While Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada?s power slump is over, Danys Baez?s May woes continue unabated.
On a night when Tejada hit his first home run for the Orioles since late April, Baez gave up a 10th inning, back-breaking home run to Alex Rios for a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays before 15,182 fans at Orioles Park at Camden Yards.
Baez, the much-ballyhooed offseason signing who was supposed to secure the Orioles bullpen in the eighth inning, was showered with boos after he gave up the home run. The boos only increased in volume as he gave up a double to Lyle Overbay.
Baez fell to 0-4 on the season and saw his ERA increase to 6.23. Toronto?s Casey Janssen earned the win in relief.
Tejada, who went 100 at-bats in between home runs, sent the 341-foot shot into the left field bleachers and gave his team a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning. It was just the third home run of the season for the former American League MVP who turned 31 today.
The Orioles were overzealous in the bottom of the eighth inning, when third base coach Juan Samuel sent third baseman Melvin Mora home on a shallow single by Nick Markakis. Blue Jays left fielder Adam Lind threw a perfect strike to catcher Jason Phillips to get Mora out at the plate.
After a string of sterling starts, Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie walked a more perilous tightrope Thursday and did not factor in the decision. He went seven innings and gave up three runs and seven hits. Two of those runs came off solo home runs by Matt Stairs and Frank Thomas.
Thomas cut the Orioles lead to 4-3 in the seventh inning with the 493rd home run of his career, moving him into a tie with Fred McGriff and Lou Gehrig for 21st all-time among Major League Baseball players
Despite being handed a 1-0 lead thanks to a first inning home run from Nick Markakis, Guthrie could not hold the brief advantage.
In the top of the second inning, he gave up the home run to Stairs, followed by an RBI single by Phillips.
Guthrie teetered on the verge of disaster in the third inning. He allowed a double by Overbay and then nailed Vernon Wells with a fastball on his back. Still, Guthrie stumbled into a bit of luck when Troy Glaus lined out to Markakis, who then got a tagging Overbay out at the plate.
Much of the game saw Guthrie go in and out of minor jams. Although he had good velocity, his hard-throwing style was right up Toronto?s alley. The Blue Jays, a renowned fastball-hitting team, sat on Guthrie?s pitches and sprinkled them throughout Camden Yards.
He adapted and survived, however.
“He certainly has been pretty darn good,” Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said before the game of Guthrie. “Knock on wood, his stuff is good enough and he attacks the strike zone. You?ve got to like that.”
