

Again, great to see Guthrie get a lead to work with.

MACPHAIL SAYS

The O's president, Andy MacPhail, was on the MASN telecast during the second inning. Among his comments, he said Adam Loewen would see Dr. Andrews this Monday. He said all the tests on Loewen have come back fine so far.

He said what most pleased him to this point was seeing the Birds among the league leaders in comeback wins, saying the team showed "grit and character."

He said for now the O's need the extra arm and thus, the 13-pitcher staff.

He was asked about the O's crazy schedule, but said every team complains about its schedule.

LEADOFF WALK

O's 1 LAA 1...........end of one

They say the leadoff walk almost always comes around to score. It seems that way when an O's hurler is out there. Guthrie gave one up in the first to Chone Figgins, who promptly stole second. Two outs later he was still there, but Casey Kotchman singled to right for his 20th RBI and the 1-1 tie.

NICK THE STICK DELIVERS

O's 1 LAA 0.......middle of first

Jeremy Guthrie will actually take the mound tonight with a lead. Markakis, moved up to second in the order, hit a booming solo homer just to the left of center field in the first. It's his 5th homer of the season and first since April 23rd at Seattle.

PLAY BALL ON THE COAST

Hey, it's the weekend, so we're all ready to stay up late watching the O's. They have begun tonight's game vs. the Angels. A big ten-game road trip is underway. Check back here during the game as I update the scoring and chime in with some notes, stats and commentary as well.

PRE GAME NOTES

Maybe the O's will find some offense on the coast to coast flight. In losing the last two days vs. Tampa they scored just three runs on ten hits, hitting .164 (10-61) in those games. They have scored two runs or less 9 times on the season and are 0-9. When they score four runs or more, the Orioles record is 12-3.

The Birds were 3-7 vs. the LAA last year and have lost the season series four years in a row. They are just 5-14 the past four seasons at Angel Stadium.

The Angels are 18-12 and tied for first in the AL West with Oakland, after losing to the A's, 15-8 last night. The clubs split a four-game series.

LA's 18 wins is its most ever in April, and, since starting the year 6-6, the Angels are 12-6. They have won six of their last nine and are 2-2 on a 7-game homestand. They are 8-7 in home games.

Since 2005, the only major-league team with more wins than the Angels, is the New York Yankees.

TONIGHT'S O'S LINEUP

2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
3B Melvin Mora
DH Aubrey Huff
C Ramon Hernandez
1B Kevin Millar
CF Adam Jones
LF Jay Payton
SS Luis Hernandez
P Jeremy Guthrie

Dave Trembley has finally decided to shake up the lineup, dropping Millar, moving Markakis to second, Huff to cleanup. Markakis will hit second for the second time this year, Mora third for the first time, Huff third time at cleanup, Ramon first time at fifth Millar batting sixth for the first time.

I like Markakis in a run-producing spot, but I'm sure Trembley wants to see Roberts get on and Markakis get to see some fastballs. I think he had to do something and this certainly doesn't have to be long-term, unless of course, it works.

I'm not with the club but guessing Luke Scott is still sick. He sure sounded like it yesterday before the game.

Roberts and Markakis are 0-5 vs. Weaver, while Ramon is 1-5 and Huff 0-3. Millar is 2-6 and Mora 2-3 off Weaver.

TODAY'S ROSTER MOVE

The O's today placed RHP Randor Bierd on the 15-day DL retroactive to April 30 with a right shoulder impingement. They have selected the contract of RHP Lance Cormier from AAA Norfolk.

Cormier, 27, is 1-1 with an ERA of 0.96 (2er in 18.2ip) with 12 strikeouts in nine games with the Tides. He is 14-18 5.98 over parts of four major-league seasons with Arizona and Atlanta.

Bierd was 0-1 2.03 in nine games with the O's this season.

The club also announced that Freddie Bynum will begin a rehab assignment tonight with AA Bowie.

THE PITCHERS
Righty Jeremy Guthrie (0-3 4.34) will make his 7th start this evening. He has lost back to back starts vs. Seattle and Chicago, giving up 6er over 12.2 innings.

