After blowout loss, O's get another chance

Well, at least the Orioles don't have long to stew over this loss. They got hammered 15-3 by the Yankees last night. The beat down featured five New York homers including an A-Rod grand slam and two homers by catcher Russell Martin. Some observations as the Orioles get another chance at New York less than 16 hours after that loss. *Josh Rupe stood at his locker and repeatedly said he did not throw at Martin, when he plunked him in the back in the top of the ninth. It could not have looked worse. I'll take Rupe at his word even though the Yankees and Martin surely thought the pitch had bad intent. I don't expect to see the Yankees retaliate today. But at some point this season, an Orioles hitter may get plunked in the back and we may think back to last night. *Lost in the blowout was the fact that Derrek Lee had two hits and drove another ball deep to center with two men on in the eighth. It was a good sign for him as he is still sitting on two RBIs and has not driven in a run over the last 14 games. *Adam Jones homered off CC Sabathia to take the team homer lead with four. He has homered twice in the last five games and has hit all four of those homers over the last 13 games. Jones has hit safely in seven of his last eight games. Even though his batting average is still in the low .200s, Jones has the look of a player about to get on a hot streak. We've seen him drop a few bunts and beat them out for hits this year and also hit the home runs. He's one of the few players on this team that can do both. *No one can say Brad Bergesen had a good outing when he give up six runs. It was a strange night for him as he started and ended badly. However, he threw some real quality pitches in innings two through six. If he can somehow take what happened there to his next outing, he may have something to build on. *The Orioles will be challenged today as Buck Showalter put it last night. With an 0-3 record already versus the Yankees, they could sure use a win today. It would erase the memory of last night's disaster and show the fans they can beat New York.