Sunday, June 12, 2011

Birds Battle Back But Fall In Extras

The O's were one out away from completing a comeback win against the Rays, securing a series win and getting back to .500 for the first time this month...

But Kevin Gregg allowed the Rays to tie the game in the ninth and Jeremy Accardo gave up two runs in the 11th, as Tampa took a 7-5 victory over the Orioles on Saturday night at Camden Yards.

Jeremy Guthrie (2-8) started for the Birds and was in an early 3-0 hole after allowing a run in the first and two more in the fifth. But the O's chipped away against Rays' starter David Price, scoring twice in the bottom of the fifth and twice more in the sixth to go ahead 4-3. Guthrie departed after giving up those three runs on eight hits and two walks over six innings, striking out two, and was in line for the elusive "W" but had to settle for a no-decision...

Mark Reynolds put the Birds on the board with a solo homer in the fifth and put them on top with a two-run bomb the very next inning. It was Reynolds' first multi-homer game as an Oriole, and he now leads the club with 12 round-trippers and 35 RBIs...we're finally starting to see the power bat we were expecting when Reynolds joined the club.

The bullpen, solid over the past few series, just wasn't able to hold the lead this time around...Jim Johnson was charged with his first blown save of the season after allowing the Rays to tie it with an unearned run on two hits over two innings of relief. The O's regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth, but Kevin Gregg was tagged with his fourth blown save after allowing the Rays to retie the ballgame in the top of the ninth. Gregg retired the first batter he faced before giving up a triple to Ben Zobrist to put the tying run at third. After a walk, Gregg induced a shallow pop-up and was just two strikes away from recording his fifth straight save before surrendering an RBI single to Casey Kotchman...Koji Uehara shut the door in the tenth but Jeremy Accardo wasn't as lucky...Accardo (3-2) allowed two runs on three hits and took the loss.

The O's (30-32) missed out on a chance to tie a season-best five-game win streak and reach .500 for just the second time since May 1. The Birds send Brian Matusz to the mound on Sunday afternoon for the final game of this nine-game homestand...

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