Tuesday May 31 at the Mariners

Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Outcome: W
Score: 12-5
Streak: W1
Record: 11-39
Rank: 7th
GB: 22.5

The Orioles had only scored seven runs in their previous six games (going 1-5 over that stretch) so this evening's game must have been very cathartic.  The twelve runs they scored would be the most they scored in any game all season. 

The Orioles got on the board quickly tonight against Mariners starter Ed Nunez.  Joe Orsulak led off the game with a single and scored on Eddie Murray's RBI single three batters later.  They wasted a couple offensive opportunities with inning ending double plays in the top of the second and third innings but cashed in on them in the fourth inning.  Larry Sheets led off the inning with a double and Jim Dwyer followed with a walk.  Mickey Tettleton then singled to bring Sheets in with the second run of the game and that was it for Nunez.  Seattle manager Dick Williams brought in Dennis Powell who struck out Wade Rowdon for the first out of the inning.  But Rene Gonzales walked to load the bases and Powell then hit Orsulak to bring in another run.  Powell struck out Fred Lynn for the second out but then walked Cal Ripken to force in the third run of the inning.  Powell finally got the third out on a fly ball from Murray.  Murray was the sixth batter that Powell had faced in the inning but the first one to put the ball into play.  The Orioles had had another one of those weird innings where they had scored three runs on two hits, three walks and a hit batter.

The Mariners would mount a comeback in the bottom of the fourth.  Three consecutive singles by Henry Cotto, Scott Bradley and Alvin Davis brought their first run of the game in.  Ken Phelps then walked to load the bases.  Orioles starter got Mickey Brantley to ground into a run scoring double play but then he walked Mike Kingery and gave up an RBI single to Rick Renteria.  Orioles manager Frank Robinson went to the bullpen and brought in Dave Schmidt who got Rey Quinones to ground out to end the inning.

The Orioles would get another run in the top of the fifth when Sheets doubled to lead off the inning, Dwyer singled to move him to third and Tettleton scored him on a sacrifice fly.  But Rowdon hit into a rally-killing double play for the second time in the game to prevent any further scoring that inning.

They scored three more runs in the top of the sixth.  Gonzales and Orsulak singled to open the inning and Powell was lifted after striking out Lynn for the first out.  New pitcher Julio Solano got Cal Ripken to ground out for the second out (moving the runners up) but he then walked Murray to load the bases for Sheets.  Sheets then singled to bring in Gonzales and Orsulak and Jim Dwyer followed with another single that brought Murray in.  Sheets however was thrown out trying to advance to third to end the inning.

The Mariners got a run back in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run off the bat of Phelps but the Orioles got that back and then some in the top of the seventh.  With two outs Gonzales hit a solo home run and then after a single by Orsulak, Lynn and Ripken had back-to-back home runs, making the score 12-4.  The M's would get one more run on an RBI double by Cotto in the bottom of the seventh but they would fall short by seven runs.

The Orioles went 10-17 over the month of May for a winning percentage of .370.  They were outscored by their opponents 137 to 98 during the month.

Monday May 30 at the Mariners

Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Outcome: L
Score: 1-4
Streak: L1
Record: 10-39
Rank: 7th
GB: 22.5

The difficulties the Orioles were having with scoring runs continued as they opened a three game series in Seattle.  They got on the board quickly this evening though as Ken Gerhart led off the first with a walk and scored when Fred Lynn tripled.  But that was the last of the scoring.  Lynn didn't help matters by trying to score when Eddie Murray grounded to third baseman Jim Presley and got caught in a run down between Presley and catcher Scott Bradley.

Bad base running seemed to be a theme this evening as the Orioles had two runners caught stealing over the next couple innings - Murray in the fourth and Larry Sheets in the fifth.

The Mariners took the lead in the bottom of the fifth.  Ken Phelps and Mickey Brantley led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Presley sacrifice bunted to move them to second and third.  Mike Kingery and Rich Renteria then hit back-to-back RBI singles to put the M's up 2-1.

The Orioles looked like they were mounting a comeback in the top of the sixth when they loaded the bases with one out.  But Murray grounded into a double play to end the threat.

Seattle scored two more runs - one in the sixth on an RBI single by Presley and the other in the seventh on an RBI single by Henry Cotto - to bring the score to 4-1.

Mark Langston had started for the Mariners and he pitched eight innings, giving up five hits and one run while striking out eight and walking three.  The Orioles had one last chance when Seattle manager Dick Williams went to the bullpen and brought in Mike Moore in the ninth.  Moore gave up a one out single to Murray and walked pinch hitter Keith Hughes to bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Larry Sheets.  Williams went back to the bullpen and brought in Rod Scurry to pitch to Sheets.  His third pitch went to the backstop and Murray and Hughes moved up a base.  Scurry then buckled down and got Sheets and Mickey Tettleton to both fly out to left to end the ballgame.

Sunday May 29 at the Angels

Opponent: California Angels
Outcome: W
Score: 3-2
Streak: W1
Record: 10-38
Rank: 7th
GB: 22.5

The Orioles only got five hits this afternoon but they made them count.  It helped that Mike Boddicker held the Angels to only four hits.

The O's got on the board in the top of the first on back-to-back doubles by Fred Lynn and Cal Ripken.  The Angels tied it up on a solo home run by Jack Howell to lead off the bottom of the fifth.

The Orioles went ahead in the top of the seventh in another one of those weird innings.  With one out Joe Orsulak reached on an error by first baseman Jim Eppard, who had just come into the game in place of Wally Joyner.  After Lynn flew out for the second out, Angels pitcher Greg Minton uncorked a wild pitch while pitching to Cal Ripken that moved Orsulak to second.  Minton walked Ripken and then walked Eddie Murray to load the bases.  Angels manager Cookie Rojas went to his bullpen to bring in DeWayne Buice who promptly gave up a two RBI single to Larry Sheets.  Buice then walked Ken Gerhart to reload the bases but got Terry Kennedy to ground out to end the inning.  The O's got 2 runs on one hit, three walks and one error.

Meanwhile Boddicker was cruising along.  He started the bottom of the ninth but Brian Downing led off the inning with a solo home run to make it 3-2.  Baltimore manager Frank Robinson went to the bullpen to bring in close Tom Neidenfuer who got the final three outs (although he put the tying run on with a two out walk to Howell).  It was Boddicker's second consecutive win after 13 consecutive losses.  Baltimore finally had reached double digits in wins in their 48th game of the season.

