Zach Britton and company combined to shut down the hottest team in baseball on Saturday afternoon, as the Birds handed the visiting Texas Rangers their first loss of 2011.
The O's won 5-0, shutting out a team that was averaging seven runs a game over the first six contests this season (42 runs scored). Britton (2-0) went 7 2/3 innings, allowing just four hits while walking three and fanning two. Jason Berken pitched the final inning and a third, allowing just one hit while striking out one.
Nick Markakis put the Orioles on the board early, slapping a solo homer, his first of the season, in the first inning. Mark Reynolds followed with a three-run blast in the second inning, his first homer as an Oriole...that was all the offense necessary with Britton on the mound.
Game Two of the twin-bill didn't go quite as well...Jake Arrieta turned in one of his worst performances of his young career in a 13-1 loss Saturday night. Arrieta was tagged for eight runs in just 3 1/3 innings of work, allowing six hits and two walks while fanning five. The bullpen didn't fare much better, as Chris Jakubauskas (called up earlier that day) allowed five runs on six hits over the final three frames...
Adam Jones put the Birds up 1-0 with a solo homer in the second inning before the O's bats fell silent and the Rangers' came to life...The Orioles were held to just four hits and went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position in the loss.
On Sunday afternoon the Birds had a chance to win their third straight series to open up the season but fell to Texas 3-0. Jeremy Guthrie, making his first start since being hospitalized with pneumonia, was impressive but took the loss. Guthrie (1-1) went six solid innings, allowing just one run (a solo homer) on four hits and a walk while striking out one. Jim Johnson served up a two-run tater in the seventh to pad Texas' lead... The offense was non-existent in the defeat...the O's managed just six hits and have now been held scoreless over the last 16 innings!
The big blow to the club over the weekend was the loss of shortstop J.J. Hardy. An MRI on Monday revealed a strained left oblique...Hardy will be placed on the 15-day DL and is out for at least two weeks, but probably will miss even more time than that.
Hardy provided some power in the No. 9 slot for the O's...he hit three doubles in six games this season. Buck Showalter will alternate between Cesar Izturis and Robert Andino at short while Hardy rehabs...
The Orioles, with a 6-3 record, are still in first place and send Chris Tillman to the mound tonight in New York to face the second-place Yankees...Let's Go O's!
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