Thursday June 30 - Off Day

The Orioles had June 30th off, their first off day in three weeks.  They would head on the road for a two city six game road trip to Texas and Chicago.

The Orioles ended up going 11-16 for the month of June, a one game improvement over May.  They were outscored by their opponents 141 to 103.

Wednesday June 29 vs the Blue Jays

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Outcome: L
Score: 2-4
Streak: L1
Record: 22-55
Rank: 7th
GB: 25

For the second time this season the Orioles had a chance to sweep an opponent in a three game series and for the second time this season they failed to get it done.  Things looked promising for a little while - the Birds took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a Pete Stanicek RBI double and Orioles starter Jose Bautista kept the Blue Jays scoreless until the sixth.  But a leadoff double in the sixth by Fred McGriff followed by a single by Kelly Gruber chased Bautista from the game and while relief pitcher Dave Schmidt got Ernie Whitt to ground into a double play, McGriff scored the tying run.

The Jays took the lead in the seventh.  Manny Lee and Tony Fernandez hit back to back singles to start the frame and after Lloyd Moseby flew out Rance Mulliniks singled, bringing in Lee and moving Fernandez to third.  Mulliniks stole second during McGriff's at bat but Schmidt struck out the slugging first baseman for the second out.  It looked like the O's would get out of the inning without further damage when Gruber hit a ground ball to Bill Ripken at second but Ripken threw the ball away, allowing both Fernandez and Mulliniks to score.  Gruber then got thrown out trying to steal second and the inning was mercifully over but the Jays now had a 4-1 lead.

Those two unearned runs would loom large as the Orioles rallied in the bottom of the ninth.  With one out Rick Schu singled and two batters later Larry Sheets also singled, bringing the tying run to the plate in the person of Joe Orsulak.  The Jays brought closer Tom Henke in and Orsulak greeted him with a single bringing Schu in with the Birds' second run.  Cal Ripken now represented the winning run at the plate but Henke got him to ground out to end the game.

Tuesday June 28 vs the Blue Jays

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Outcome: W
Score: 7-0
Streak: W2
Record: 22-54
Rank: 7th
GB: 25

This game was maybe a little tighter than the final score would lead you to believe.  The Orioles got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the third on a Fred Lynn solo home run and a Larry Sheets sacrifice fly.  But for a while that was all the runs they had.  Meanwhile Jay Tibbs was pitching for the Orioles and he was doing OK until he loaded the bases with two out in the top of the sixth with two walks and single.  Mark Thurmond came on in relief to get the third out of the inning and end Toronto's most serious threat of the evening.

The Orioles blew the game open in the seventh.  With one out Bill Ripken doubled and Pete Stanicek walked.  Toronto manager Jimy Williams went to the bullpen and brought in David Wells to replace starter Jim Clancy.  Lynn then doubled to clear the bases.  Wells intentionally walked Cal Ripken to set up a force play on Eddie Murray.  But Murray made Toronto pay by launching a three run home run, his eleventh homer of the year.  That made the score 7-0 and that's how it ended.

This was only the second shutout victory the Orioles had had this season and the first one since their opening losing streak busting win against the White Sox almost two months to the day earlier.

Monday June 27 vs the Blue Jays

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Outcome: W
Score: 6-2
Streak: W1
Record: 21-54
Rank: 7th
GB: 25

The Orioles returned home on this day after a week on the road for a quick three game set against Toronto before heading back on the road to Texas and Chicago.  For some reason this was not a "Three Buck Night" - it was the only Monday home game other than Opening Day and Labor Day that was not.

The Orioles had scored in the first inning of their previous five games but that streak came to end tonight.  They did score early and somewhat often however.  Jim Traber had a solo home run in the bottom of the second to kick off the scoring and Cal Ripken had a two RBI single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third to put the Birds up 3-0.  Another solo home run - this time by Rick Schu in the bottom of the fourth - made it 4-0.

Toronto finally got to Orioles starter Jeff Ballard in the seventh inning.  With one out a single by Pat Borders and a walk to Fred McGriff set up an RBI single by Manny Lee.  But the one run was all they got.

