Danys Baez gets his 3rd loss out of relief.

Again the Orioles got off to a good start, only to see it disappear in the later innings. We scored 3 runs in the 3rd inning. Gregg Zaun led off with his 10th double. Robert Andino singled him to third. Then Brian Roberts doubled to score Zaun. Adam Jones reached on an infield single to score Andino and Nick Markakis lifted a sacrifice fly to score Roberts. In the 5th we added another with a Roberts double followed by a Jones single to make it 4-0 O’s. But we couldn’t add any more damage. Ty Wiggington had a double and Luke Scott had a single and a walk in the game.

Jason Berken just didn’t have it last night. He got through the first 4 innings without giving up a run, but he was getting hit hard. He was leaving the ball up too much and the Angels finally made him pay for it in the 5th. Berken didn’t record an out before being taken out of the game after giving up 3 runs to start the inning. Matt Albers came in and got out of the jam. He also pitched a scoreless 6th. But Baez came in for the 7th and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. We were still in it until Brian Bass came in. He got lit up, allowing 6 runs (5 earned) on 4 hits and a walk. Vlad Guerrero capped it off with a 3 run bomb. Mark Hendrickson came in to get the last out.

I don’t see Berken lasting in the rotation much longer. I’d like to see what he could do out of the bullpen. I think he could be another Jim Johnson type. And with the way one of our top prospects is pitching down in AAA, I think Chris Tillman could be in line for a promotion.

Player of the game: Brian Roberts (2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 doubles (27) (.276 AVG))

The Orioles will attempt to split the series today with Rich Hill (3-2, 7.08) needing a good start. Joe Saunders (8-5, 4.24) starts for L.A.