O's Fail to Capitalize in Loss
Mariners 6, Orioles 3
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Friday, June 12, 2009
BALTIMORE, June 11 -- They had seen this from Seattle Mariners starter Garrett Olson many times before. They've watched him struggle to throw strikes, allow a litany of well-struck hits and ultimately depart a game before it reached the middle innings.
It was all setting up so perfectly for the Orioles to have the breakout offensive performance that Manager Dave Trembley has been predicting for days now. And yet it never came, and it's fair to wonder when it will for a lineup that just can't get going.
In the Mariners' 6-3 victory before an announced 12,260 at Camden Yards on Thursday, Olson allowed six of the first nine Orioles that he faced to reach base and needed 50 pitches to get through two innings. Yet there he was walking off the mound after the fifth inning in position to win a game that he looked like he may get knocked out of in the first.
Olson, who was traded by the Orioles to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Felix Pie in January and then was shipped to the Mariners later in the offseason, got his first victory for his new team. He allowed five hits and walked three in five innings, a performance that proved good enough on a night Koji Uehara struggled in his return from the disabled list.
Uehara (2-4) surrendered four earned runs on seven hits and a walk in his first start since May 23. He gave up three runs in the top of the fourth inning after play was stopped for a brief rain delay. The Mariners (30-30) scored twice more in the seventh to deal the Orioles the series loss and their ninth defeat in 11 games.
During that 11-game span, the Orioles (25-35) have scored only 20 runs, one of the reasons that they've fallen to a season-high 10 games under .500. The Orioles stranded seven base runners and were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Nick Markakis was as big of a culprit as any, leaving four men on base. He came up with men on first and third and one out in the second inning and popped out to shallow left field.
