W – John Lackey (2-1)     L – Matt Albers (0-3)     SV – Jonathon Papelbon (5)

At least the bats woke up.. The Orioles had 17 hits last night, but it only added up to six runs, which just wasn’t enough since our bullpen blew up again and wasted another quality start. This time it was Brian Matusz on the mound. He breezed through the first six innings, the only run coming on a solo homerun from Jason Varitek. But he walked the lead off batter then allowed a line drive single to right field to leave runner on first and third. He was right around 100 pitches at the time so I can’t really fault Dave Trembley for taking him out, but I can fault him for bringing in Matt Albers yet again while Jason Berken is sitting out there fully rested. Albers had just pitched the night before, ineffectively, and Berken has been great for us this year. I guess Trembley is trying to keep everyone in their defined roles, does that mean that Berken can only pitch when the Orioles are trailing by five runs or more? Thats a joke. You put the best pitcher out there that gives you the best chance to win the game. I get that Albers is a groundball pitcher but if you’ve been watching him pitch this year you can’t rely on him to stop a rally. After striking out David Ortiz, Albers promptly gave up a three run homerun to Marco Scutaro to give the Red Sox a one run lead. That followed with a double and a walk before he was mercifully taken out of the game. Kam Mickolio came in and he too served up a three run homer, this time to Kevin Youklis, before getting out of the inning. Alberto Castillo finally made his season debut for the birds and had an easy 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts in the 8th.

Aside from the leadoff spot and 9th hitter in the order, the offense was scorching base hits all night. In the second inning Matt Wieters led off with a single and scored on Luke Scott’s double. Rhyne Hughes made his major league debut with an RBI single with a runner in scoring position. In the 6th Ty Wiggington hit a solo homerun, one of his four hits in the game. Surprisingly the O’s made a comeback attempt in the 9th down 7-3. Adam Jones hit a solo homerun with one out, Nick Markakis crushed a double to center field, Miguel Tejada singled, Wieters singled to score Markakis, and Scott singled to score Tejada. That made it a one run game with runners on first and second. Unfortunately Jonathon Papelbon struck out Wiggington and Hughes to end it. Jones, Tejada, Wieters, Hughes, and Markakis each had two hits in the game. Nick also walked twice. Scott had three hits and Wiggington four, as noted earlier. So maybe this puts our team wide slump to sleep, but I would’ve much rather had it come with a win. Trembley is hanging on by a thread.

Player of the game: Ty Wiggington (4-5, solo HR (6) (.333 AVG))

The Orioles will try to avoid their second three game sweep in a row today with David Hernandez (0-3, 4.67) pitching against the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (0-1, 6.38).

W – Manny Delcarmen (1-1)     L – Matt Albers (0-2)

Jeremy Guthrie gave us a quality start. He pitched 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. He kept the Orioles in the game even though he left with the team trailing 3-0 going into the 7th inning. He didn’t factor into the decision because the O’s tied it in the 8th. He didn’t strike out a batter and gave up a homerun but it was a solo shot. I still don’t like the way Dave Trembley manages the bullpen. He used five pitchers to get through the last two innings, which basically means your going to run into somebody thats having an off night. Cla Meredith started the 7th but was quickly pulled after walking the lead off batter. Mark Hendrickson was next and recorded an out on a sacrifice bunt. He was lifted immediately for Matt Albers who walked the first guy he faced before getting a double play. He came back for the 8th, gave up a single and got back to back ground outs to leave the runner at third with two outs. Will Ohman was called upon and promptly walked the only two batters he faced to load the bases. Then it was Jim Johnson’s turn, who walked in the go ahead and eventual winning run before getting out of the inning. Its just mind blowing how much he over-manages. I guess its damned if you do, damned if you don’t at this point…

The Orioles were held scoreless until the 7th when we finally got on the board with an Adam Jones two run homerun after Lou Montanez singled. In the 8th we tied it up. Matt Wieters led off with a double into left center field and was taken out for a pinch runner, Julio Lugo. Nolan Reimold walked for the third time in the game. Garrett Atkins tried to sacrifice the runners to second and third but pushed it too hard and Reimold was thrown out at second. I thought the second baseman was pulled off the bag but the home team got the call. Luke Scott pinch hit and hit a weak grounder, but it was enough to bring the run in. We had a chance in the 9th but Nick Markakis got thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double and Julio Lugo struck out to end the game after Miguel Tejada and Ty Wiggington walked back to back. Tejada also had two singles in the game, Wiggington a single and two other walks. Just another frustrating loss to give us four in a row.

