Arrieta's meltdown inning

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

April 21, 2012, 6:43pm

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Jake Arrieta took a one-hit shutout into the fifth inning tonight. Then he took a seat in the clubhouse, his night having unraveled like the baseball in "The Natural." Arrieta gave up five runs and five hits, walked three batters and threw a wild pitch, and his 2-0 lead disappeared into the Anaheim night. He also committed his second error. Why should everyone else have all the fun. Nine different Orioles have been charged with errors this season. The club has committed 18 of them. In this case, Arrieta can't blame his defense. This is a hugely disappointing outing for Arrieta, who was given a lead on Matt Wieters home run off Angels starter Jered Weaver. He had retired 12 in a row. He was cruising. Then the wheels fell off. Arrieta threw 35 pitches in the fifth. The inning seemed like it would never end. It ended for Arrieta when manager Buck Showalter finally called upon Matt Lindstrom, who got two outs without letting anyone else cross the plate. Weaver doesn't make many mistakes. The Orioles must hope he coughs up a three-run lead.