The Orioles got that run back along with one more in the bottom of the inning.  With one out Bill Ripken doubled and Blue Jays pitcher Todd Stottlemeyer intentionally walked Cal Ripken to set up the force.  David Wells then came in to pitch to Eddie Murray who hit a ground ball to first baseman Fred McGriff who couldn't handle the ball.  Murray was safe on McGriff's error and Bill Ripken came in to score.  Cal moved to third on the play and was able to score on Mickey Tettleton's sacrifice fly.  The score was now 6-1.

A Kelly Gruber solo home run in the eighth cut the Bird's lead to 6-2 but Toronto couldn't get it any closer.

Sunday June 26 at the Red Sox

Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 1-10
Streak: L2
Record: 20-54
Rank: 7th
GB: 25

On the plus side today the Orioles scored first for the fifth consecutive game.  On the minus side was the whole rest of the game.

We'll get the good stuff out of the way quickly.  Fred Lynn hit a one out solo home run in the top of the first to put the Orioles up 1-0 but the Red Sox got a pair of two run home runs by Mike Greenwell and Jim Rice in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-1 Red Sox. 

Leading off the bottom of the second Red Sox catcher Rick Cerone reached base on an error by Orioles short stop Cal Ripken.  Cerone moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Spike Owen and to third on a ground out by Wade Boggs.  After Marty Barrett walked Dwight Evans doubled to knock in both Cerone and Barrett.  After Greenwell walked Orioles manager Frank Robinson went to the bullpen and replaced started Oswaldo Peraza with Mark Williamson.  A passed ball moved the runners up a base and then Ellis Burks hit a single to bring in Evans.  7-1 Red Sox.

The Sox scored three more in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of RBI doubles by Cerone and Owen and an RBI ground out by Barrett.  Meanwhile Mike Smithson was holding the Orioles to only four hits (along with five walks) as he pitched a complete game for the victory. 

Saturday June 25 at the Red Sox

Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 3-10
Streak: L1
Record: 20-53
Rank: 7th
GB: 25

You wouldn't know it from the final score but this game was actually close until the bottom of the eighth.  For the fourth game in row the Orioles got on the board in the top of the first.  Pete Stanicek led off the game with a single and two batters later Cal Ripken hit a home run (his twelfth of the season) to put the Birds up 2-0.

The Red Sox came back in the bottom of the third.  With one out Wade Boggs and Marty Barrett hit back to back singles and Dwight Evans followed with a ground rule double that scored Boggs.  A Mike Greenwell sacrifice fly brought Barrett in to tie the game up and an Ellis Burks single brought Evans in with the go-ahead run.

But the lead was short lived as Eddie Murray led off the fourth inning with a solo home run, his tenth of the year.  The score remained tied 3-3 through the next four innings.

It all fell apart for the Orioles in the bottom of the eighth.  Mark Williamson came on in relief of Orioles starter Mike Boddicker and promptly loaded the bases by giving up back-to-back singles to Evans and Greenwell and a walk to Burks.  Orioles manager Frank Robinson went back to the bullpen and brought Doug Sisk in to relieve Williamson.   Jim Rice greeted Sisk with a single that scored Evans and Greenwell.  After Todd Benzinger popped out for the first out of the inning, Rich Gedman singled to score Burks and move Kevin Romine (who had pinch run for Rice) to third.  Spike Owen then walked to load the bases again.  Boggs then singled to score Romine and Gedman but the Orioles got a break when Ken Gerhart threw out Owen trying to advance to third.  Marty Barrett, the ninth man to bat in the inning, then hit a single.  It looked like the Orioles were going to get out of the inning when Evans hit a grounder to Cal Ripken at short stop but Ripken booted the ball, allowing Evans to reach and reloading the bases for the third time in the inning.  Greenwell hit his second single of the inning that knocked in Boggs and Barrett with two unearned runs.  Finally Sisk got Burks to hit a ground ball to short stop that Cal fielded and threw to first in time to get the third out.  But the Sox sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits, two walks and an error.  The score was now 10-3 in favor of the Red Sox and after the Orioles went quietly in the ninth that became the final score.

