Road trip ends with a thud: Costly error leads to loss at Pittsburgh

For the Orioles today, the ball found a player making his major league debut at a key point in the game and the result was not good. Blake Davis, starting at second base, had a grounder go through his legs for an error in the last of the fifth, allowing two runs to score on the play. What should have been the third out instead cost the Orioles two runs as Pittsburgh moved ahead 5-4 on the play and won by that score. It should be pointed out that Davis played mostly right field and some shortstop in Triple-A this year and he did not play second. But it was a chance he should have handled to preserve a one-run O's lead. It was a disappointing end to a series where the Orioles won the first game 8-3 on Monday night. Trailing 2-0, the Orioles scored twice in the 3rd and 4th to lead 4-2 before Pittsburgh got one back in the 4th before they took the lead an inning later. Zach Britton took the loss, falling to 6-5 with an ERA of 3.19. He has just one win over his last nine starts. J.J Hardy went 2-for-5 with a two-run double for the Orioles. Nick Markakis had three hits and an RBI. He extends his hitting streak to 13 games, four short of his career best. Britton had two hits in three at-bats while he was in the game and Orioles pitchers are now 7-for-15 (.467) at-bat with two doubles and 2 RBIs. The Orioles lost two of three at each stop on this road trip that ends with a 3-6 record. The Orioles are 33-39 on the year and 13-21 in road games. They are 4-5 against the National League. The Orioles are off on Thursday and host Cincinnati over the weekend before St. Louis comes to town for a six-game, interleague homestand.