Saturday May 28 at the Angels

Opponent: California Angels
Outcome: L
Score: 0-5
Streak: L4
Record: 9-38
Rank: 7th
GB: 22.5

Another poor offensive showing for the team resulted in their second shutout loss in four games and their eighth on the season.  It was Jose Bautista's turn to have a short outing on the mound as he only lasted 2 2/3 innings.  The Angels led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles from Dick Schofield and Johnny Ray - who both got an extra base when right fielder Joe Orsulak misplayed Ray's single for an error.  Wally Joyner then knocked in Schofield with the Angels first run by grounding out to the first baseman.  Brian Downing then doubled to bring in Ray and the Angels were now up 2-0.  Bautista got Chili Davis to ground out and struck out George Hendrick to prevent any further damage.

Schofield led off the bottom of the third by hitting another single and then stole second with Ray at the plate.  He moved to third when Ray grounded out to first and then scored on Joyner's second RBI ground out of the game - once again a grounder to first.  Bautista then proceeded to hit Downing with a pitch and gave up a single to Davis at which point Baltimore manager Frank Robinson decided he'd seen enough.  Mike Morgan came in to relieve Bautista and got Hendrick to fly out to Orsulak in right to end the inning.  The game remained at 3-0 until the bottom of the eighth when Davis hit a two run home run off of Tom Neidenfuer to make it 5-0.

Meanwhile the Orioles weren't able to get much done against Angels starter Mike Witt although they did load the bases with nobody out in the top of third.  But Bill Ripken lined out to Ray at second for the first out and Cal Ripken grounded into a rally-killing and inning-ending double play.  The Orioles actually hit into three double plays on the evening with Cal hitting into two of them.  The team had seven hits on the evening - all singles except for Eddie Murray's double in the sixth. 

Friday May 27 at the Angels

Opponent: California Angels
Outcome: L
Score: 2-4
Streak: L3
Record: 9-37
Rank: 7th
GB: 22.5

For the third night in a row the Orioles couldn't get much of an offense going so for the third night in a row they lost.  It was close early on since the Angels had some issues with their offense as well.  Jeff Ballard started for the Birds and he immediately got into trouble by giving up a leadoff home run to Dick Schofield in the bottom of the first.  But Mickey Tettleton responded in the top of the second by hitting a two run home run off Chuck Finley to put the O's on top 2-1.  The lead lasted until the bottom of the fourth when Wally Joyner's RBI single scored Brian Downing to tie the score.  The game remained tied until the bottom of the sixth when Tony Armas singled with the bases loaded and scored Downing and Chili Davis with the go ahead and eventual winning runs.

Thursday May 26th - Off Day

The Orioles were off on this date while they prepared to open a three game series against the Angels in Anaheim.

Wednesday May 25 at the Athletics

Opponent: Oakland Athletics
Outcome: L
Score: 1-8
Streak: L2
Record: 9-36
Rank: 7th
GB: 21.5

Mark Williamson started this evening for the Orioles and like Jay Tibbs the night before he didn't have it.  Unlike Tibbs however manager Frank Robinson left him in the game to absorb a pounding by Oakland's offense.  Oakland got on the board in the bottom of the first on a two run home run by Dave Parker.  The A's doubled their lead to 4-0 when Mike Gallego singled to score Dave Henderson and Ron Hassey in the bottom of the second.  The Orioles got their only run off of Bob Welch in the top of the fifth when Rick Schu hit an RBI single to score Terry Kennedy.  Oakland completed their scoring in the bottom of the sixth.  Dave Henderson had a two run home run and Stan Javier had a two RBI single.  The A's might have picked up some more runs but Javier was thrown out trying to extend his single into a double by center fielder Ken Gerhart.

Williamson ended up throwing a complete game loss, giving up eight runs on nine hits (including two home runs and three doubles) and two walks while striking out seven.  The outing caused his ERA to jump over half a run - from 4.44 to 5.06.  It was his fourth consecutive loss and would knock him out of the starting rotation until September.

Tuesday May 24 at the Athletics

Opponent: Oakland Athletics
Outcome: L
Score: 0-6
Streak: L1
Record: 9-35
Rank: 7th
GB: 20.5

And just like that the Orioles winning streak came to an end.  Jay Tibbs started this evening and he didn't have it (which was somewhat surprising as Tibbs had probably been the O's best starter so far this season - he came into this game with a 2-0 record and the team was 3-1 in his four starts).  Carney Lansford set the tone of the game when he led off the bottom of the first with a double but Tibbs managed to get out of the inning without giving up a run.  He got the first two outs in the bottom of the second as well before the wheels fell off.  A walk to Dave Henderson, a Mike Gallego single and a Walt Weiss double brought in the first run of the game.  Lansford hit a single that brought both Gallego and Weiss in and he moved to second when right fielder Keith Hughes overthrew the plate attempting to get Weiss.  When Stan Javier singled for the fifth consecutive Athletic to reach base, manager Frank Robinson had seen enough - especially since the meat of Oakland's lineup (Jose Canseco, Dave Parker and Mark McGwire) was coming up next.  He went to the bullpen and Doug Sisk came in and Canseco to ground out to end the damage at only three runs.

Those three runs would be enough though as the Orioles could get nothing going against Oakland starter Steve Ontiveros.  He went seven innings and held the Birds to only four singles and two walks.  Greg Caderet came in for the last two innings and held the Orioles offense to only a single walk.  Meanwhile the A's scored three more runs on RBI singles by Henderson (bottom of the third), Parker (bottom of the eighth) and Ron Hassey (bottom of the eighth) to extend their lead to 6-0.

One positive for the Orioles pitching staff was that despite giving up 16 hits to the powerful Oakland lineup, 14 of those hits were singles.  The only extra base hits tonight were the two doubles by Lansford.  This was not a trend that would continue.

Monday May 23 at the Athletics

Opponent: Oakland Athletics
Outcome: W
Score: 7-3
Streak: W3
Record: 9-34
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.5

For the second time in 10 days the Orioles were opening a series against the Oakland Athletics, the team with the best record in the American League.  The A's had only gone 5-4 in that period but they still had a 7 1/2 game lead over the second place Texas Rangers and still had the second best record in all of baseball.  Dave Stewart was starting for Oakland this night - 10 days earlier the Orioles had dealt him his first loss of the season although he still pitched a complete game.