Friday June 24 at the Red Sox

Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Outcome: W
Score: 6-2
Streak: W1
Record: 20-52
Rank: 7th
GB: 24

Five days after getting shutout by Roger Clemens and the Red Sox in Baltimore, the Orioles faced him again in the first game of a three game series at Fenway Park in Boston.  This time however he wasn't effective at all.

He started out strong by striking out the first two Orioles he faced - Ken Gerhart and Fred Lynn.  But then he walked Cal Ripken and gave up an RBI double to Eddie Murray.  Jim Traber followed with single but Mike Greenwell threw out Murray at the plate from left field to get the Red Sox out of the inning.

Two innings later though the Orioles got to Clemens.  He struck out Gerhart to start the inning but a double by Lynn, a walk to Cal Ripken and a single by Murray loaded up the bases.  Traber and Larry Sheets then hit back-to-back two RBI doubles to knock Clemens out of the game, his earliest exit of the season.  Relief pitcher Wes Gardner's first pitch to Terry Kennedy got by catcher Rich Gedman and Sheets moved to third on the passed ball.  He (Sheets) then scored on a sacrifice fly by Kennedy to make the score 6-0.

Meanwhile the Red Sox weren't able to get much going against Orioles starter Jose Bautista.  A two run home run by Mike Greenwell in the bottom of the fourth got the Red Sox on the board but that was all the runs they got.  Bautista combined with Dave Schmidt and Tom Neidenfuer to hold Boston to only seven hits and two walks.

Thursday June 23 at the Blue Jays

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Outcome: L
Score: 2-5
Streak: L2
Record: 19-52
Rank: 7th
GB: 25

For the second night in a row the Orioles got most of their offense done early.  Unfortunately for them the Blue Jays got most of theirs late.

Also for the second night in a row the first batter for the Orioles homered.  This time it was Ken Gerhart doing the honors.  Fred Lynn followed with another home run - his eleventh of the season - and two batters into the game the Birds had a 2-0 lead.  Unfortunately they only got four hits and walk the entire rest of the game.

Toronto was slow in coming back.  They cut the lead in half when Tony Fernandez hit a triple to knock Manny Lee in in the bottom of the third.  They took the lead for good in the sixth.  Fernandez got on base on a error by Gerhart in left field and scored when Lloyd Moseby doubled.  Moseby moved to third on a flyball by Rance Mulliniks and scored on a sacrifice fly by George Bell.  The Jays were now up 3-2.

Toronto put up a couple insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth when Fernandez knocked in Ernie Whitt with a double and Moseby's sacrifice fly scored Lee.  Final score: 5-2.

In other baseball news, the Yankees fired Billy Martin today and replaced him with Lou Piniella.  It was the end of Martin's fifth and final stint as Yankees manager.  Martin had kept the Yankees in first for much of the season until they were swept by the Tigers in three games in Detroit the first part of this week.  The Yankees lost all three games in excruciating fashion - two of them they lost in ten innings and in the other one they blew a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth - the big blow coming on a walk-off grand slam by Alan Trammell.  Martin had been involved in a bar fight in Dallas in early May and had been suspended for three games due to an altercation with an umpire at the end of the month so there were factors beyond the team's performance that played into the decision.  Martin would never manage another team - he died in a drunk driving related car accident a year and a half later on Christmas Day 1989 at the age of 61.

One interesting note on Martin's firing - it was predicted by Steve Wulf in Sports Illustrated's Baseball Preview issue in April.  Wulf had done a "20 Questions" article for baseball and question six was "Will Billy Martin last the season in his fifth stint as Yankee manager?"  Wulf answered "No. He will be fired on June 9 and replaced by general manager Lou Piniella. George Steinbrenner has become that predictable."  Wulf was only off by two weeks.

