Heartbreak In Seattle

Through 7 2/3 innings, O's starter Jeremy Guthrie was cruising. Guthrie was working on a three-hit shutout and his third win of the season before an error, a single and a homer erased all of his hard work as the O's dropped their fifth straight game, falling 3-2 to the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Frustrating isn't a strong enough word to describe this game...

The Birds were facing ex-Oriole Erik Bedard, who struck out seven but allowed two runs and was in line for the loss. The O's scored a run against Bedard in the sixth inning...Nick Markakis grounded into a double play but Robert Andino came home from third on the play. Matt Wieters went deep in the seventh inning to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.

It looked like that would be all the support Guthrie would need...Guthrie (2-7) went eight innings, striking out nine and walking just one (intentionally) while allowing five hits and three runs (all unearned). It all unraveled for Guthrie and the O's in the bottom of the eighth...with two outs, Ichiro Suzuki reached first on an error. Luke Scott made a diving play and threw to Guthrie, running to cover the bag, but the ball sailed past Guthrie and Suzuki was on (Guthrie was charged with the error, but to me it was all on Scott). Guthrie gave up a single before allowing a three-run bomb to Justin Smoak, giving the Mariners a lead they wouldn't relinquish...

The O's had a chance to pad the lead after Bedard exited in the seventh, loading the bases with just one out. But former Oriole Chris Ray induced a shallow pop-up off Robert Andino's bat before striking out Adam Jones to end the threat. The Orioles have scored just 13 runs in the last five games (an average of 2.6 runs/game).

Thankfully, this horrific West Coast road-trip comes to an end on Wednesday. The Birds were swept by Oakland and have dropped the first two contests in Seattle, falling to 24-29 on the season. The good news? Brian Matusz makes his 2011 debut on Wednesday afternoon, and regardless of the outcome, the O's start a nine-game homestand on Friday night...