Lightning stuck twice this evening as the Orioles again defeated Stewart despite him throwing a complete game against them.  Baltimore exploded for four runs in the top of the second when Eddie Murray hit a single to lead off and Larry Sheets followed with a double.  A Jim Dwyer single scored Murray and an RBI ground out by Mickey Tettleton scored Sheets - Dwyer was forced at second but an errant throw by Oakland shortstop Walt Weiss not only kept the A's from doubling up Tettleton but allowed him to reach second.  Tettleton then scored when Rick Schu doubled down the left field line.  Schu then moved to third when Stewart threw a wild pitch to Bill Ripken.  Ripken then executed a suicide squeeze but that scored Schu with the fourth run of the inning.  A two run home run by Cal Ripken in the next inning would make the score 6-0.

Mike Boddicker had started for the O's and he ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the third when Dave Henderson led off with a double.  Carney Lansford brought him in with a two out single a couple batters later and when Dave Parker followed up with another single it looked like Oakland might be getting their offense into gear.  But Boddicker struck out Jose Canseco to end the inning without any further trouble.

Boddicker was actually pitching pretty well this evening - through five innings he'd only given up four hits (three of those in the third inning) and walked one against one of the best offenses in baseball.  He'd struck out four and had only thrown 71 pitches but for some reason O's manager Frank Robinson pulled him after five innings despite having a 6-1 lead.  The only explanation that I can think of is that since Boddicker had lost his previous 13 decisions going back to the 1987 season Robinson wanted to make sure Boddicker would be in line for the win and couldn't lose the game.  Not to mention that Boddicker was also going on three days rest having pitched the opener of the disastrous double header against the Angels the previous Thursday.

Dave Schmidt went to the mound in the bottom of the sixth for the O's and made everyone immediately second guess the pitching change when Lansford led off with a single and Parker followed with an RBI double.  But Schmidt retired Canseco, Mark McGwire and Ron Hassey to keep the lead at 6-2 and the Orioles got the run back a couple innings later when Fred Lynn led off the eighth with a home run.  Schmidt faced the minimum number of batters in the seventh and eighth - the only blemish was when he hit Don Baylor to open the bottom of the seventh but Baylor was erased on an inning ending double play two batters later. 

Things got a little dicey in the bottom of the ninth however and the memories of the bullpen meltdowns from the previous week weighed heavily on everyones' minds.  Canseco led off the inning with his 11th home run of the season but Schmidt got the next two batters (McGwire and Hassey) out.  But Baylor and Henderson hit back to back singles to keep the game alive.  Robinson then went to the bullpen and brought Tom Neidenfuer in who promptly hit pinch hitter Doug Jennings to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Ed Jurak who was pinch hitting for Weiss.  Neidenfuer got Jurak to hit a ground ball to Cal Ripken who threw to his brother Bill at second to force Jennings for the final out.

After not having won back-to-back games all season, the Orioles had now won three in a row.  More importantly, Mike Boddicker had won his first game since defeating these same Oakland A's on September 4th, 1987 - a period of 262 days.

Sunday May 22 vs the Mariners

Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Outcome: W
Score: 7-2
Streak: W2
Record: 8-34
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.5

The Orioles used a pair of two run home runs off Seattle starter Mike Moore - one by Larry Sheets in the bottom of the fourth and the other by Cal Ripken in the bottom of the fifth - to get out to a 4-0 lead.  The Mariners cut that lead in half in the top of the seventh with a two run home run of their own by Mickey Brantley.  The Birds came back with three more runs in the bottom of the eighth with another one of those bizarre innings that they were usually on the other end of.  Sheets led off the inning with a single off Seattle reliever Jerry Reed and manager Frank Robinson (I'm pretty sure he was back by now) put Ken Gerhart in the game to run for him.  Reed then walked Jim Dwyer to put runners on first and second.  Mickey Tettleton then bunted back to the pitcher and the Mariners somehow failed to get an out anywhere on the play - Tettleton got credited with a sacrifice but the play was scored a fielders choice and the bases were now loaded.  Reed then hit Rene Gonzales with a pitch to force in a run.  After Bill Ripken lined out to second baseman Rick Renteria for the first out of the inning, Seattle manager Dick Williams (a Hall Of Fame manager in the last few weeks of his career) went to his bullpen and brought in Rod Scurry.  Scurry committed a balk on his second pitch to Keith Hughes which brought Dwyer in with the second run of the inning.  Hughes then hit a sacrifice fly to score Tettleton with the third and final run of the inning which ended a batter later when Fred Lynn struck out.  So that's three runs on one hit, one walk and no errors.

This was the first time all season that the Orioles had won two games in a row.  After the game they left for a 10 day, 9 game West Coast road trip.  Would they be able to build on this success?

Saturday May 21 vs the Mariners

Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Outcome: W
Score: 3-1
Streak: W1
Record: 7-34
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.5

After the previous couple games it was a nice turn of events for the Orioles to win a game due to the other team's bullpen falling apart although to be fair it wasn't quite as spectacular as the Orioles' Thursday night had been.

Jeff Ballard had been called up from Triple A Rochester to make tonight's start and while it wasn't a start to write home about, he did hold the Mariners to a single run.  He gave up 10 hits in 8 1/3 innings however although he was helped out by the three double plays that they Mariners hit into.

The Orioles got on the board first in the bottom of the second when Larry Sheets knocked in Eddie Murray with a double.  The Mariners tied it up in the top of the sixth when Rey Quinones doubled to score Glenn Wilson.  It could have been worse but Dave Valle was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on Quinones' double.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth.  Seattle reliever Dennis Powell (who had taken over for starter Scott Bankhead the previous inning) walked Bill Ripken to start the inning.  Keith Hughes then tripled to put the Orioles ahead and Fred Lynn singled to knock Hughes in with an insurance run.  Seattle went to their bullpen and replaced Powell with Julio Solano who got out of the inning without giving up any more runs but the damage was done.  Ballard started the ninth but was relieved by Tom Neidenfuer after giving up a one out single to Mickey Brantley.  Mercifully Neidenfuer was able to get the next two batters out uneventfully and notched his (and the team's) third save of the season.

It's not clear to me whether Elrod Hendricks was still interim manager of the team at this point or if Frank Robinson was back.  I think Robinson was back but I don't know for sure.

I spent the day completing my move to Ellicott City.  I rented a truck to move my furniture and had a group of friends help me load and unload it in return for pizza and beer.