Wednesday June 22 at the Blue Jays

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Outcome: L
Score: 2-4
Streak: L1
Record: 19-51
Rank: 7th
GB: 24.5

If you got to the ballpark late tonight you missed everything.  Pete Stanicek hit John Cerutti's first pitch of the evening over the fence for his first home run of the season and gave the Orioles an early 1-0 lead.  It wouldn't hold long however as the Blue Jays got an RBI single from George Bell to tie up the game in the bottom of the first.  It could have been worse as the Jays left the bases loaded when Jeff Ballard got Jesse Barfield to fly out to end the inning.

Rene Gonzales got the Birds back on top with an RBI double in the top of the second but again the lead was short lived.  Cecil Fielder hit a two out double that brought in Tony Fernandez and Lloyd Moseby and gave Toronto their first lead of the night.  They would tack on a fourth run in the bottom of the third when Manny Lee singled to knock in Barfield.

And that was pretty much the end of the offense this night for both teams.  After the third inning both teams combined for only five hits (3 by the Orioles including two by Mickey Tettleton) - all singles - and no runs.  Only one runner got beyond first - Fernandez made it all the way to third in the bottom of the sixth.

Tuesday June 21 at the Blue Jays

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Outcome: W
Score: 4-2
Streak: W1
Record: 19-50
Rank: 7th
GB: 23.5

The Orioles were taking on an old friend tonight.  Mike Flanagan had spent over a decade in the Orioles rotation before being traded to Toronto in late 1987 for Oswaldo Peraza and Jose Mesa.  His best season was 1979 when he went 23-9 and won the AL Cy Young Award while helping to pitch the Birds to the World Series.  Coincidentally Peraza was the O's starter this evening.

Things looked good for Toronto early.  Fred McGriff homered to lead off the bottom of the second to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.  The Orioles didn't get on the board until the sixth inning when Cal Ripken doubled in Rene Gonzales to tie the game up.  But Tony Fernandez knocked in Jesse Barfield with an RBI double of his own in the bottom of the seventh to put Toronto on top again with a score of 2-1.

Flanagan ran into trouble in the top of the eighth however.  Rick Schu lead off the inning with a single and then both Gonzales and Pete Stanicek hit ground balls that resulted in the previous batter being forced at second.  But when Bill Ripken singled, Toronto manager Jimy Williams decided to go to his bullpen and bring in Jose Nunez to replace Flanagan on the mound.  Cal Ripken greeted the new pitcher with a bases clearing triple to put the Orioles up 3-2.  That would be the only hitter Nunez faced as Williams brought in David Wells then who got Eddie Murray to pop up to end the inning.  Wells would give up a run in the top of the ninth though when Ken Gerhart hit a solo home run to bring the score to 4-2.

Peraza ended up with the win and Flanagan got the loss so at least for one night that trade looked good.

Monday June 20 at the Blue Jays

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Outcome: L
Score: 2-5
Streak: L2
Record: 18-50
Rank: 7th

GB: 23.5

The Birds arrived in Toronto for a four game series against the Blue Jays, the only team that they hadn't played yet this season.  The Blue Jays had won 96 games and finished second to Detroit in the AL East the previous year (with the season coming down to a showdown between the Tigers and Blue Jays the last weekend of the season) but coming into this evening's game they were in sixth place, 9 games behind the first place Yankees, with a record of 33-36.

But they looked pretty good tonight as they got on the board early against Mike Boddicker.  In the bottom of the first.  Lloyd Moseby singled with one out and came into score on Rance Mulliniks' double.  Mulliniks then scored on George Bell's single.  Fred McGriff followed with a double and Bell scored on Kelly Gruber's ground out.

Cal Ripken almost single handedly got the Orioles close.  He hit his 11th home run of the season (a solo shot) in the third and had an RBI double in the fifth, knocking in his brother with the Birds' second run.  (I'm scratching my head looking at Baseball Reference's Play-By-Play account of that inning.  Bill Ripken and Joe Orsulak were on third and second respectively when Cal hit the double - why didn't Orsulak score from second?)  But McGriff hit a two run homer in the bottom of the seventh to put the Blue Jays up by three again.

