Orioles Receive Solid Outing From Trachsel

Orioles 7, Royals 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 9 -- Baltimore Orioles right-hander Steve Trachsel entered his start against the Kansas City Royals on Friday night with an 11.05 ERA over his last four assignments, in which he lasted more than three innings just once. Predictably, the Orioles lost all four games.

Manager Dave Trembley admitted that the 37-year-old Trachsel -- whose spot in the rotation appeared to grow more tenuous with each passing meltdown -- needed a good night against the Royals.

"I think for his own sake of self-confidence, and for us to feel like he can make a positive contribution to the club, he's got to get people out," Trembley said before the game.

So with the stakes seemingly high, Trachsel delivered a trend-breaking performance, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings to help the Orioles to a 7-4 victory over the Royals in front of 21,873 at Kauffman Stadium.

In the days leading up to the start, Trachsel had been working with pitching coach Rick Kranitz on several adjustments, though the pitcher refused to go into specifics.

"That's for me and Kranny," Trachsel said. "We've got to make sure it works first. This is just one game. If I go out next game and not do well, then this game doesn't really mean a whole lot. This is something I need to build on."

Whatever the adjustment was, it seemed to make an impact.

The Orioles' offense also showed signs of turning around what has been an early-season slump.

Melvin Mora hit a two-run shot to tie the game in the third inning before Aubrey Huff provided Baltimore's go-ahead runs, hammering a three-run shot in the fifth off Royals starter Gil Meche to put the Orioles ahead 5-2. Huff's home run to deep right came after Royals Manager Trey Hillman elected to intentionally walk Nick Markakis -- with Freddie Bynum on second and first base open.

"It's kind of shocking in the fifth inning," said Huff, who was 3 for 20 lifetime against Meche until the homer. "I really wasn't expecting it."

Since going 0 for 5 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox on April 26, which dropped his batting average to a season-low .241, Huff has shown signs of breaking out. After his fifth-inning homer and a double to right-center in the seventh, Huff is hitting .320 with three home runs and seven RBI since his bad day in Chicago, including a hit in all but one of his last 13 games.

"In those situations you really want to come through, really bear down and make them pay," Huff said of Friday's performance.

With the victory, Baltimore extended its winning streak against the Royals to 11 , including a sweep of last year's season series. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles have shown that type of ownership against an opposing club just once before, winning 11 straight against the Detroit Tigers in the 1996 and '97 seasons.

But the Orioles got there only because Trachsel used what he called his sharpest curveball of the year to get ahead in counts. Throwing first-pitch strikes had been a point of emphasis all week, and Trachsel responded by getting ahead on the first pitch to 15 of the 22 batters he faced.

"That's exactly the opposite of what he's been doing," Trembley said. "He's been pitching from behind and then trying to get people out with his breaking ball. A lot of teams haven't been swinging at it because it hasn't been a strike, and they force him to come in with a fastball, and they've been hitting it."

After giving up a two-run homer to Alex Gordon in the first inning -- leaving a belt-high, 86-mph fastball over the middle of the plate -- Trachsel settled down.

"I had to collect myself and get back on the mound," he said. "The last thing you want to do is say, 'Okay, here we go again.' You want to block out all those negative thoughts."