He has made quality starts (3er or less, 6ip or more) in four of his six outings this year and has pitched at least six innings four times. He can't seem to get much run support and the O's are 2-4 in his starts.

The gopher ball has been an issue as Guthrie has allowed four homers his last three starts and seven longballs in 2008.

He pitched well, without a win, vs. the Angels last year, going 0-1 2.81, giving up just seven hits in 16 ip. His career mark vs. the LAA is 0-1 3.86.

Jered Weaver, who has not given up a run in 14 career innings vs. the O's, is LA's starter in game one of the series. This season, the 25-year-old righty is 2-3 4.21 in six starts, covering 36.1 innings.

In his start last Sunday, he was the winning pitcher vs. Detroit, giving up just two runs, four hits in 6.1ip, throwing 108 pitches. In two home starts, he is 1-1 1.39. The Angels are 2-4 when he starts.

In 53 career starts, the 6-7 Weaver is 26-12 with an ERA of 3.43.

He did not face Baltimore last year, but was 2-0 0.00 in 2006. In 14 innings he gave up just nine hits while walking two with 10 strikeouts.

HITTING STREAKS
Brian Roberts: 11 games at .350 (14-40) with 2 HR and 6 rbi
Aubrey Huff: 5 games at .333 (6-18) with 2 HR and 3 rbi
Adam Jones: 4 games at .385 (5-13) with a 2B, 3B, HR and 2 rbi

The longest hitting streak in the AL this year is 14 games by Micheal Young of Texas and Boston's Dustin Pedroia. Young's streak ended last night.

SLUMPING O'S
Kevin Millar: 2-11 vs. Tampa, 4-32
Melvin Mora: 1-11 vs. Tampa
Luke Scott: 1-13 and 3-31 since April 19th when he was at .386
Nick Markakis: 1-9 and 3-24
Jay Payton: 0-13

SAY THIS QUIETLY
Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero is in a slump. He is just 7-36 (.194) over his last 11 games. He has just two RBI over his last 15 games.

Last season, Guerrero hit .341-3-16 vs. the Orioles and is a .353 career hitter vs. Baltimore pitching.

MORE GUTHRIE

Did you realize this guy has gone 15 starts without a win. He went 0-2 in his last nine starts of 2007 and is 0-3 this season in six starts. While he struggled late last year, he does have 7 quality starts during that stretch. His last win was July 27, 2007 vs. the Yankees............He was great last season in May and his ERA of 1.78 for the month was third best in the AL............Tonight he makes his 34th career start...........In his three losses this year, the O's have scored a total of five runs.......Last season, his ERA of 3.70 was 13th best in the league.

Jonny Gomes has a solo homer for Tampa. Rays center fielder BJ Upton left the game in the 5th with a left shoulder strain.

The Rays have won 8 of 9 games while the O's have lost 4 of their last 5. The Birds begin a ten-game road trip Friday night in Los Angeles.

RAYS TAKE SERIES FINALE, 4-2

The Orioles offense is going the wrong way again. Today the Birds were held to three hits in a 4-2 loss to Tampa. After the Orioles won Tuesday, the Rays take the final two games of the series.

The O's have now lost 4 of 5 games and fall to 15-13 as they get set to start a 10-game road trip Friday night in Los Angeles.

Tampa moves ahead of the O's into second place and has won eight of its last nine games. The O's had just ten hits in the final two games of the series.

Carl Crawford's two-run single in the 7th off Jamie Walker broke a 2-2 tie and scored Shawn Riggans who had walked and Jason Bartlett, who singled.

Tampa scored in the first and fourth for a 2-0 lead until the O's tied it on an Adam Jones two-run shot to left in the fourth. His second O's homer traveled 376 feet.

But the O's offense went dormant after that hit. Tampa pitching retired the final 13 O's batters in a row.

Brian Roberts did go 1-3 to extend his batting streak to 11 games.

Losing pitcher Brian Burres allowed 3er over 6ip. He has worked to an ERA of just 1.37 his past three starts.

