OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 26 -- So much for many happy returns for Miguel Tejada.
Barry Zito pitched Tejada's former team, the Athletics, to a 9-4 win as Oakland earned its ninth win in 10 games, completing a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 9-4 victory Thursday.
Former Athletic Miguel Tejada, right, talking to Daniel Cabrera, went 1 for 15 in the series against Oakland. "I'm real happy I'm leaving now."
(Ben Margot -- AP)
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_____Orioles at Rangers_____
• Where: Ameriquest Field, Arlington, Tex.
• When: Tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m.
• Television: Today, WDCA-20 and WJZ-13; tomorrow and Sunday, WDCA-20, WNUV-54.
• Radio: WTEM-980, WBAL-1090, WAGE-1200, WNAV-1430.
• Pitchers: Tonight, Orioles LHP Erik Bedard (5-8, 4.76 ERA) vs. Rangers RHP Scott Erickson (1-4, 6.67); Tomorrow, Orioles RHP Rodrigo Lopez (10-8, 3.79) vs. Rangers LHP Kenny Rogers (15-6, 4.72); Sunday, Orioles RHP Sidney Ponson ( 8-13, 5.62) vs. Rangers Chris Young (0-0, 4.76).
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The Orioles have lost 10 straight, their longest skid since ending the 2002 season with 12 losses.
"When we swept Texas we had confidence," right fielder Jay Gibbons said, referring to a four-game series earlier this month. "Now we seemed to have lost it."
It was a frustrating return for all-star shortstop Miguel Tejada, who signed with the A's at 17 out of the Dominican Republic.
Tejada went 1 for 15 in the series, getting a standing ovation after his final at-bat. He also received a lengthy ovation during the opener Monday night, but showed his frustration several times during the series.
"I'm real happy I'm leaving now," he said. "It's over."
He ended an 0-for-13 stretch with a bloop single leading off the sixth, but then got thrown out at second trying to extend it to a double after shortstop Bobby Crosby lost the ball in the sun.
This was Tejada's first trip back to Oakland to face his former team since the 2002 AL MVP signed a six-year, $72 million contract with Baltimore in the offseason.
A's Manager Ken Macha and Orioles skipper Lee Mazzilli both thought Tejada was trying too hard to play well.
"I'm not trying too hard," Tejada said. "They just got me out. It's not the first time I went so many at-bats without hits. They just pitched me good."
For Zito, the win came despite some hunger issues. Namely, an empty stomach.
"It was weird. I was airy, a little bit manic," Zito said. "I didn't eat right. . . . I was just crazy. I couldn't really focus on anything. Once I became aware I was whacked-out, I tried to slow things down, like I was sleepwalking."
Typical, eccentric Zito.
