Guthrie, O's Get Little Relief

After Starter's Solid Outing, Red Sox Victimize Bullpen: Red Sox 6, Orioles 3

BALTIMORE, Aug. 18 -- When the Boston Red Sox finished batting practice before Monday's 6-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles, a cadre from Red Sox Nation encircled the visiting dugout at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Following the national anthem, Orioles supporters were drowned out by chants for the Red Sox.

And while notable hitters such as David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis received the Boston fanfare and Orioles fans came for a glimpse at one of the hottest offensive teams in baseball, the announced crowd of 40,429 witnessed a pitchers' duel -- at least for seven innings.

It could not have been entirely unexpected, considering both starting pitchers -- Jeremy Guthrie for the Orioles and Jon Lester for the Red Sox -- have double-digit wins and ERAs in the 3s. Even with two offenses capable of exploding, good starting pitching overcame good hitting.

"Guthrie and Lester going at it, you knew it wasn't going to be a high-scoring affair," Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar said. "Those guys can pitch."

Even if Guthrie's statistics were not an indication -- he allowed just two runs in seven innings -- he felt he experienced one of the toughest starts of his season. If that is the case, the Orioles can take comfort that their top starter considers a tough start two runs.

After four starts of allowing just one run and pitching through the seventh inning in the past three, Guthrie is showing that perhaps he is the front-of-the-rotation pitcher whom the Orioles badly need.

"It's probably the toughest it was [this season], as far as laboring out there," Guthrie said. "I thought I had to work hard to get through five [innings] and get a couple more."

The lone trouble spots were second-inning home runs by Jason Bay and Jason Varitek that gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead and five walks allowed. The walks tied a season high for Guthrie, who gave up five walks to the Red Sox on June 12.

This is not coincidence -- the Red Sox draw the most walks in the American League. But on Monday, Guthrie thought it was more his doing than Boston's patience.

"I felt last time, they were able to do it to me," he said. "Tonight I felt I created some of my own problems."

Part of it can be attributed to the Red Sox' patience and part to the talent of their lineup. A pitcher cannot make a mistake against the Red Sox, or the lineup quickly makes him pay.

"It's a fine line between throwing a lot of strikes and throwing real hittable strikes," Guthrie said. "It's a real tough line between too good of a strike and not good enough for a strike."

The Orioles' problem was, simply, Lester proved better than Guthrie. And he became one of the few pitchers to quiet the Orioles' bats in the past two weeks. In the Orioles' 10 games before Monday, they were averaging 8.5 runs. They had reached double-digit runs in three of their past four outings. The fewest hits they had registered in any game was nine and they had averaged 13.6 per game. They had drawn an average of 4.6 walks.

On Monday, the offense deflated. The Orioles had five hits and drew three walks.

All three runs were produced by Aubrey Huff, who is proving to be the Orioles' best hitter. He went 2 for 4 with a home run, a double and three RBI, raising his season numbers to .304 with 27 home runs and 87 RBI -- already stellar statistics, and the Orioles still have 38 games to play.

Huff's RBI brought the game within one run on both occasions. The Orioles' bullpen ran into trouble, though, allowing four runs in the final two innings. Manager Dave Trembley had limited options after using his bullpen so much during the weekend. Also, George Sherrill felt tightness in his shoulder while playing catch before the game. Trembley did not want to use his closer at all, and Rocky Cherry and Jim Johnson struggled.

The end result was a wasted performance from the Orioles' most, and perhaps only, reliable starter. Baltimore still has a chance of finishing over .500, which would be notable considering the strength of its division. But with a struggling pitching staff, it is important to make the most of Guthrie. Monday was a spoiled performance.

"Another quality start, keeps you in the game, works fast, fields his position," Trembley said. "There were a couple pitches he probably wants back, but you hold them to two runs in seven innings -- heck of a job."