Friday May 20 vs the Mariners

Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Outcome: L
Score: 2-3
Streak: L3
Record: 6-34
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.5

The Angels left town and were replaced by the Seattle Mariners who at this point in the season were doing almost as poorly.  With a record of 17-23 the M's were one game up on the Angels.  Of course they were still more than 10 games better than Baltimore.

The good news this night for the Orioles is that the bullpen didn't blow up.  They actually never got into the game.  Mark Williamson pitched a complete game.  The bad news is that he gave up a 2-0 lead late in the game to take the loss.

The Orioles built that 2-0 lead with a Ken Gerhart solo home run in the bottom of the second and back-to-back doubles by Bill Ripken and Fred Lynn in the bottom of the third.  The Mariners tied the game up in the top of the seventh when Ken Phelps homered with Alvin Davis on base.  They went ahead in the top of the eighth when Harold Reynold reached on an error by second baseman Bill Ripken to lead off the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Henry Cotto and third on a ground out by Scott Bradley before scoring on a single by Davis.  So the winning run scored on an unearned run and the Orioles lost 3-2.

I had started the day driving up to Delaware (about two hours round trip) and back to borrow my parents' station wagon.  I spent the rest of the day driving back and forth on Route 29 between Silver Spring and Ellicott City moving stuff into my new place.

Thursday May 19 vs the Angels (2)

Opponent: California Angels
Game 1
Outcome: L
Score: 1-2
Streak: L1
Record: 6-32
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.5

Game 2
Outcome: L
Score: 6-9
Streak: L2
Record: 6-33
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.5

The rainout on Tuesday night this week created the first double header in 1988 for the Orioles this night.  It was "Three Buck Night" so fans could get two games for the low, low price of $3.  It turned out to be one of the most frustrating, disheartening and disappointing nights of the season.

Since it was "Three Buck Night" I was already planning on going that evening.  I don't remember exactly what I did in getting there that evening but I'm fairly certain that I got to the ballpark after the first game started at 5:05 PM simply because I didn't keep score for that game.  Not sure how much I missed but I definitely missed the top of the first inning when the Angels scored a run on an RBI single by Johnny Ray.

I was in time to watch quite the frustrating game.  Mike Boddicker (but of course!) and Kirk McCaskill were the starters and neither pitcher pitched really well but they managed to keep the other team off the board for most of the game.  As I mentioned the Angels score a single run in the top of the first.  The Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Mickey Tettleton brought in Eddie Murray with a single. 

Both teams squandered numerous opportunities to score in the game.  The Angels left 7 men on base and were 1-10 with runners in scoring position (Ray's RBI single being the one).  The Orioles left 9 men on base and were 1-9 with runners in scoring position (Tettleton's single being the one).  Even more frustrating was the fact that the Orioles hit into FIVE double plays.  The Angels hit into double plays of their own over the first nine innings as well.

The game was tied 1-1 going into the top of the tenth.  Interim manager Ellie Hendricks replaced Boddicker on the mound with Dave Schmidt (this would be the first start by Boddicker this season that he did not get the loss in) and the Angels greeted him with back-to-back singles by Bob Boone and Brian Downing.  Boone had advanced all the way to third on Downing's single which became important minutes later when he was able to score when Chili Davis hit into a double play (of course!).  The Orioles went quietly in the bottom of the tenth for the 2-1 loss.

As frustrating as that game was, it was just an appetizer for the nightcap.  The game started ominously as the Orioles committed two errors in the top of the first but they got out of it without giving up a run.  The Orioles appeared to blow the game open in the bottom of the third. Bill Ripken and Rene Gonzales led off the inning with singles and Keith Hughes hit a double to bring them both in.  Joe Orsulak then singled and Cal Ripken hit a sacrifice fly to score Hughes (although Orsulak was doubled up at second trying to advance).  Eddie Murray singled and then Fred Lynn hit a two run home run to put the Orioles up 5-0.

The Angels got a run back in the top of the fourth when Johnny Ray tripled and scored on a Tony Armas ground out but Lynn hit his second homer of the game leading off the bottom of the sixth to keep the Orioles five runs up.

Then came the top of the eighth.

Jay Tibbs had started the game for the Birds and was still on the mound when the inning started.  Tibbs hadn't pitched a particularly good game - he'd only given up one run but California had left at least one runner on base every inning except one.  The Angels were continuing to have issues with getting hits with runners in scoring position.  Until this inning anyway.

Wally Joyner led off the inning with a single and then Tibbs walked Ray.  Armas singled which scored Joyner and Davis followed up with another single that scored Ray.  That was it for Tibbs who left the game with the score 6-3 and was replaced by Doug Sisk who had failed to get anyone out the night before. 

Lightning struck twice as Sisk couldn't get anyone out this evening either - Jack Howell and Boone hit singles that each scored Armas and Davis respectively and now the score was 6-5.  Sisk was replaced on the mound by Orioles closer Tom Niedenfuer (and the Angels replaced Boone with Junior Noboa as a pinch runner).  Niedenfuer got his first hitter Dick Scofield to ground into a fielders choice that forced Howell at third for the first out of the inning (finally).  But Brian Downing singled to load the bases.

This brought Mark McLemore to the plate.  The Angels manager Cookie Rojas decided to attempt a suicide squeeze and McLemore bunted right back to the pitcher.  I remember thinking to myself from my seat in the upper deck "Great - they'll get the force at the plate and maybe even get a double play out of this!"  And then Neidenfuer threw the ball away.  Noboa and Scofield both scored to put the Angels up 7-6.  When the dust settled Downing was on third and McLemore was on second.  The Orioles intentionally walked Joyner (who had started this inning hours before it seemed at this point) to load the bases back up.  Ray struck out for the second out but Armas then singled to bring home the seventh (and mercifully final) run of the inning.  Neidenfuer got Davis to fly out to end the inning.  The Angels sent 13 men to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits, two walks and one big error.

After the Birds went three up, three down in the bottom of the eight the Angels came back for a little more off Neidenfuer in the top of the ninth.  Butch Wyneger (who had replaced Boone behind the plate after he was lifted for pinch runner Noboa) hit a triple with one out and scored when Downing singled two batters later.  McLemore doubled, moving Downing to third and Wally Joyner was intentionally walked to load the bases for the second inning in a row before Hendricks replaced Neidenfuer with Mike Morgan who got Ray to fly out to end the Angels' scoring.  The Orioles got a single in the bottom of the ninth from Bill Ripken but couldn't do anything with it.  The final score was 9-6.  The Orioles had been swept in a double header that they could have easily swept had their offense shown up in the opener and had the bullpen not had a meltdown in the nightcap.  With game two ending around midnight it had been a rough seven hours on 33rd Street.

