Even the foul lines were sweating.
That didn?t stop the Seattle Mariners from hosing-down red-hot Orioles starter Erik Bedard, who allowed a pair of runs in the first inning.
Bedard wasn?t up to par in the 102-degree heat, and the Orioles dropped the afternoon game, 2-1, in front of 17,682 sun-drenched fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Seattle?s Felix Hernandez (10-9) picked up the win, with J.J. Putz closing the door for his 23rd save.
“We battled, we just couldn?t muster any runs,” Orioles? manager Sam Perlozzo said. “Erik battled extremely hard in a tough temperature. The bullpen came in and did a great job, we just couldn?t get anything going offensively.”
Seattle got on the board quickly in the first. After retiring Ichiro Suzuki to start the game, Bedard allowed a single to Jose Lopez. Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre hit a towering shot that carried just foul and landed in the second deck. He waited a bit longer on the next pitch, and cranked it 370 feet into the left-field seats, giving Seattle a two-run cushion with his tenth home run.
Aside from that inning, however, Bedard only allowed two hits.
He didn?t go deep into the game, but his 5.1 innings were serviceable.
“When I went out to the mound, I was really going to ask him [if he was done],” Perlozzo said. “But before I could even ask him, he kind of handed the ball to me. He was gassed, and that?s understandable in today?s weather.”
He allowed four hits, while walking three and striking out five in the outing.
“I was done,” Bedard said. “The sun kind of beat me down. I just had no more in me.”
Seattle starter Felix Hernandez essentially matched Bedard throughout the game. The 20-year old quieted the Orioles bats in his second matchup with the team this season.
“He threw hard and he stayed in the zone,” Perlozzo said, adding that his club had some chances but couldn?t come through.
Hernandez ran into a major jam in the third, but managed to fight through a bases-loaded situation by getting Miguel Tejada to ground out.
Hernandez was pulled in the sixth after allowingthe first two batters to reach. Jay Gibbons singled off reliever Mark Lowe, scoring Melvin Mora from second.
The Orioles showed some animosity towards home plate umpire Mark Wegner, who called the O?s for three looking strikeouts ? two of which were on Brian Roberts. At the end of the seventh, both Roberts and Perlozzo were ejected. It marked the first time in Roberts? career that he was ejected.
“I really didn?t see the pitches,” said Perlozzo, who was frustrated that Wegner ejected Roberts without a warning. “I knew that there was a lot of guys complaining today, and they all couldn?t be strikes. So at least I took a shot at it.”
The weekend rotation has now been set, with Kris Benson (elbow) to miss his scheduled start. Bruce Chen will start Friday, followed by Adam Loewen Saturday and Rodrigo Lopez Sunday.
There is a chance Benson could be headed for the disabled list after meeting with doctors and receiving a cortisone shot yesterday. More will be known regarding Benson on Friday.
