O's can't get the last out and lose in the 9th at KC

During a season where he has recorded 15 saves, several have been of the shaky variety for O's closer Alfredo Simon. He appeared on his way to one Friday. A save. A shaky one. But it turned into a loss and blown save. Alex Gordon hit a two-out, three-run homer in the last of the ninth as KC stunned the O's 7-5 at Kauffman Stadium. Simon came on to preserve a 5-4 lead and the got the first two batters out in the ninth. Then, he walked Rick Ankiel and Wilson Betamit singled. Gordon, who began the night hitting just .182, came up. He crushed a 1-0 pitch, on a 95 mile per hour fastball, over the right-field wall for the walk-off win, ending KC's five-game losing streak. The Orioles were behind 3-0 after the first inning and later, came to bat in the eighth, down 4-3. But Nick Markakis led off the inning with a single off Kyle Farnsworth and scored the tie run on a Ty Wigginton double. Wigginton later scored the go-ahead run on an error by Royals' third baseman Wilson Betamit. Markakis and Wigginton went a combined 5 for 8 in the game with four runs scored and two RBI. Wigginton went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and both RBI. He has 4 RBI in the first two games of this series. O's starter Jake Arrieta did not get a decision. After he allowed the runs in the first, he got out of some jams and pitched into the fifth. He gave up three runs over 4 1/3, throwing 102 pitches and now has an ERA of 5.47. Over his last three starts, Arrieta has pitched 13 2/3 to an ERA of 8.56. The Orioles are now 1-4 on this road trip and 3-12 since the All-Star break. They fall to 32-71 on the year. Tonight, they went 1 for 10 at bat with runners in scoring position and the O's are just 2 for 35 with RISP over the last five games and 4 for 49 (.082) over the last seven contests. In game three of this series, Saturday at 7:10, it's Brad Bergesen (3-9, 6.95) vs. Zach Greinke (6-10, 4.01).