O's rally in ninth, come up one run short against Boston

The Orioles took a 2-0 lead today as their first four batters in the game reached. They couldn't maximize that rally though and couldn't get much going after that against John Lackey, as Boston beat the Orioles 5-4 this afternoon in front of 42,422 at Camden Yards. The Orioles did threaten big time in the ninth against Andrew Bailey, as Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer to make it 5-4. J.J. Hardy singled and Alexi Casilla pinch ran for him. But when Ryan Flaherty lined out to right, Casilla lost track of the outs and was on third base by the time the relay throw got to first to double him off. Tough end of the game for the Orioles. The Orioles' bid for their first six-game home win streak against the Sox since July 12, 1969 to May 24, 1970 comes up short. Losing pitcher Freddy Garcia gave up five runs and eight hits over 5 1/3 to fall to 3-4 with a 4.89 ERA. He gave up two homers today after allowing two earned runs or less in four of his last five starts. Mike Carp hit a two-run shot in the fourth, and Jonny Gomes a solo shot in the sixth, as Boston improved to 42-28 with its ninth win in the last 14 games. T.J McFarland gave the O's a nice relief outing today, with 3 2/3 scoreless innings to finish the game. He fanned the first three batters he faced on just nine pitches. According to Elias, the last Oriole to to do that was Alberto Castillo on Sept. 23, 2008 vs. Tampa Bay. He fanned five overall, and the 3 2/3 is a career high for the left-hander. This was just the second loss for the O's in six games this season against the Red Sox and just the fifth in the last 18 meetings. Manny Machado went 2-for-4 with his major league-leading 31st double. He has four straight multi-hit games, going 9-for-20 with four doubles in that stretch. He also extended his batting streak to 13 games. Lackey got the win, allowing seven hits and two runs over seven innings. He gave up just three hits after the first inning, and is now 4-5 with an ERA of 3.08. A win today would have moved the Orioles (39-30) to within a half-game of the first place Sox, but instead they fall 2 1/2 games back. In the series finale Sunday at 1:35 p.m., Miguel Gonzalez (4-2, 3.71 ERA) faces Jon Lester (6-3, 4.12 ERA). Lester is 14-1 in 21 career starts against Baltimore, but has an ERA of 6.90 this season over his last five starts. Sunday, there is a Father's Day travel kit promotion her,e and they'll be handed out to the first 10,000 men 21 and over attending the game.