Winning pitcher Matt Garza gave up just three hits and two runs over six innings to improve to 1-0.

Jeremy Guthrie pitches Friday at 10:05pm in the first game of the road trip vs. the Angels.

Tampa 4-9-0
Balt 2-3-1

POST-GAME NOTES

THE OFFENSE IS OFFENSIVE

The O's "attack" today consisted of just three hits, none after the fourth inning. After Jones two-run homer in the 4th, Rays pitching retired 16 of the last 17 hitters. The one that reached was on a walk.

The O's produced just 3 runs on 10 hits in the series final two games, batting just .164 (10-61).

The O's matched their season low of three hits, they also had just three on 4-10 vs. Texas.

CARL TOUGH ON THE O'S

Carl Crawford's two-run single in the 7th broke the 2-2 tie. This season, in eight games vs. the O's, he has six RBI. Carlos Pena, who knocked in a first-inning run, has 12 RBI vs. the Birds in 2008.

ROBERTS STREAKING

Brian Roberts extended his hitting streak to 11 with a first-inning single. He is batting .350 during the streak (14-40). It's the longest O's hit streak of this season. B-Rob's career-high streak is a 20-gamer from May of 2005.

BURRES ON A ROLL

He didn't pitch shutout ball this time, but Brian Burres gave the team another good start. He gave up four runs, three earned, on six hits in six innings. Over his last three starts his ERA is 1.37.

He does remain winless in his career vs. the Rays and is 0-3 9.64 in 11 career outings vs. the Rays.

TAMPA ROLLING

The Rays came here off back to back sweeps of Toronto and Boston and have now won 8 of 9 contests. They take a third series in a row for just the 2nd time since 2005. May has historically been the Rays worst month of the season, with an all-time win percentage of .367 in May.

KEY QUOTES

Dave Trembley on the O's loss

"They got hits with guys on and we didn't, that's what the game came down to. Burres made some big pitches, but the walk to Riggans was critiical........Garza was good with good velocity, but there were some at bats where we got ourselves out chasing bad pitches."

Brian Burres on his outing

"I felt good out there. The pitch to Gomes was a bad pitch. I wish I had not walked the leadoff guy in the 7th, that's not the way to start an inning.........Every time I go out there I feel good and try to give our team a chance to win."

Adam Jones on the lack of offense

"We'll go thru struggles as a team. We've got to go on the road and play good baseball. All we do is hit our pitch. There's no panic in this lockeroom."

Steve Melewski's live GameBlog from Camden Yards

RAYS SHINE IN THE SEVENTH

Rays 4 O's 2......middle of 7th

Bad things can happen when you walk the leadoff batter. Brian Burres did in the 7th, issuing the free pass to catcher Shawn Riggans. Then number nine hitter Jason Bartlett singled and on his liner to center, Adam Jones booted the ball and the runners advanced to second and third with none out.

Then Jamie Walker replaced Burres. He fanned Iwamura, but Crawford delivered a 2-run single for a 4-2 lead.

Burres final line: 6ip, 6h, 4r, 3er, 3b, 6k.......110 pitches

Dan Wheeler is on to pitch to the O's in the 7th.

UPTON UPDATE

BJ Upton left today's game in the 5th inning with a left shoulder strain. He is listed as day to day.

PITCHERS DUEL

O's 2 Rays 2.....end of six

The starters have been stellar. Burres a five-hitter and Garza a three-hitter. Burres has 99 pitches so far and Walker is up in the pen. Garza is at 98 pitches, so both pens may decide this game. Gomes and Jones have homered.

SCARY SIGHT

The Rays 23-year-old superstar in the making, BJ Upton, leaves the game injured in the top of the 5th. He swung at a 1-1 pitch and fouled it off, then grabbed at his left arm. The trainer rushed out and he quickly walked off. Upton began today hitting .293-3-21. We'll pass along an update on him when we get it.

Nathan Haynes came on to finish the at bat and took a called third strike. The strikeout is charged on Upton's record.

THE BAYSOX ARE WINNERS TODAY

Bowie went on to win that 11am start today with Portl