O's bats go quiet for a night and some minor league notes

I heard someone say once that you can't win 'em all, and so the Orioles' five-game win streak came to an end last night with a 4-2 loss in Atlanta. There were a few differences between the O's 12-6 win on Thursday and last night's loss: The Orioles went from 16 to six hits. They went from 10 extra-base hits to just two. But maybe the biggest one was they went from 8-for-17 batting with runners in scoring position to 1-for-7. The Orioles also hit into four double plays last night after not hitting into one the night before. The Orioles have hit into 72 double plays on the year, to lead the majors. Coupled with New York's win in Washington, the second-place Orioles have fallen to 1 1/2 games out of first place. That is the most they have been out of the top spot since May 4. The Yankees have been on quite a roll lately, winning seven in a row and 17 of the last 21. In the minors last night, Double-A Bowie beat New Hampshire 9-4 to improve its season-best win streak to eight games. Manny Machado's two-run single highlighted a Baysox four-run first inning. Machado's previously slumping bat may have started to heat up. Over his last four games he is 7-for-17 with five RBIs, increasing his average from .233 to .247. "I felt great tonight," Machado said after the game. "I am seeing the ball well and am feeling comfortable at the plate. The team played a good game overall. We had some big hits in key situations. We stuck together and came through in the clutch with some good at-bats at the end." Jamie Moyer pitched well again in Triple-A Norfolk's 3-2 loss to Toledo, giving up two earned runs over seven innings. In two starts with the Tides, he has allowed just the two earned runs on eight hits over 12 frames with no walks and 12 strikeouts. Right-handed batters must be struggling against Moyer's off-speed assortment, going just 5-for-35 against him in the two starts. Zach Britton (1-1, 5.91 ERA) pitches for Norfolk tonight. Lew Ford went hitless for the Tides last night, snapping a seven-game batting streak during which he went 13-for-28 with two homers and eight RBIs. On the season, over 25 games, Ford is batting .392 with five homers, 18 RBIs and an OPS of 1.093. Meanwhile, the Orioles will look to Jason Hammel to even the series in Atlanta tonight. He is 6-2 with an ERA of 3.22 on the year. The O's hitters will have to beat the pitcher with the best ERA in the majors when they face Brandon Beachy, who is 5-4 with a 1.98 ERA at Turner Field.