Orioles can't hold 3-0 lead, lose series finale

Sometimes a team might get by when walking a few batters. But 11 is a few too many. The walkathon finally caught up to the Orioles today.

After winning via comebacks for two straight days, the Orioles this afternoon watched the Yankees rally to a 7-3 win in front of 42,487. The Orioles fall to 4-1.

Starter Wade Miley walked seven, but somehow managed to pitch five scoreless innings. But the scoreless run of the O's bullpen didn't hold up today.

Darren O'Day came on to pitch the ninth in a 3-3 tie. He walked Matt Holliday (his fifth walk today) and Chris Carter to start the inning. Starlin Castro's RBI single scored pinch-runner Jacoby Ellsbury for the 4-3 lead. With the bases loaded and no outs, a groundout by Aaron Judge made it 5-3. Later, Austin Romine's sac fly plated the sixth run, and on that same play, Jonathan Schoop's errant throw to third allowed another run to score.

An ugly top of the ninth capped the first loss of the year as the Orioles could not hold a 3-0 lead. Their bullpen began today with 16 2/3 scoreless innings through the 4-0 start.

After two straight come-from-behind wins, the Orioles played from ahead early today, scoring two runs in the second and one in the fifth for a 3-0 lead.

Mark Trumbo drew a leadoff walk in the second and went to third on a Chris Davis single. Trey Mancini's fielder's choice grounder scored Trumbo for the lead. After a walk to Schoop, J.J. Hardy's single to left-center off CC Sabathia made it 2-0. It was the first RBI of the season for Hardy, who was batting .077 at gametime.

Trumbo's RBI single in the fifth made it a 3-0 lead. It scored Adam Jones, who reached on an infield single and moved up on a passed ball. That hit made Trumbo 2-for-2 with a walk on the day and gave him five RBIs for the season.

Miley had a scoreless start, but all the walks ran his pitch count up to 100 over five innings. He walked the bases loaded in the second, but struck out Ronald Torreyes to strand all three runners. He didn't allow a hit until Aaron Hicks singled with two outs in the fifth.

His line for the day: five innings, one hit, no runs, seven walks and five strikeouts. He threw 28 pitches in the second and third innings.

But over his last four regular season starts for the Orioles - dating to last season - Miley has an ERA of 1.52. He's allowed four earned runs over 23 2/3 innings.

Tyler Wilson came on the sixth and got the first two batters out, trying to protect the 3-0 lead. But two singles and a Torreyes two-run triple followed, and New York pulled within 3-2.

The 'pen would allow the tie run in the eighth. Aaron Judge led off the frame with a solo homer off Mychal Givens for the 3-3 tie. Judge hit his first just over the left field wall on a 2-2 slider from the right-hander.

The Orioles avoided using Zach Britton or Brad Brach, but the rest of the bullpen could not protect the lead. Now the Orioles take Monday off and begin a three-city, nine-game road trip Tuesday night at Boston.