The Orioles lost their eighth consecutive game last night, as the Cleveland Indians — who has lost 11-in-a-row going into Friday night — pulled out a victory, 4-2. David Hernandez looked solid, but he took the loss as he gave up three runs in six innings of work.
Hernandez was cruising along until the fifth inning, but Cleveland would score three times in that period and decide the game. Luis Valbena homered to start the frame, then Lou Marson drove in a run with an RBI double, and then third baseman Melvin Mora let another run in for the Indians with a critical throwing error that allowed Marson to score.
The bullpen — a source of consternation for fans theses days — didn’t help out Baltimore’s cause as they allowed Cleveland to score again in the eighth inning thanks to a bases loaded walk by Matt Albers. The Orioles scored twice in the game — once in the 2nd off a Michael Aubrey double, and then other in the sixth off Nick Marakakis’ 17th homer — but their offense has gone anemic in the final weeks of the season and could not do much with numerous opportunities given to them.
To make matters worse, Felix Pie left the game with a leg injury on Friday. It looks that the injury may be serious enough to warrant him sitting out the rest of the season. It’s too bad, I really enjoyed seeing him play and progressing at this level. Well, I hope he finds a spot on the Oriole roster next year, but with the trio of Markakis-Reimold-Jones, he might be traded.
Finally, it looks like Melvin Mora is certainly not going to be an Oriole in 2009 according to the Baltimore Sun. For most fans, it’s fairly obvious that he’s not going to return for awhile as he’s on the wrong side of the 30, has been in a decline the past several years, and since the Orioles acquired Josh Bell, it is a sign that the team is moving on.
Still, he’s had a remarkable career as an Oriole, and that should not be forgotten. Yes, he could rankle some feathers with the comments he’s made over the years, but I think the man has a lot of pride and simply wanted to win and see his team competitive. Melvin has made himself a member of community — I think he lives in Fallston — and may be one of the few, if any, of the current Orioles aside from Markakis to make his full time home in the area and in an era of players hopping from team to team with free agency, it’s appreciated among many.