Sunday June 19 vs the Red Sox

Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 7-15
Streak: L1
Record: 18-49
Rank: 7th

GB: 23

If you were looking for good news about this game for the Orioles you'd probably start with the fact that they scored 7 runs, the most they'd scored in a game in two weeks.  And you'd probably end there too.  It was not a good afternoon for the home team.

The Birds actually got on the board first with a pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the first by Fred Lynn and Eddie Murray.  But the Red Sox came roaring back in the top of the second.  Ellis Burks decided that he like the solo home runs the Orioles hit so much that he added one of his own to start the inning.  Jim Rice and Rich Gedman followed with singles.  After a line out by Pat Dodson, Spike Owen doubled scoring Rice.  Dickie Noles was making his second (and as it turned out final) start for the O's that day and manager Frank Robinson had already seen enough.  He went to the bullpen and brought in Mark Williamson who promptly gave up an RBI double to Wade Boggs and a two RBI single to Marty Barrett to make the score 5-2.  Barrett scored on a single by Mike Greenwell two batters later to make it 6-2.

Boggs and Barrett had back-to-back RBI hits again (both singles) in the top of the third to increase the Red Sox lead but the Orioles staged a bit of a comeback in the bottom of the fourth.  With two outs and Murray and second Larry Sheets hit a two run home run.  Terry Kennedy followed with a single to right and then went to second when Dwight Evans made an error on the ball.  Red Sox starter Mike Smithson next hit Rene Gonzales with a pitch.  Bill Ripken then hit an RBI single bringing in Kennedy and knocking Smithson out of the game.  Red Sox manager John McNamara brought in Wes Gardner to pitch.  His first pitch to Ken Gerhart went to the backstop allowing Gonzales to move to third but he eventually got Gerhart to line out to end the inning.  The Orioles had narrowed their deficit to three runs. 

They wouldn't stay that close for long.  The Red Sox got two runs in the top of the sixth on an RBI double by Greenwell and an RBI single by Burks to make it 10-5.  They then piled on in the top of the seventh when Dodson greeted new Orioles pitcher Doug Sisk by homering on his first pitch.  Later in the inning an Evans RBI double followed by a run scoring ground out by Greenwell made the score 13-5. 

Cal Ripken had an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh but a two run home run by Greenwell in the top of the ninth just kept pushing the Sox lead higher.  Jim Traber had an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to make the final score 15-7.

I was at the game again, rooting for the Red Sox.  Here's the game story from the next day's Evening Sun:

Saturday June 18 vs the Red Sox

Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 0-5
Streak: L1
Record: 18-48
Rank: 7th
GB: 23

As a Red Sox fan in the second half of the 1980's there was nothing more exciting then a game in which Roger Clemens was pitching.  So I was very excited to be at the ballpark today because Clemens was starting.  And even better - I had front row seats for the game.  I was sitting on the third base side just up from the Orioles dugout.

Clemens was on today and the Orioles really had no shot.  He pitched a complete game shut out (his sixth of the season so far) for his tenth win and struck out nine.  He did give up nine hits and walked one but no base runner reached third until there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Meanwhile the Sox offense was taking care of business.  They scored two runs in the top of the first (a Dwight Evans double scored Wade Boggs and a Mike Greenwell single scored Evans) and added another in the top of the second (a Boggs single scored Pat Dodson).  An RBI single by Evans in the top of the fourth scored Spike Owen with the fourth run and effectively ended the day for the Orioles starting pitcher Jose Bautista (although manager Frank Robinson left him in to intentionally walk Greenwell before lifting him for Doug Sisk).  Boston got their fifth and final run of the game in the eighth when a single by Marty Barrett scored Rich Gedman.

I lingered after the game for a bit, just enjoying being at the ballpark on a nice afternoon after watching my favorite team win.  Orioles bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks was walking by on his way to the dugout and I called out to him "Hey Elrod, when are they going to let you manage again?"  He stopped and looked at me, then just shook his head and chuckled as he walked away.

