Corey Patterson scored the winning run in the eight inning and also hit a three-run home run as the Baltimore Orioles won Friday, 6-5, before 30,848 at Oriole Park at Camden Rookie Brandon Fahey drove in the winning run to overcome yet another mixed-bag night for the Orioles? pitching staff.
Starter Erik Bedard earned a no-decision after being yanked by manager Sam Perlozzo in the sixth inning with no outs and two runners on base.
“He?s a pretty smart kid,” Perlozzo said of Bedard. “He?ll just come in and say, ?I can?t get it there. I tried to get it there and I couldn?t get it there.?
Reliever Todd Williams got the win while Chris Ray got his ninth save of the season.
Sendy Rleal came on in relief in the sixth inning, letting Bedard?s two runners scored in addition to two runners of his own. In total, the Royals scored four runs in the inning as the Orioles fell behind 5-3.
Luckily for Bedard and Rleal, the Orioles were on target offensively and answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth.
Bedard started the season 4-0 and entered the game with the team?s best ERA at 4.54.
Since then, Perlozzo said Bedard has struggled with finding the plate.
“When he left spring training, he was dominating the outside part of the plate and hitting it pretty regularly,” Perlozzo said.
The Orioles? starting pitchers have overall been a disappointment and are a collective 11-16.
“I think every rotation goes through a rough patch,” pitcher Kris Benson, scheduled to start today, said. “Unfortunately, we are getting ours out of the way at the beginning and I?m sure when it needs to be fresh down the stretch, we?ll be just fine.”
Benson, who is scheduled to start today, has the team?s second lowest ERA at 4.89 said it not time to panic.
“So far we?ve hit a rough stretch with the starting rotation but with four and half months left in the season, I don?t think by any means we?re getting down on the season.”
The other remaining starters have been wildly inconsistent. Rodrigo Lopez, who won 29 games combined over the last two seasons, is off to a 1-5 start.
Daniel Cabrera has struggled with control this season, walking 32 batters in 37.1 innings.
Bruce Chen, who won 13 games in 2005 with a 3.83 ERA, has been a disappointment. In six starts this season, Chen is 0-4 with an 8.42 ERA and has given up 11 home runs, including four in one game.
Chen was skipped over in his last start and will not start again until Tuesday. Perlozzo said pitching coach Leo Mazzone is working on improving Chen?s mechanics.
“You start some things you don?t realize you?re doing, trying to compensate for something or trying to make something a little bit better and instead you?re just staying where you are,” Perlozzo said.
Chen said the only way he is going to get better is to keep pitching
Chen said: “I can?t give up right now I have more work to do on my stuff.
I?m going to do the best I can to get out there.”
