By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 25, 1999; Page D1

BALTIMORE, April 24 – Scott Erickson was feeling good, and consequently so were the Baltimore Orioles. Their number two starter, their inning-eating monster, was back in form, getting stronger by the inning, blowing his sinking fastball past the Oakland A's and adding to the growing sense of confidence in the Orioles' starting rotation.

It was all so encouraging for the Orioles, few noticed the Orioles' offense had practically ground to a halt. And when Erickson made one huge mistake, the result was the same as the times he had pitched them out of the game by the fourth inning – another Orioles loss, this time 3-0 to the Oakland A's in front of 41,540 fans, who sprinkled a few boos on the Orioles when the game ended.

A hanging slider in the sixth inning, which A's right fielder Matt Stairs clobbered over the right field wall for a three-run homer, was the pitch that sent the Orioles (4-13) to their seventh loss in their last eight games. The Orioles have yet to win two games in a row this season.

"It only took one pitch to cost us the game," Erickson said. "In a game like this, you almost have to be perfect."

But in the last few days, the root of the Orioles' problems has ceased being their starting pitching – Erickson's solid outing, which follows similar ones from Sidney Ponson and Juan Guzman, helped erase the memories of Erickson's first three poor starts.

Suddenly, the Orioles' problems stem from an offense that has stalled without catalyst and leading hitter Will Clark, who is on the disabled list with a broken thumb.

Today, the Orioles were shut out for 5 2/3 innings by A's right-hander Mike Oquist, a 30-year-old journeyman who has been released by three clubs, including the Orioles in 1995. Oquist and three relievers held the Orioles to no runs and only four hits – and two of those hits came on bunts.

Oquist "is a guy we should've gotten," Manager Ray Miller said. "He's an off-speed guy. But we just didn't hit the ball."

In less than a week, the Orioles have been shut out three times – or exactly as many times as they were shut out in the entire 1998 season. The club's batting average, which stood at a mighty .293 eight games ago, has tumbled to .252. The slump is almost team-wide.

Albert Belle is 2 for 24 (.083) in his last eight games, and hasn't driven in a run since April 16. Charles Johnson is 0 for his last 14 at-bats, and hasn't driven in a run all season. B.J. Surhoff is 1 for his last 11 at-bats (.091). Delino DeShields is 3 for his last 18 (.167). Jeff Conine is 3 for his last 20 (.150).

Conine, who won Friday night's game with a bases-loaded double in the seventh inning, today stranded five men on base with a pair of two-out groundouts. For the season, with two outs and runners in scoring position, the Orioles are hitting just .230.

Erickson (0-4) kept them in the game with their best pitching performance of the year by anyone not named Mike Mussina. Fazed by a switch in his routine – from pitching on four days' rest to pitching on five – and by a tendency to over-analyze his problems, Erickson had a 12.41 ERA in his first three starts.

But pitching today on three days' rest – with bullpen work between starts and an afternoon spent studying old videotapes to buoy him – he was a different pitcher. His sinking fastball, which had topped out at 88 miles per hour Tuesday at Tampa, was still popping at 94 mph in the seventh inning today.

Tony Phillips (walk) was on second and John Jaha (hit by pitch) on first with two outs, when Stairs stepped in for the day's key at-bat.

Erickson threw seven straight fastballs to Stairs, who took one for a strike, swung and missed at another, took three for balls and fouled two back.

But on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Johnson called for a slider, and Erickson did not shake him off, even though he remembered Stairs had hit the same pitch for a double one inning earlier.

"Slider down and in," Erickson called it.

"Slider, middle of the plate and up," Johnson said.

At any rate, Stairs said he was looking for a breaking pitch. The home run was his fourth of the season.

"I probably should've stayed with the hard stuff," Erickson said. "But he had fouled off a couple [of fastballs], and we had thrown him the slider earlier. So I didn't think he'd be looking for it."

The quick turnaround between starts may or may not have made a difference for Erickson, who has made it clear he likes more work. However, Miller said he will start Erickson on four days' rest on Thursday then return him to an every-sixth-day routine, made necessary by a schedule that gives the Orioles a day off most Mondays.

"I don't care about his desires," Miller said. "When you're off every Monday, I don't see how you can divide five [pitchers] into seven [days]. It doesn't work."

Orioles Notes: Third baseman Cal Ripken, on the disabled list (nerve irritation in back) for the first time in his career, was in uniform today for the first time since Sunday in Toronto.