Here's the game articles from the next day's Sun paper:

Friday June 17 vs the Red Sox

Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Outcome: W
Score: 3-2
Streak: W2
Record: 18-46
Rank: 7th
GB: 22

For the second straight night I had good seats to see the Red Sox and for the second straight night I went home disappointed. 

Early on it looked good for the Red Sox.  In the top of the Sox got a couple runners on when Pat Dodson walked and Ellis Burks singled.  Marty Barrett attempted to sacrifice the two runners over but Orioles catcher Mickey Tettleton fielded his bunt and threw the ball away.  Dodson score and Burks and Barrett ended up on third and second respectively.  Wade Boggs hit a sacrifice fly to score Burks and the Sox were up 2-0. 

It remained 2-0 until the bottom of the sixth.  Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd was on the mound for Boston and he had held the Birds to four hits over the first five innings.  But with one out in the sixth Jim Traber singled and Fred Lynn followed with a two run home run, his ninth of the season.  The game was now tied 2-2.

It would remain tied into extra innings.  With one out in the bottom of the eleventh, Eddie Murray walked.  With Traber at bat, Murray attempted to steal second.  The throw from Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman went into center field and Murray advanced to third.  Traber then singled to bring Murray in with the winning run.

There are two things I remember about this evening.  One is that I attempted to get an autograph before the game.  I'm not sure I had ever attempted to get a player's autograph before a game before and I was probably pretty rude about it.  I basically stuck my scorecard out to a Red Sox player who was in the middle of a conversation with someone in the stands - he kind of game me a look and randomly signed my scorecard in the middle of the grid.  So when I kept score that night I had to work around the signature.  What made it worse on my part is that I actually had no idea who I was getting to sign - it turned out it was pitcher Tom Bolton.  I've tried to be much more polite since then on the rare occasions when I try to get autographs.  Here's my scorecard showing Bolton's autograph:

The other thing I remember about this night is seeing lightning in the distance north of the ballpark while Boyd was pitching. 

Here's the game story from the next day's Sun paper:

The back of one of these clippings has "Orioles notes" and mentions that the Birds had signed their second round pick from the draft - Arthur Rhodes.

Thursday June 16 vs the Red Sox

Opponent: Boston Red Sox
Outcome: W
Score: 8-4
Streak: W1
Record: 17-47
Rank: 7th
GB: 23

The Orioles came home to take on the Red Sox for the first time this season.  The Sox were preseason favorites to win the AL East but were not living up to expectations so far.  The team came into Baltimore in fifth place with a 30-30 record, eight games behind the first place Yankees.

I've mentioned before that my favorite team is actually the Red Sox so I had decided to celebrate my new job with getting tickets for all four games of the series between the Red Sox and Orioles this weekend.  Despite this being Thursday it was NOT "Three Buck Night" - the Orioles had decided the Red Sox were enough of a draw that they didn't need cheap tickets.  I splurged on the most expensive seats at the ballpark - $9.50 a piece for seats in the lower deck.

I had an up close view this night of something I wasn't too happy about but it started out with something I had never seen before.  The game was scoreless through three innings.  In the top of the fourth the Red Sox got back to back singles from Marty Barrett and Wade Boggs to lead off the inning.  But Dwight Evans grounded into a double play, forcing Boggs at second but moving Barrett to third.  What happened next was pretty wild.  Jeff Ballard was pitching for the Birds this night and he's left handed so his back was to Barrett as he pitched to Mike Greenwell.  Barrett took a huge lead on the second pitch of the at bat, basically going what seemed to me about half way down the line as Ballard delivered the pitch.  He retreated to the base and waited.  Ballard basically was ignoring him.  Now keep in mind the the Orioles dugout in Memorial Stadium was on the third base side so this has happened in front of their dugout.  If anyone yelled to Ballard from the bench he didn't pay any attention because two pitches later Barrett stole home, reaching home almost before Ballard threw the pitch.  1-0 Red Sox.  Greenwell then doubled and was knocked in on a single by Jim Rice, putting the Sox up 2-0.

The lead was short-lived.  Eddie Murray and Jim Traber led off with back to back singles.  Fred Lynn followed with another single but Murray was thrown out attempting to score.  Red Sox starter Jeff Sellers then walked Larry Sheets to load the bases.  Mickey Tettleton then doubled, scoring Traber and Lynn to tie the game up and moving Sheets to third.  With Rene Gonzales at the plate, Red Sox manager John McNamara replaced Sellers with John Trautwein.  Gonzales attempted a suicide squeeze bunt but missed the pitch.  Red Sox catcher Rick Cerone tagged Sheets out in what got ruled an attempted steal of home.  Gonzales then grounded out to end the inning.  Due to bad base running, the Birds got only two runs out of four hits and a walk.

The Orioles went ahead for good in the bottom of the fifth.  The first two batters reached on a single by Joe Orsulak and a hit-by-pitch to Bill Ripken.  Cal Ripken doubled to score both of them and then scored himself on a single by Traber two batters later.

The Red Sox cut the Orioles lead to one run with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings but the Birds had yet another one of those weird innings in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach.  Bob Stanley had come into pitch for the Sox and he struck out Gonzales to start the inning.  Orsulak singled but Stanley struck out Bill Ripken for the second out.  Stanley then walked Cal Ripken and Murray to load the bases.  Orsulak and Cal came into score when Traber singled.  Lynn was intentionally walked to reload the bases and then Stanley hit Ken Gerhart with a pitch to bring in yet another run.  Stanley finally got Tettleton to strikeout to end the inning.  The Orioles scored three runs on two hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch to bring the final score to 8-4.

Here's the game story from the next day's Evening Sun along with a feature on Barrett's steal of home:

Wednesday June 15 at the Tigers

Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Outcome: L
Score: 0-1
Streak: L2
Record: 16-47
Rank: 7th

GB: 23.5

The Orioles came into tonight's game with a shot at going .500 for their six game road trip to New York and Detroit.  They had probably their hottest starter going this evening in Mike Boddicker who had won his last three decisions and the team had won his last four starts.  

Boddicker did his job this night - holding the Tigers to just two hits over seven innings although he did walk five.  One of those walks was costly however.  Luis Salazar led off the bottom of the second with a walk, moved to third on Matt Nokes' single and then scored on Dave Bergman's sacrifice fly.  

The problem for the Orioles is that as good as Boddicker pitched this evening, Tigers starter Jeff Robinson pitched even better.  He threw a complete game shutout, scattering five hits and only one walk.  Mickey Tettleton had the only extra base hit of the game with a two out double in the seventh.  The Birds never got a baserunner to third the entire game.  It was the team's tenth shutout loss of the season.

Tuesday June 14 at the Tigers

Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Outcome: L
Score: 3-9
Streak: L1
Record: 16-46
Rank: 7th
GB: 23.5

The Orioles had played four games in a row that they were very competitive in.  They had gone 2-2 over those four games but they'd only been outscored by three runs combined in the two games they'd lost and they conceivably could have won all four games.  That streak ended tonight.

Veteran pitcher Dickie Noles had been called up from the Orioles AAA affiliate in Rochester, NY to make tonight's start.  Noles had come up with the Phillies in 1979 and was part of their World Championship team in 1980.  He had spent a couple of years in the Cubs starting rotation in the early 1980's but had spent the previous three seasons bouncing from the Cubs to the Rangers to the Indians back to the Cubs and then to the Tigers.  The Orioles had signed him just before Opening Day and sent him to Rochester. 

Noles did not prove to be an improvement over what the Orioles had been running out there this season.  He did pitch a perfect bottom of the first but things got dicey in the second inning.  Alan Trammell and Darrell Evans hit back to back singles to start the inning and Noles hit Chet Lemon with a pitch to load the bases.  Matt Nokes then singled to score the game's first run.  After Ray Knight popped out for the first out of the inning, Tom Brookens connected for a grand slam, the third one hit against the Orioles in the past week.  Noles managed to get out of the inning without giving up any further runs but the Birds were now down 5-0.