It ended up being a little bit longer of a night for me.  It had been drizzling when I left work that afternoon and I had had to turn my headlights on.  But the sun was out by the time I got to Memorial Stadium and parked across the street at Eastern High School.  You can probably guess where this is going - I left my headlights on.  The Orioles would periodically check the parking lot and put up announcements on the scoreboard at least during the game if someone had an issue with their car.  I remember glancing up at the scoreboard as the announcement was going off and wondering if I had just seen my license plate.  It turns out that I had but I didn't realize it until the game was over.  Luckily someone was able and willing to give me a jump so my departure wasn't delayed too much.

Which was good because I was actually moving the next day!  I had been sharing an apartment with a married couple in Silver Spring and it was less than an ideal situation for both me and them.  I won't get into the details too much other than while I got along well (and had worked with) the husband, I didn't get along well with the wife.  Looking back over 30 years I know that I was partly at fault as well but after nine months of living with them it was time to move on.  I moved into an apartment by myself in Ellicott City, just west of Baltimore.  You can tell I moved from the DC suburbs to the Baltimore suburbs because my clippings for the game are from the Baltimore Evening Sun rather than the Washington Post:

And in case you're wondering - yes, it's THAT Ken Rosenthal.

Wednesday May 18 vs the Angels

Opponent: California Angels
Outcome: W
Score: 8-7
Streak: W1
Record: 6-31
Rank: 7th
GB: 18.5

After three games against the AL West leading A's, the Orioles got to face the team at the other end of the standings.  The Angels came into town with a record of 14-23 and were in seventh place, 13.5 games behind Oakland.  Of course they were still about 8.5 games better than the Orioles.

Tonight was the managerial debut of the Orioles third manager of the year - Elrod Hendricks.  Frank Robinson hadn't been fired but his back pain had reached the point that he needed to be hospitalized for a few days so Hendricks was taking over on an interim basis.  I'm not entirely sure how long he was at the helm but I think it was only for about four or five games. 

His debut was victorious but it was an ugly game.  The Orioles scored their first run in the bottom of the first without a hit.  Keith Hughes led off with a walk.  After Fred Lynn flied out, Angels pitcher Mike Witt uncorked a wild pitch with Cal Ripken at the plate that moved Hughes to second.  Witt then walked Ripken.  Eddie Murray hit a ground ball to first baseman Wally Joyner who threw to second to force Cal but the return throw was not in time to double up Murray.  With Larry Sheets at the plate Witt threw another wild pitch that scored Hughes from third and moved Murray to second.  Sheets then got the Orioles first hit with a single that brought Murray in with the second run.

The Angels got on the board in the top of the third in a similar fashion.  With one out Dick Schofield singled.  Brian Downing was then hit by a pitch from Orioles starter Jose Bautista.  The second pitch to the next batter Mark McLemore got by catcher Mickey Tettleton and the runners moved up to second and third.  McLemore brought Schofield in from third when he grounded out to Murray with Bautista covering first.  The Angels tied the score in a more traditional fashion the next inning when a Chili Davis single and a Johnny Ray double was followed up by an RBI ground out by Jack Howell.

The Orioles seemingly broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth.  Fred Lynn led off with a walk.  Cal Ripken hit a ground ball in the hole between shortstop and third that third baseman Howell fielded and then threw away.  Lynn and Ripken ended up at third and second respectively.  Murray was then intentionally walked to load the bases.  Sheets grounded out to second to move the runners up and knock Lynn in for the go ahead run.  Witt intentionally walked Jim Dwyer to load the bases again and then unintentionally walked Tettleton to bring Cal in.  After Rick Schu struck out, Bill Ripken hit a bases-clearing double to the alley in right field.  Keith Hughes then flew out to end the inning - an inning in which the Orioles sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs on four walks, two hits and one error.  When Fred Lynn led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run to make the score 8-2, things looked well in hand for the Birds.

But nothing came easy for the Orioles this night (or much of this season for that matter).  Schofield walked to lead off the top of the eighth for the Angels and Downing followed with a single.  Hendricks went to the bullpen at this point and replaced Bautista on the mound with Doug Sisk.  Sisk immediately loaded the bases by walking McLemore and the Joyner hit a two RBI single.  Sisk then walked Chili Davis to reload the bases and Hendricks had seen enough.  Don Aase came in to pitch for the Birds and he gave up an RBI single to the first batter he faced (Ray) before getting Howell, Tony Armas and Butch Wyneger out to leave the bases loaded.  The Orioles lead was now down to 8-5.

The Orioles closer (in theory - they'd only had one save so far this season) Tom Niedenfuer came in to pitch the top of the ninth.  With one out Downing tripled.  McLemore then hit what Baseball-Reference describes as a "Single to SS (Pop Fly to Deep 3B)".  I'm not sure what that means but in any case McLemore ended up on first and was credited with a single while Downing remained at third.  Joyner then singled to right to score Downing and move McLemore to third.  Davis hit a ground ball to Murray at first who threw to Niedenfuer covering for the out but McLemore scored on the play and the tying run in the form of Joyner was now on second.  Finally Niedenfuer got Ray to fly out to center to end the threat and the game. 

Jose Bautista got the win - it was his first MLB victory.

Here's the game story from the Washington Post - I found it when I was researching when Hendricks had managed the team.

Tuesday May 17 vs the Angels - Rained Out

The Orioles game on May 17th was rained out and would be made up as part of a double header on May 19th, two days later.

Monday May 16th - Off Day

The Orioles were off on Monday, May 16th.  Their next scheduled game was on Tuesday, May 17th at home against the California Angels.

Sunday May 15 vs the Athletics

Opponent: Oakland Athletics
Outcome: L
Score: 4-7
Streak: L2
Record: 5-31
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.0

The Orioles put up a bit of a fight on this afternoon but Oakland's power was too much for them.  The A's got on the board first in top of the second on back-to-back doubles by Mark McGwire and Dave Parker.  The O's tied it in the bottom of the inning on Mickey Tettleton's first home run as an Oriole.  Oakland would add single runs in the next three innings on an RBI single from Carney Lansford (top of the third) and solo home runs from McGwire (top of the fourth) and Walt Weiss (top of the fifth).  The Orioles scored a second run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Rene Gonzales.  A two run home run from Jose Canseco in the top of the eighth pushed Oakland's lead to 6-2 but the O's put up two of their own in the bottom of the inning on a Gonzales solo home run and Eddie Murray RBI single.  The A's had a two out rally in the top of the ninth on an Orlando Mercado walk, a hit-by-pitch by Weiss and another RBI single by Lansford to make the score 7-4.  Dennis Eckersley closed out the game with a perfect bottom of the ninth for his 13th save.

