This was not a pretty sight.
Bruce Chen, who gave up four solo home runs in his last start, allowed a three-run homer and a two-run shot in Tuesday?s 15-1 home loss to the Indians.
“I always said, ?If you?re going to let a guy hit a homer, make it be a solo.? Every time these guys go out, we don?t look for anything different than they?re capable of,and Bruce is going to be Bruce,” Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo said.
There was no escape for Chen on Tuesday, as he surrendered those home runs in a five-run fifth inning. To make matters worse, the Orioles made some mistakes in the field, looking nothing like the team that had won four out of its last five games.
One bright spot was Brian Roberts, who had four hits for the Orioles.
The blowout came on a day when the Orioles were forced to consider a series of moves, particularly in the bullpen. Reliever Tim Byrdak has been having elbow problems and could be out for an unknown period of time.
“It doesn?t look good. It looks like a DL,” Perlozzo said of the lefty. “I think he has some sizeable or substantial bone chip in his elbow, which needs to be removed.”
Earlier in the day, the Orioles recalled outfielder Val Majewski from Class AAA Ottawa to replace the injured David Newhan. Majewski was not in the starting lineup Tuesday.
Majewski was struggling for Ottawa, where he was hitting .138. During spring training for the Orioles, Majewski batted .200. Majewski flew in from Indianapolis on Tuesday morning, and he said he barely had time to settle in to his hotel.
“Obviously, when you?re hitting .138, you don?t expect to get called up,” said Majewski, who missed all of last season with an injury. “I?m happy to be here again. I?ll just hopefully make the most of the opportunity if I get the chance to get in there.”
Newhan was hobbling on crutches in the team?s clubhouse Tuesday, a day after fracturing his right fibula in a win over the Angels. Newhan had become a key contributor, both in the field and at the plate.
He is expected to have surgery Thursday at Johns Hopkins. He is no stranger to rehabilitation, after having surgery on a shoulder earlier in his career.
“I?ll survive. I?ll survive,” Newhan said. “If you look at the history, I missed almost two years. I got kind of labeled as a career minor leaguer. You have to go back to the minors to prove yourself.”
Majewski, 24, is certainly hoping that is not the case with him. He missed the entire 2005 season with an injured left shoulder. Perlozzo was unsure how long his stay would be this time.
