Cabrera Wobbles, Orioles Lose a Pair

Blue Jays 5-7, Orioles 1-1

BALTIMORE, July 24 -- Even when he showed hints of improvement during spring training, the doubters shook their heads, unable to rid their memories of the Old Daniel Cabrera. Then, for first two months of the season, the pitcher made some believers, forcing ground balls at a dizzying rate, which allowed him to devour innings as if to prove that he indeed was the New Daniel Cabrera.

But since the calendar flipped to June, those ground balls have turned into line drives. And the pitcher's new sinking fastball -- regarded as the key to his supposed metamorphosis -- has stopped sinking.

The result was on display Thursday afternoon, when somebody looking more like the Old Daniel Cabrera found himself in a familiar place after a 7-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

"Early in the season my fastball was moving a lot and I try to bring the same movement to the game," said Cabrera, who allowed seven runs in just five-plus innings. "But sometimes it doesn't work. Today is one of those days. I tried to attack the zone and they're swinging and hitting it pretty good."

The afternoon had started poorly for the Orioles, who fell 5-1 to the Blue Jays in the completion of the game suspended by rain and lightning on Wednesday night. Baltimore trailed by a run before Kevin Millar's throwing error in the eighth helped the Blue Jays put away the game with three unearned runs.

But things took a turn for the worse when Cabrera took the hill against Toronto ace Roy Halladay, who limited the Orioles to one run in seven strong innings.

For the second straight day, Orioles Manager Dave Trembley publicly challenged his team's starting pitching, airing his frustrations over what he said was a lack of improvement. The state of the pitching staff has been the difference from the Orioles' overachieving start to its current slide: With Thursday's losses, the Orioles fell to a season-worst five games under .500 (48-53).

"They've just got to pitch better," said Trembley, excluding only Jeremy Guthrie among the starters. "They should be able to do better. They're not Sandy Koufax or Don Drysdale, but they're not [Class] A-ball pitchers either."

Cabrera showed only signs of regression. He labored to find the strike zone and it was clear early on that his sinking fastball had abandoned him.

"You've got to work with what he has that day, man," catcher Guillermo Quiroz said. "Hopefully, you can get through the inning, then the next one and the next one. You just go inning by inning and then just try to get the best out of him."

Cabrera allowed the leadoff man to reach in all but the first inning. He threw two wild pitches, each of which led to runs. And in the sixth, Cabrera allowed Gregg Zaun's two-run single with the bases loaded, which sent Trembley to the mound to remove his pitcher, sending the crowd of 23,329 at Camden Yards into mock cheers. As Trembley made the slow walk, Cabrera slouched while standing behind the pitching rubber.

"It looked like he just didn't have it today," pitching coach Rick Kranitz said. "To me it looked like he was under some pitches, which means he was bringing the ball up in the zone. That's tough to do, especially with a real aggressive club."

Cabrera's performance was poor enough to put him the American League lead in wild pitches, passing Boston's Tim Wakefield, a knuckleballer. He was already first in hit batsmen.

Through his first 12 starts, Cabrera went 5-1 and posted a 3.60 ERA. But since reaching that mark, he has pitched to a 6.56 ERA while his walk, wild pitch and hit batsman numbers have all risen despite throwing 21 fewer innings over his last 10 starts.

Orioles Notes: Trembley said Thursday that the question of whether the Orioles should buy or sell at the trade deadline continues to be debated within the organization, including by President Andy MacPhail, though no conclusions have been reached.

"We have discussed that, that's been an open dialogue between all of us, you know, but in the end the decision is Andy MacPhail's," Trembley said. "He is the guy who has been entrusted the direction that the club is going so it's his. Andy's always been the guy that he gets all the information that he possibly he can." . . .

Left-handed reliever Jamie Walker, who is recovering from left elbow inflammation, endured a rough outing in his first rehab appearance at Class AA Bowie on Thursday. Walker allowed five hits, including a three-run homer, in the seventh inning of an 8-7 loss.