As Their Bats Are Silenced, O's Go Quietly

ANAHEIM, Calif., May 3 -- For the second straight game, Baltimore Orioles Manager Dave Trembley used a newly shuffled lineup in hopes of sparking some life from his team's struggling offense. But on Saturday afternoon, the Orioles appeared beyond help.

Jon Garland surrendered just one run in eight innings -- facing only two more hitters than the minimum -- to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 3-1 victory over the Orioles at Angel Stadium. A crowd of 37,601 watched as the visiting team managed just three hits against Garland. The lack of punch helped the Orioles waste an effective outing by Daniel Cabrera, who allowed three runs in 7 1/3 innings.

It was the sixth straight time that Cabrera lasted at least six innings in a start. He also struck out six, though neither statistic seemed to offer much consolation to the pitcher, who released some of his frustration by working out in the team's exercise room after the game.

"I have to be upset," said Cabrera, who allowed two runs in the sixth and one in the eighth. "I lost. The team lost."

Cabrera, as he has done most of this season, leaned primarily on the movement of his two-seam fastball to pitch deep into the game. Catcher Ramón Hernández said Cabrera has shown consistent control of the pitch, a factor in Cabrera's recent upswing. Cabrera also threw his change-up effectively, a pitch he worked hard to sharpen during spring training. As a result, the pitcher didn't run into problems until the sixth inning.

"I hope people stop asking me if he's improved and all that," Trembley said. "I think the answer to that has been clearly shown. Let's just hope that he continues to go forward, and we don't look back anymore."

"He's been awesome for us," first baseman Kevin Millar said. "He's been a horse. Both sides pitched well today. Cabrera threw a great game. It's a bummer we couldn't get a win for him today, but good pitching stops good hitting. That's what both sides did."

The Orioles rendered Cabrera's outing an afterthought against Garland, who consistently got ahead of batters, the primary ingredient to his easy afternoon.

In all six starts leading up to his outing against the Orioles, the right-handed Garland had allowed at least six hits. But against Baltimore, Garland allowed only four base runners in eight innings.

"The way Garland was pitching, it looked like our best hope was to win the game, 1-0," Trembley said. "Cabrera pitched well enough to win, obviously."

Nick Markakis, who again batted in the second spot, drew a walk in the first inning. But he was wiped out on a double play ball by Melvin Mora, who again batted third. Luke Scott, in the lineup for the first time in two games, drove in the Orioles' run in the second when he singled home Aubrey Huff, who had led off with a hit -- the only leadoff batter to reach base for the Orioles.

But Scott was thrown out on the play after Angels first baseman Casey Kotchman cut off the throw from the outfield, with Scott hung up in a rundown between first and second.

Baltimore managed just one more hit after Scott's out, a seventh-inning double to right by Mora, who aside from Huff was the only Oriole to reach second base.

"The ball was coming out of the hand nice, and we just couldn't get a big inning," Millar said. "We were trying to get him in the stretch, but it was tough."