O’s Implode on 4th

There are lots of ways to lose games, this way might be one of the more painful.

Rookie Jason Berken took the hill for the Orioles and had good stuff in his four innings of work. Berken surrendered three runs on seven hits and left after giving up a bases loaded single to Bobby Abreu in the fifth inning.

Matt Albers would surrender two more in the inning, but Baltimore had a 4-3 edge over the Angels through five. Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, and Adam Jones gave the O’s an early edge, but bad pitching and defense killed them.

Albers held the Angels in the sixth, but the seventh the Birds collapsed. With the bases loaded Vlad Guerrero grounded into a double play that tied the game. Then Juan Rivera popped a fly ball up between Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis who both took a leisurely stroll to the ball. The routine out landed between the two and the Angels took a 5-4 lead.

Brian Bass gave up five more in the eighth including a three run homerun to Guerrero. O’s lose 11-4.