BALTIMORE, Sept. 8 -- Before Baltimore cleanup hitter Miguel Tejada had stepped into the batter's box for the first time Wednesday night, the Orioles faced the daunting task of trying to make up a seven-run deficit against perhaps the American League's best pitcher.
It never got any better for the Orioles, who would go on to lose, 9-0, to the Minnesota Twins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Baltimore designated hitter David Segui walks away after being struck out by Twins' Johan Santana, who allowed 5 hits and fanned 9 in 7 innings.
(Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)
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Rookie Erik Bedard allowed seven runs in the second inning, though Cy Young candidate Johan Santana needed only one.
"You put yourself in a hole with a guy like [Santana], it's tough," Orioles Manager Lee Mazzilli said.
Santana, the league leader in strikeouts, pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just five hits while striking out nine to improve to 17-6 for the Central Division leaders.
As for Bedard, his 74-pitch outing accounted for just two innings and a loss, dropping him to 6-10.
"He has a quality arm, but he has to get his pitch count down," Mazzilli said of Bedard.
Bedard's ERA did not suffer any irreparable damage because six of the runs were unearned, though the young lefty did not leave without fault.
During the inning, Bedard walked one batter, hit another, allowed two singles, two sacrifice flies, a two-run double to Justin Morneau and a two-run home run to Matthew LeCroy.
Bedard escaped with his ERA intact because of an error by third baseman Melvin Mora, who dropped a one-out line drive by Shannon Stewart. Mora, seemingly intent upon doubling up Michael Cuddyer at third base, took his eyes off the ball, which ticked off his glove as he moved toward third.
Lew Ford followed with a sacrifice fly that theoretically could have ended the inning. Instead, the Twins scored six more runs. The inning took so much time that Santana stretched in the dugout to keep loose.
Dark skies with the portent of torrential rain threatened to wash out Wednesday's game. Instead, it was Santana who wreaked havoc on Orioles hitters.
He did not allow a hit until a leadoff single to Tejada in the fifth inning and did not allow an extra-base hit. Only two Baltimore runners reached second base. And he did not give the Orioles a free base runner, allowing no walks.
Hitters swung past his fastball and flailed through his change-up. Though his fastball reached as high as 94 mph, the change-up was the most devastating pitch. Tejada, Baltimore's most lethal hitter, could not solve it. He struck out once on it and missed several times in subsequent at-bats.