Player of the game: Adam Jones (1-5, 2 Run HR (2) (.203 AVG))

At least we have our ace on the mound tomorrow night, the guy who has our only two wins on the season – Brian Matusz (2-0, 4.34). The O’s will get their first taste of John Lackey (1-1, 5.63) in a Red Sox uniform.

W – Felix Hernandez (2-0)     L – Kevin Millwood (0-3)

So the Orioles were swept by the Mariners in the three game series at Seattle. We scored a combined four runs in those three games. Kevin Millwood pitched last night and got another tough luck loss. He pitched great and only stumbled in one inning – the 4th. He walked a batter and gave up two singles to load the bases with two outs then got a soft ground ball up the middle, but Justin Turner couldn’t get the ball out of his glove right away on a toss to second base and the runner was safe. A run scored and the next batter cleared the bases with a double to right center field. Other than that Millwood didn’t allow another run during his 8 inning complete game. He struck out 4 batters and walked 3, allowing 6 hits in the game. 4 of those hits and all 3 walks came in that 4th inning.

Unfortunately for Millwood the offense continues to scuffle at the plate. Our only run came in the first inning. Lou Montanez singled to lead off the game but was quickly wiped out on a Ty Wiggington double play. Montanez had two singles in the game, Wiggington had two GIDPs in the game. Nick Markakis followed with a single to left and smartly took second base when the left fielder bobbled the ball. Matt Wieters singled to score the run on a rare base hit with a runner in scoring position. But that was it. Felix Hernandez kept getting better as the game went on. He ended up throwing a complete game with 6 strikeouts. Markakis had three singles in the game and Garrett Atkins had two. Cesar Izturis also pitched in a single of his own. We didn’t have any extra base hits in the game.

Player of the game: Kevin Millwood (8 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, L (0-3) (3.38 ERA))

The Orioles finally get a day off today before heading to Boston for a three game series. Jeremy Guthrie (0-2, 3.15) tries to save Dave Trembley’s job (impossible) against Jon Lester (0-2, 8.44) and the Red Sox.

W – Jason Vargas (2-1)     L – David Hernandez (0-3)     SV – David Aardsma (6)

Dave Trembley can’t keep his job through all this. Its literally the same old story every game. The casual fans have already completely lost interest in the team for this year, having given up and chalking it up to another miserable, typical Orioles season. Even the more serious fans might to that point. On top of that, there was a point in last nights game for Trembley to make a statement. Julio Lugo grounded out in the 2nd inning and didn’t run it out at all. He was really dogging it. Jim Palmer commented that it was unacceptable in the announcers booth, yet Lugo played the rest of the game like nothing had happened. Trembley should’ve removed him from the game immediately to show that its not ok to be lazy in the first month of the season when the game was very much still to be decided. When asked about it after the game Dave said he didn’t remember the play in question. Give me a break. 2-13. Thats a terrible stretch no matter where in the schedule it takes place. We face once of the best pitchers in the game tonight then fly to Boston for three games. We’re in serious trouble and we’re staring 2-17 or 3-16 in the face. I think on the April 26th off day the Orioles will make a change at manager. They have to. And if not then, then sometime not to long after that.

In last nights game David Hernandez gave up a quality start, pitching good enough to win for most teams. He went 6.1 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out a pair. Will Ohman came in to get the last two outs of the 7th inning, including his first strikeout of the season. Matt Albers pitched a scoreless 8th. On offense the only run came in the first inning. Ty Wiggington walked and was doubled in by Nolan Reimold. Wiggington also singled in the game, continuing his great start to the season. Matt Wieters had a pair of hits in the game including his first double of the season. Its nice to see him finally get another extra base hit. Its not nice to see Adam Jones (.215), Nick Markakis (.222), Reimold (.171), Luke Scott (.186), and Garrett Atkins (.220) playing the way they are.

Player of the game: Matt Wieters (2-4, double (1) (.302 AVG))

Like I said earlier the O’s get to face on of the best pitchers in the game and AL Cy Young runner up from 2009 Felix Hernandez (1-0, 3.10) tonight. We’ll counter with Kevin Millwood (0-2, 2.89) who will probably get his third loss despite pitching as good as he has in years.