Saturday May 14 vs the Athletics

Opponent: Oakland Athletics
Outcome: L
Score: 0-8
Streak: L1
Record: 5-30
Rank: 7th
GB: 18.0

OK, this one went as expected.  The A's put three on the board in the top of the third on a three run home run by Mark McGwire.  It was actually the A's first hit of the game - the two runners who were on base got there via a walk and an error.  Oakland added some more in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Walt Weiss and a three run home run by Dave Parker.  The Parker's home run knocked Orioles starter Mike Boddicker out of the game and he would end up with the loss - his eighth of the season.  He had now lost 13 straight decisions dating back to the 1987 season.  Oakland added one more run in the top of the fifth on a Ron Hassey RBI single that scored Dave Henderson.  Meanwhile Bob Welch pitched a complete game for the A's, scattering five hits and two walks while getting his sixth win on the season.

I went to this game - you should have been able to guess that since Boddicker was pitching even though it wasn't "Three Buck Night".  I wanted to see the Bash Brothers in person so I paid full price for the ticket.  In fact if I remember correctly I splurged on a box seat for $9.50(!) so I had one of the best seats in the house for the game.  Here's the clipping of the game story from the Washington Post:

Friday May 13 vs the Athletics

Opponent: Oakland Athletics
Outcome: W
Score: 4-1
Streak: W1
Record: 5-29
Rank: 7th
GB: 17.0

This might be the most unlikely Orioles victory of the season.  The A's came into town with a record of 24-9, the second best in all of baseball (the Mets at 23-8 had the best record).  They were in first in the AL West with a 7 1/2 game lead over the Rangers.  They had lost their previous two games against the Tigers in Detroit but before that had just won fourteen straight games and 18 of their previous 19.  Their starting pitcher this night, Dave Stewart, had won all eight of his starts.  So it would not be wrong to say that the A's were on a roll.  The Orioles on the other hand had just lost four straight and were outscored 26-6 over that stretch. 

The game certainly started off the way most expected.  Carney Lansford led off the game with a single and went to third when Dave Henderson doubled.  Jose Canseco singled to knock Lansford in and the Bash Brothers looked like they were in business.  But Jay Tibbs got Dave Parker to strikeout and Mark McGwire and Ron Hassey to fly out and limit the A's to just the one run.

Stewart started off the game pitching well.  He hadn't given up a hit and had only allowed one baserunner (on an Eddie Murray walk) when he faced Murray with two outs in the bottom of the fourth.  But Murray then homered for the Orioles first hit and Fred Lynn followed with another home run.  The back-to-back shots put the Birds up 2-1.  Keith Hughes made it 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single and Larry Sheets had an RBI single of his own in the bottom of the eighth to finish the scoring.

Meanwhile Tibbs was giving up hits and walks but managed to keep the A's from scoring.  It helped that a couple baserunners (Don Baylor and Canseco) were caught stealing.  The A's ended up leaving 7 players on base and went 1-8 with runners in scoring position.  So the A's were getting on base - they just weren't scoring.  That trend would not continue.

Thursday May 12 at the Rangers

Opponent: Texas Rangers
Outcome: L
Score: 1-2
Streak: L4
Record: 4-29
Rank: 7th
GB: 18.0

After being blown out in their first two games against the Rangers, the Orioles pitching held Texas to just two runs this evening.  Unfortunately their offense couldn't get it done even though they had plenty of opportunities.  The Birds outhit the Rangers 8 to 7 this evening and the Rangers also committed two errors.  The O's had at least one baserunner every inning after the first but left 14 guys on base.  They went 0-12 with runners in scoring position.  Their sole run was scored on a home run by Keith Hughes in the top of the seventh.

Meanwhile the Rangers picked up a run in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Curtis Wilkerson and scored another in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Ruben Sierra.  That was all they needed to win 2-1 and sweep the Orioles in the three game series.

Wednesday May 11 at the Rangers

Opponent: Texas Rangers
Outcome: L
Score: 0-8
Streak: L3
Record: 4-28
Rank: 7th
GB: 17.5

The Rangers ended any suspense in this one quickly.  The Rangers scored four in the bottom of the first off of O's starter Mark Williamson on an RBI double by Ruben Sierra, a two run home run by Pete Incaviglia and a solo shot from Larry Parrish.  It was the second day in a row that Sierra had doubled and Invaviglia had homered in the bottom of the first.  Parrish had also homered the day before.  They extended their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Jerry Browne scored on a Williamson wild pitch and 8-0 in the bottom of the sixth when the Rangers converted four singles and a double into three runs.

Meanwhile Rangers starter Paul Kilgus took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Birds before Pete Stanicek hit a two out single.  Kilgus threw a complete game and gave up only four hits while also walking four.  The closest the Orioles got to scoring was in the top of the seventh when they loaded the bases with only one out.  But Mickey Tettleton flew out to center and Rene Gonzalez grounded out to third to end the threat.

Tuesday, May 10 at the Rangers

Opponent: Texas Rangers
Outcome: L
Score: 5-13
Streak: L2
Record: 4-27
Rank: 7th
GB: 16.5

On this night the Orioles got behind early and despite some early run scoring just couldn't keep their heads above water.  The Rangers jumped ahead in the bottom of the first on a two run home run by Pete Incaviglia.  It could have been worse but Scott Fletcher had gotten thrown out trying to score on Ruben Sierra's double one at bat before Incaviglia homered.  Eddie Murray led off the second with a home run to cut the Rangers lead in half but Texas scored three in the bottom of the second to increase their lead to four.  

In the top of the third some sloppy play by the Rangers let the O's get close again.  Pete Stancek hit a single with one out and then stole second.  Bill Ripken then reached on an error by Fletcher at shortstop.  With Cal Ripken at the plate the Rangers' pitcher - 40 year old knuckle-baller Charlie Hough - uncorked a wild pitch moving the runners to second and third.  Hough then walked Cal - the game description doesn't indicate it was intentional but Hough didn't throw a strike to Cal.  Murray then stepped in with the bases loaded and Hough threw his second wild pitch of the inning, bringing Stanicek home and moving the Ripkens to second and third.  Murray then lined a single to left that knocked in two runs, bring the O's back to only a one run deficit.  But Hough got the next two batters out and the Birds wouldn't get the score that close again in the game.

