April in the rear view mirror

Maybe it's just my sense of humor, but I think the Orioles should make Vladimir Guerrero walk to U.S. Cellular field today. No team shuttle, no cabs. Guerrero went the entire month of April without a walk. And without a 3-0 count. At some point this season, a manager will order an intentional walk with first base open, and Guerrero will swing at two of the pitches. Maybe three. The Orioles finished the month of April with a 12-13 record, their most wins in the first month since 2007. That team went 69-93, and Dave Trembley replaced Sam Perlozzo as manager on June 18. This team had an eight-game losing streak in April and still finished one game below .500 without its projected No. 2 and 3 starters and mostly without its starting shortstop. And with an offense that ranked 25th out of 30 teams with a .234 average. But at least there are now six teams that have scored fewer runs than the Orioles (104). All things considered, I'll take 12-13. They're 1 ½ games ahead of the Red Sox and 3 ½ out of first place. The Orioles will face Severna Park native Gavin Floyd, who's 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA, eight walks and 33 strikeouts. In his last start, he struck out 10 and held the Yankees to two runs and four hits in eight-plus innings. Floyd is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA lifetime against the Orioles, who are batting .205 against him. It might be a good time to give Felix Pie a start. He's 5-for-9 lifetime against Floyd. Guerrero is 4-for-21. Brian Roberts is 4-for-17 with two homers. Adam Jones is 2-for-6 with a homer and three walks. Nick Markakis is 4-for-14 with two doubles and a homer. Luke Scott is 3-for-14 with a homer. Down on the farm, Double-A Bowie played the longest game in franchise history in a 3-2 win over Richmond. It lasted 5:27 and 18 innings, and it ended with Caleb Joseph's walk-off home run. "I've never had a walk-off before, so it was pretty cool," Joseph said. "There's nothing like rounding third and seeing your teammates up there happy and excited. It's one thing to hit a walk-off in the ninth or 10th, but to be in the 18th...deep down everybody was just so excited, so it was a great win for our team." Cole McCurry entered in the 11th and threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven. Tim Bascom replaced him in the 15th and threw 3 2/3 hitless innings, striking out seven and earning the win for the second consecutive night. Zach Clark starts today for the Baysox, and I'm guessing that he'll have a really long leash in this game.