Yankees 8, Orioles 7
By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 25, 2008
BALTIMORE, Aug. 24 -- If Baltimore Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera is pitching through an injury, he isn't saying a word. But on Sunday, the struggling right-hander's performance fueled speculation about his health.
Once again, Cabrera suffered problems with his velocity and the New York Yankees took advantage, tagging the pitcher for seven runs en route to an 8-7 victory that completed a three-game sweep.
However, when asked directly if he was injured Cabrera offered little insight. "I don't have an answer for that question right now," he said.
And when questioned about the lack of velocity on his fastball -- which started at 88 mph and topped out at 92 mph -- Cabrera was equally vague.
"No comment for that one either," he said.
Cabrera lasted just 3 2/3 innings against the Yankees in the Orioles' 4-hour 1-minute marathon, leaving a start without recording a strikeout for just the second time in his career. His fastballs appeared to lack their usual sinking movement and on one play he failed to cover first base in time, another sign that something could be amiss.
"Obviously, the ball is not coming out of his hand the way it was earlier," said first baseman Kevin Millar. "He's a velocity guy. He's a 92 to 95 [mph] guy. And when you see him dip underneath 90, that's cause for concern. Only he knows the answer."
Both Manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz said they didn't know for sure if Cabrera is injured.
"I haven't talked to him after the game," said Kranitz, who acknowledged the drop-off in velocity. "If that's the case, that answers some questions. But I haven't talked to him yet."
Trembley said if he was aware of a problem, he wouldn't start Cabrera.
"If he wasn't [healthy], he wouldn't be out there," Trembley said.
The Orioles' failed attempt to finish a comeback added to an already frustrating day.
After Cabrera's poor outing put Baltimore in a hole, the Orioles bailed him out of taking the loss, tying the game on Brian Roberts's two-run shot in the fifth inning.
From there, the urgency to avoid the sweep was apparent in the moves Trembley made.
In the sixth, with the go-ahead run standing at third, he lifted rookie Lou Montañez for pinch hitter Luke Scott. While Scott reached base on a walk, Jay Payton ended the inning by striking out.
In the seventh, with the Yankees ahead on Robinson Canó's game-winning solo shot off reliever Jamie Walker, Trembley cleared his bench in an attempt to score.
He lifted Guillermo Quiroz and Juan Castro -- who had combined to go 0 for 6 -- for Alex Cintrón and Ramón Hernández. With one out, Hernández and Roberts delivered back-to-back singles, putting the tying run in scoring position. But lefty Dámaso Marté struck out both Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora to again deny the Orioles.
"You do what you've got to do in order to win the game," Trembley said. "I thought we were going to get some hits and score some runs."
Yankees Manager Joe Girardi -- his team chasing the Boston Red Sox for the wild card -- didn't hesitate to make decisive moves of his own. When Marté walked Scott with two outs in the eighth, Girardi tapped Mariano Rivera to quell the threat.
Rivera got Payton looking at a nasty offering -- a 94-mph cutter that hit the inside corner.
In the ninth, after Roberts walked, stole second and advanced to third when Iván Rodríguez threw the ball into center field, Markakis came to the plate with two outs. He struck out looking at a Rivera fastball over the outside corner to end the game, the second time in the last three innings that the Orioles failed to score with a runner in scoring position.
"This series was not a fun series," Millar said.
Just ask Cabrera, who failed to get out off the fourth after coming into the game with a 3-0 record and a 3.15 ERA against the Yankees this season.
"Nothing is going my way. I've been bad for a long time, and that's not what I'm looking for when I get out there," Cabrera said. "My command has been bad. I'm behind [in] the count all the time."
What's worse is that, for a pitching-thin Orioles roster that can ill afford another injury to its starting rotation, Cabrera offered few words of comfort.
Asked if he would take his upcoming turn in the rotation, Cabrera said: "I don't know, what do you think? I've got to ask the manager."
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