A Larry Parrish two run home run in the bottom of the third extended the Rangers lead to 7-4 and they added single runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth.  The Orioles got a fifth and final run in the top of the seventh when Stanicek tripled and scored on a groundout by Bill Ripken.  The Rangers blew the game open in the bottom of the seventh when they scored four more runs including two on a bases loaded double by Steve Beuchele and one on a wild pitch from Mike Morgan - it was Morgan's first pitch of the game after relieving Don Aase.

Tank McNamara featured the Orioles again today:

May 9 vs the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 0-3
Streak: L1
Record: 4-26
Rank: 7th
GB: 15.5

In a season this bad, you look for little victories.  After being shut out three times in their first 11 games, the Orioles had managed to score at least one run in each of their next 18 games.  That streak ended tonight.  Jerry Reuss, who had had some big years with the Pirates and Dodgers in the 1970's and early 1980's, and Bobby Thigpen combined to keep the Orioles off the board, holding their offense to just four hits and one walk.  It was Reuss's 200th career win, making him the second pitcher in MLB history (after former Oriole Milt Pappas) to win 200 games without ever winning 20 in a season.  Mike Boddicker took the loss, dropping his record to 0-7 in as many starts.  Dan Pasqua did all the damage for the White Sox this evening, driving in the first run of the game in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly that scored Greg Walker.  Two innings later Pasqua brought Walker in again as well as himself with a two run home run.

The only other significant thing about this game besides Reuss's 200th win was that it was the Oriole debut of catcher Mickey Tettleton.  Tettleton would take over the regular catching duties from Terry Kennedy for much of the rest of the season and would be a major contributor to the Orioles magical 1989 season.  But of course we didn't know that at the time.

I was at this game (it was "Three Buck Night" after all) and I remember almost nothing about it.  This was the fourth game I had gone to this season and it was the third one that I'd seen Boddicker start in - I was starting to notice a pattern.

Since I was at the game, I saved the game story from the next day's Washington Post:

The Orioles' woeful season had been going on long enough that they had time to make it to the comic's page.  Here's this day's Tank McNamara strip dedicated to the team:

May 8 vs the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: W
Score: 6-5
Streak: W1
Record: 4-25
Rank: 7th
GB: 15

This game was a bit of a roller coaster, featuring the Orioles getting ahead early, falling behind mid-game, going ahead late but then blowing the save but then winning the game in extra innings.  The Birds took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Cal Ripken hit a home run (his sixth of the year) with his brother Bill on base.  The White Sox cut the lead in half in the top of the second on a Daryl Boston RBI double and then went ahead two innings later when Boston had a two run home run.  Harold Baines led off the fifth with a solo home run which pushed Chicago's lead to 4-2. 

But the Orioles fought back in the bottom of the seventh.  With one out, Carl Nichols and Rick Schu hit back-to-back singles and Pete Stanicek hit a double that brought Nichols in to score.  Pinch hitter Fred Lynn hit a sacrifice fly that scored Schu and moved Stanicek to third.  That heads up base running by Stanicek paid off when White Sox pitcher Jon Davis uncorked a wild pitch and brought him in with the go-ahead run.

Unfortunately Doug Sisk couldn't hold the lead in the top of the ninth.  Ivan Calderon led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a passed ball by catcher Terry Kennedy, who had just come into the game as a pinch hitter for Nichols in the bottom of the eighth.  Greg Walker then hit a game tying single.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the tenth when Cal Ripken led off with a walk.  Eddie Murray followed up with a single to push Ripken into scoring position and then both runners moved up when White Sox pitcher Bobby Thigpen balked while pitching to Ken Gerhart.  With runners now on second and third manager Frank Robinson decided to pinch hit for Gerhart with Keith Hughes.  The White Sox countered by intentionally walking Hughes to load the bases.  Joe Orsulak then hit a single scoring Ripken with the game winning run.  Improbably the Orioles now had two walk off wins in their last three games.  Two of the their four wins on the season so far were walk offs.  And the Orioles actually had a winning week - they were 3-2 in the space from Monday, May 2nd (Fantastic Fans night) to Sunday, May 8th.  It would not be a sign of better things to come but it was a rare good week for the team.

May 7 vs the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 7-11
Streak: L1
Record: 3-25
Rank: 7th
GB: 16

This one was not pretty.  The Orioles came out of the gate swinging, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first of RBI doubles by Cal Ripken and Larry Sheets and a run producing groundout by Keith Hughes.  The White Sox tied it up in the top of the fourth on an RBI double play by Dan Pasqua and a two run home run by Ken Williams.  But the Orioles came back with four runs in the bottom of the frame on a two run home run from Hughes and a bases loaded double by Eddie Murray.  Unfortunately for the Orioles, their offense stopped at this point - they only got two hits and three walks the rest of the game against the White Sox bullpen (Bill Long, John Davis and Bobby Thigpen) and a caught stealing and two double plays made it so that trio of pitchers only faced two batters over the minimum.  Meanwhile the White Sox offense mounted a comeback in the top of the fifth - a pair of two run home runs by Harold Baines and Carlton Fisk tied the game back up and an RBI double from Donnie Hill put the ChiSox up for good.  They added three more runs in the top of the sixth when Greg Walker hit a double that scored two runs and Williams had an RBI groundout.

May 6 vs the White Sox - Rained Out

For the second straight day the Orioles game was rained out.  This game against the White Sox was made up as part of a double header on July 19th.

May 5 vs the Twins - Rained Out

The Orioles game against the Twins on May 5th was rained out.  It would be made up as part of double-header on July 14th.  This was the second of four "Three Buck Nights" that had been rained out this year so far.

May 4 vs the Twins

Opponent: Minnesota Twins
Outcome: W
Score: 4-3
Streak: W1
Record: 3-24
Rank: 7th
GB: 16

This was a game with both highs and lows for the O's.  The Twins got on the board first in the top of fourth when Kent Hrbek hit a solo home run.  It was his fifth home run of the season and so far all of them had been against the Orioles.  Baltimore tied it up in the bottom of the inning however when Bill Ripken scored on a Les Straker wild pitch.  A Cal Ripken RBI single in the bottom of the sixth put the Birds up 2-1 and it stayed that way until the top of the ninth.  Doug Sisk, who had come on into the game in relief of starter Mark Williamson, was in line for the save but the Twins had other ideas.  Hrbek led off the inning with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Mark Davidson.  Gary Gaetti hit a double to put runners on second and third and then a sacrifice fly by Gene Larkin brought Davidson in with the tying run.  After an intentional walk to Randy Bush, Greg Gagne hit a single that scored Gaetti with the go-ahead run.  Dave Schmidt relieved Sisk and got the last two outs.

