Orioles' offense on Cruz control (O's lose 5-2)

Too bad that Major League Baseball doesn't award an extra run based on the distance of a home run. Nelson Cruz could have overcome a three-run deficit today despite only one runner being on base. Cruz put another ball into the third deck, his two-run shot off Phil Hughes reducing Minnesota's lead to 3-2 in the sixth inning. He took a 92 mph four-seam fastball out of the strike zone and launched an 88 mph cutter. Cruz's ninth homer traveled an estimated 416 feet. According to the MASN2 HD telecast, it was clocked at 106 mph off the bat. Is that fast? The Orioles have scored six runs in this series, four coming on a pair of Cruz home runs. Cruz is batting .296 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 29 games. What a bargain at $8 million. Cruz leads American League players with 23 RBIs in 16 games on the road . The Orioles are 9-5 when they homer. Update: Kurt Suzuki's two-run double off Ryan Webb in the seventh increased Minnesota's lead to 5-2. Suzuki drove a ball over Cruz's head in left field. Webb gave up two hits and walked a batter in one-third of an inning, his ERA increasing to 5.56. Update II: The Orioles failed to win back-to-back road series, losing to the Twins 5-2. Now, they're headed to St. Petersburg, Fla., for a three-game series against the Rays that starts Tuesday night. The Orioles are 15-14 this season. They're also 0-12 when trailing after seven innings and 0-13 when behind after the eighth. They're 3-9 when their opponent scores first. The tying run came to the plate with two outs in the ninth after a dropped fly ball and Jonathan Schoop single, but Nick Markakis took a called third strike. Markakis grounded sharply to the mound with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh.