Wade Miley on his start, Chris Davis on the loss against New York

After a two-start stretch where he pitched to an ERA of 3.75, left-hander Wade Miley could not build on that today. His troubles started with the first pitch. He walked the first two batters to set up what turned into a three-run inning as the New York Yankees beat the Orioles 5-2.

There would be no shutout or three-game sweep today.

"Just didn't throw strikes," Miley said of his laborious 36-pitch first inning. "Walked the first two hitters of the game. I was able to get two outs. Gave up the hit to (Chase) Headley and put myself on the heels right out of the gate. I thought I made some pretty good pitches to (leadoff batter Brett) Gardner, just let it slip away. Backed up a slider. Not necessarily (bad) mechanics. Just one of those days."

Miley took the loss, throwing five innings on 102 pitches. He gave up five hits and four runs with four walks and strikeouts. He is 1-4 with a 7.15 ERA in seven starts for the Orioles. He has allowed four or more runs four times.

He was asked if he's concerned the team has seldom seen him at his best.

"I feel like you always get better obviously," he said. "Just tried to battle right there and keep us in the game as long as possible. One of those games. Finished strong, but the first inning, that hurts. Puts the team on their heels and makes it tough to come back."

While Miley and the O's fell behind today 4-0 after the third inning, the Orioles had many chances, but seldom cashed in. They went 0-for-10 on the afternoon with runners in scoring position, the 10 at-bats all came over the first five innings.

First baseman Chris Davis was asked if the most frustrating aspect of the loss was all those missed chances.

"I mean, yeah," Davis said. "We had a great series against these guys. We take two of three games. That's big this time of year. You can't sit there and harp on the negative. You've got to move forward, so I'm happy that we battled, proud that we battled and we'll keep going.

"I'm trying to keep a positive mind frame. Two out of three at this point of the year. We won the series and we'll move forward. We've got Tampa next. We're starting a road trip at a big time of the year and we're going to get after them."

Davis was asked what he is most upbeat about with the team for the final 26 games.

"It is the team," he said. "I enjoy working with these guys and coming to work every day. We've had this goal in mind for a long time, and it's fun to come in here and work with these guys towards that goal."

The Orioles scored eight runs on Friday night, but just four the last two games. They have scored three runs or fewer in 26 of 49 games in the second half, going 4-22 in those games.

Now an important nine-game road trip begins for the Orioles on Monday. They'll play three in Tampa Bay, three in Detroit and three in Boston. The Blue Jays won today to drop the Orioles three games back in the American League East. Detroit won today to pull into a tie with the Orioles for the second AL wild card.

What is the outlook for the road trip?

"One at a time," Davis said. "That's got to be the mentality this time of year. You can't win them all at once, you have to go one at a time."

"We need to win," said Miley. "Every game we need to win and see where it takes us."

Adam Jones' first-inning single today was his 1,426th hit as an Oriole. It tied him for ninth on the club's all-time hits list with Paul Blair. Jones would move ahead of Blair with a single in the fifth. Jones has hit safely in 20 of his last 24 games batting .347 (34-for-98) with four homers, 12 runs and 13 RBIs.

Davis posted his 29th multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk. He went 4-for-11 in the series.

Reliever Donnie Hart now has a 12-game scoreless streak to start his major league career. He allowed an inherited runner to score an unearned run charged to Oliver Drake. Hart has thrown 11 1/3 scoreless and lefty batters are 5-for-26 (.192) against him.

The Orioles are now 8-8 against the Yankees in the season series and are 6-3 at home. They won all three home series versus New York. They face Tampa Bay tomorrow to start a three-game series and are 9-3 against the Rays this season, including a mark of 3-3 on the road.