Jeff Reardon, the Twins closer, came on in the bottom of the ninth to try for the save but Cal Ripken led off the inning with a double.  After a groundout by Eddie Murray moved Cal to third Larry Sheets hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game back up.  On the game went until the bottom of the 11th.  With one out, Cal Ripken reached on a walk.  Two batters later he scored the winning run on a double by Sheets.  The Orioles had their third win of the season (and their first in walk-off fashion).

May 3 vs the Rangers

Opponent: Texas Rangers
Outcome: L
Score: 2-4
Streak: L1
Record: 2-24
Rank: 7th
GB: 16

This was a bit of a let down after "Fantastic Fans Night".  Only 11,507 fans showed up this evening to see the Orioles lose to the Rangers.  The Rangers got on the board first with two in the top of the second when Larry Parrish knocked in Pete Incaviglia with a single and Pete O'Brien scored on a wild pitch from Mike Boddicker.  A two run home run from Cal Ripken in the bottom of the fourth (his fifth of the year) tied the score but the Rangers would plate two more runs in the sixth on a RBI double by Incaviglia and a sacrifice fly from Parrish.  Boddicker suffered his sixth loss in as many starts on the season.

May 2 vs the Rangers

Opponent: Texas Rangers
Outcome: W
Score: 9-4
Streak: W1
Record: 2-23
Rank: 7th

GB: 15.5

This was special.  The Orioles and 98 Rock had marketed this night's game as "Fantastic Fans Night" and the fans responded in droves.  It helped that it was "Three Buck Night" but 50,402 fans packed into Memorial Stadium, even into the seats that weren't three bucks.  My friends Steve and Rick and I were three of those fans although we got delayed by the traffic getting to the ballpark so we didn't settle into our seats in the right field bleachers until the bottom of the first.  We missed Bob Rivers, who had finally gotten some rest after his 258 hour marathon, throwing out the first pitch and the pregame announcement that the Orioles and the State of Maryland had come to an agreement on a 15 year lease on a new stadium for the Birds "a few blocks west of the Inner Harbor in the Camden Railroad Yards".  There had been unease in Baltimore about the Orioles' future for a few years given that owner Edward Bennett Williams was based out of Washington DC (and had previously owned the Redskins) and Washington DC had been without a baseball team since 1972.  The abrupt departure of the Colts for Indiana in March of 1984 didn't help.

We did arrive in time to see this in the bottom of the first however:

If you don't know who she is, I'm not sure I can really explain her.  Give her Wikipedia page a read.

On to the game itself.  Perhaps the best part of the night is that the Orioles were able to rise to the occasion that night and reward the 50,000 fans with not just a victory but another laugher.  Appropriately Cal Ripken got the scoring started with a solo home run in the bottom of the third (he struck out in the first, apparently dazed by Morganna's kiss).  They exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fourth.  Keith Hughes and Terry Kennedy led off the inning with a single and a double respectively.  After Craig Worthington popped out, Pete Stanicek and Bill Ripken had back-to-back RBI singles.  A wild pitch brought Stanicek in and then Cal Ripken reached on an error by third baseman Steve Beuchele.  Eddie Murray followed up with an RBI single and then with Larry Sheets at bat Rangers pitcher Jose Guzman balked for the second time in the game (I'm pretty sure the first time was when Morganna ran onto the field) and scored Cal Ripken from third for the fifth run in the evening.  The Rangers got one back in the top of the third when Curtis Wilkerson tripled and scored on a wild pitch but the Orioles put up another three runs in the bottom of the sixth on five walks, an error and one hit.  It was 9-1 going into the top of the ninth when Ruben Sierra hit a three run home run to make it a little closer but really all it did was prevent the Orioles starting pitcher Jay Tibbs from pitching a complete game.  He was replaced on the mount by Doug Sisk who got the final out.

This game was probably the highlight of the 1988 season for the Orioles but this day had some sadness as well - the Orioles released Scott McGregor.  McGregor had had some great seasons for the O's in the early 80's - he went 20-8 in 1980 for a team that won 100 games but finished second and went 18-7 for the World Series winning team in 1983.  But he was 0-3 with an 8.83 this season and at age 34 was no longer viewed as part of the future for the team.  Mike Boddicker was now the last starter from the 1983 team still with the team - Jim Palmer had retired and Storm Davis, Mike Flanagan and Dennis Martinez were in Oakland, Toronto and Montreal respectively.

The turnout by the fans this night made the national news:



Despite being at the game, I didn't keep score and so I didn't save the game story from the Washington Post.  Therefore I can't share the clipping here.

The O's made the cover of Sports Illustrated.  I'm not sure when the issue actually came out but the cover date was this day:

The accompanying article can be see here at the Sports Illustrated Vault.

May 1 at the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 3-7
Streak: L2
Record: 1-23
Rank: 7th
GB: 15.5

The Orioles streak of scoring first that had gone on for five consecutive games ended early in this game.  For the second time in three outings, Orioles starter Mike Morgan was unable to get out of the first inning.  Lance Johnson led off the bottom of the first with a double.  Ozzie Guillen laid down a bunt to move Johnson to third but he ended up beating it out for an infield single.  Harold Baines grounded a single up the middle to bring in Johnson and Ivan Calderon followed up with a three run home run (his second home run against the Orioles in as many days).  Morgan stuck out Greg Walker for the first out of the inning but was lifted after Dan Pasqua singled and was replaced by Bill Scherrer.  Scherrer got the Orioles out of the inning without giving up any more runs but ran into problems in the bottom of the third.  A walk to Calderon and a single by Walker started the inning.  With one out Mark Salas doubled to knock in Calderon and Ken Williams followed up with a single that brought in Walker and Salas.  The score was now 7-0 after three innings.  The Orioles were able to claw back a little, scoring one run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Keith Hughes to bring in Eddie Murray and two more in the seventh on a single by Fred Lynn and back to back doubles by Hughes and Terry Kennedy.