The starting pitching and scoring woes continued for the Baltimore Orioles Sunday in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox before 37,998 fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Starting pitcher Rodrigo Lopez (1-1) failed to pitch consistently well for the second time in as many starts, and the Orioles dropped their fourth game in a row.
On top of that, Baltimore left 12 runners on base, leaving some players wondering what happened to the offense that scored 25 runs in the team?s first two games.
“I?m not sure if it?s a concern. It?s a frustration, sure,” second baseman Chris Gomez said. “Our offense is going to be solid all year.”
Orioles? manager Sam Perlozzo agreed.
“It?s way too early to be panicking for an offense like we?ve got,” Perlozzo said.
After going up 1-0 in the first inning when David Newhan scored on a Miguel Tejada single, Baltimore failed to move runners the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, Boston scored two runs in the fifth, as J.T. Snow and Josh Bard crossed the plate. Matters got worse in the top of the sixth. Lopez left with two outs in the inning, having loaded the bases and already given up two additional runs. Lopez gave up eight hits and walked four before his exit.
“In one inning, everything happened,” Lopez said.
Lopez had looked sharper in earlier innings, but was visibly disturbed with a number of the home plate umpire?s calls.
“I thought a lot of balls were strikes,” Lopez said. “There were many during the game.”
After scoring in bunches during the Tampa Bay opening series, the Orioles? bats have fallen primarily silent since.
Facing Boston?s knuckleball starting pitcher Tim Wakefield, the Orioles struggled with men on base. Wakefield (1-1) allowed five hits and struck out four in six innings.
“Today, some of his stuff, it was nasty,” Orioles? third baseman Melvin Mora said.
The Orioles made several adjustments to their everyday lineup prior to the contest.
Second baseman Brian Roberts and designated hitter Javy Lopez both did not start yesterday?s series-ending game with the Red Sox. Gomez started in place of Roberts, with Roberts taking over in the eighth inning.
Early in the season, Perlozzo has been toying with his roster, most notably his pitching staff. Before yesterday?s game, the Orioles designated catcher Raul Chavez for assignment and purchased the contract of relief pitcher Cory Morris from AAA Ottawa. Perlozzo also brought up veteran pitcher John Halama on Friday and designated reliever Eric DuBose for assignment over the weekend.
In moving Chavez, the Orioles are now down to two catchers on the roster, starter Ramon Hernandez and Javy Lopez, who has caught one game this season.
The Orioles have played almost every game with a different lineup.
“There is a plan going on here, even if it doesn?t look like it,” Perlozzo said.
The Orioles will take on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays this evening. Baltimore took two out of the three games the two teams play to open the season and roughed up tonight?s Devil Rays? starter, Seth McClung, for seven runs for a 16-6 win last Wednesday. Perlozzo cautioned about expecting a repeat of last week?s run parade.
“The biggest mistake you can make is take Tampa Bay lightly.”
