Saturday was once again painful for the fans.
The Orioles once again found another way to lose as Ryan Sweeney’s walkoff two-run single in the ninth inning off Jim Johnson helped the Oakland A’s win 4-3.
Johnson – who struggled last year in the closing role with the Sherrill trade – threw two wild pitches and loaded the bases to give Sweeney the opportunity to become a hero.
The bullpen once again blew it and now the Orioles are the worst team in baseball at 1-11. They have lost nine straight in a row. The players held a post-game meeting, but that paid few dividends on the afternooon.
If they needed even more bad news, Miguel Tejada hurt himself in the fifth inning as he was running from the batter’s box and was writhing in pain; however, he says he’s fine, but will miss a few games.
Baltimore has lost 11 out of 12 games to start the season, and this time around, the defeat was tragic. They once again started off behind as Oakland had a 2-0 lead; however, Garrett Atkins finally came through at the plate as he hit a two-run double to tie the game in the sixth.
The Orioles took a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning as Ty Wigginton – perhaps with the hottest bat on the team right now – drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
If you wonder why the Orioles have been so bad right now, read this depressing fact from the Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec…
It was the first run-scoring hit for the Orioles with two outs and a runner in scoring position all year.
Allow me to repeat – It was the first run-scoring hit for the Orioles with two outs and a runner in scoring position all year.
Amazing.
If there’s one positive to come out of Saturday, it’s Jeremy Guthrie. As we all know, the right-hander struggled last year; however, he went 6 2/3 innings and gave up two runs – one earned. He struck three and walked one. Guthrie once again had a quality start, but his mates could not come through for him.
Jerry Blevins won the game as he pitched in relief for Oakland in the ninth inning. Justin Duchsherer, who started the game for the A’s, gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings and didn’t factor in the decision.
There’s 150 games left to go. Maybe we should not jump off the bridge — yet.
The team needs a spark to come form somewhere. Do the Orioles need change, or do they hammer along and hope the 2010 season doesn’t become a road to nowhere…