The bottom of the third started out looking like a repeat of the second.  Pat Sheridan legged out a ground ball to second for a single and Trammell reached on an error by Orioles third baseman Rene Gonzales.  When Evans hit a single that brought in Sheridan with the Tigers' sixth run of the game, Orioles manager Frank Robinson had seen enough.  Noles was yanked in favor of Doug Sisk who got Lemon to ground into a double play and Nokes to ground out to end the inning.

Meanwhile veteran Tigers starter Doyle Alexander was keeping the Orioles batters from accomplishing much.  The Orioles wouldn't get an extra base hit until the seventh inning when Ken Gerhart led off with a double and then scored on Jim Traber's two run home run.  The Orioles got another run on Bill Ripken's lead off home run in the top of the eighth to cut the Tigers' lead to 6-3 but the Tigers got all three runs back in the bottom of the eighth on a two RBI single by Brookens and an RBI double from Lou Whitaker.  Brookens had a 4 for 4 night with a double and a home run - he scored two runs and knocked in six.

Monday June 13 at the Tigers

Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Outcome: W
Score: 6-4
Streak: W1
Record: 16-45
Rank: 7th
GB: 23.5

The Orioles arrived in Detroit to take on a Tigers team that was just coming off a road trip to Baltimore and Cleveland.  They had won five straight and had moved from third place into second by sweeping the Indians.  The sweep knocked the Indians out of second and started the Tribe's descent to sixth place where they ended the season.  The story of tonight's game looked like it was going to be about yet another failure of the Orioles bullpen but it turned out to be the Tigers' bullpen that faltered.

The Orioles drew blood first tonight with a two out rally in the fourth inning.  Eddie Murray continued his hot hitting with a double and then Larry Sheets reached base on an error by Tigers first baseman Darrell Evans.  Tigers starter Walt Terrell then walked Fred Lynn to load the bases.  Jim Traber singled to knock in Murray and Sheets before Mickey Tettleton flew out to end the inning.

Matt Nokes got the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run off of Orioles starter Jose Bautista but Tettleton got the run back with a solo home run of his own in the top of the seventh.  But Evans would atone for his earlier error by tying the game up with a two run home run in the bottom of the seventh.

The bottom of the eighth started out looking like one of those horror movie innings that the Orioles bullpen seemed to specialize in.  Mark Williamson had come on in relief of Bautista the inning before and he walked Gary Pettis to start this inning.  Williamson then moved Pettis to second on a balk with Lou Whitaker at the plate.  Whitaker laid down a bunt to attempt to sacrifice Pettis to third but ended up being safe when Orioles third baseman Rene Gonzales was unable to throw him out at first.  Orioles manager Frank Robinson went back to his bullpen and brought in Don Aase.  Aase struck out Pat Sheridan for the first out of the inning but Alan Trammell singled to score Pettis and put the Tigers up for the first time all game.  Evans then hit a ground ball to Murray at first base but the throw was low to Aase covering and Evans was safe on Murray's throwing error.  Robinson went back to the bullpen and brought in Tom Neidenfuer, the Orioles closer who had been the previous day's losing pitcher.  Neidenfuer prevented further damage when he got Chet Lemon to ground into a double play to end the inning.  The Tigers now lead 4-3 though.

Tigers manager Sparky Anderson let Terrell start the top of the ninth but lifted him in favor of Willie Hernandez after Lynn hit a single with one out.  Pete Stanicek came in to run for Lynn and stole second while Hernandez was pitching to Traber.  Traber eventually drew a walk and Tettleton crushed a three run home run (his second home run of the game) to put the Birds up 6 to 4.  Hernandez got out of the inning without any further damage but Neidenfuer pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to preserve his own victory.

This was my first day at my new job.  I had to go down to the DC area to my company's headquarters for orientation that morning before heading up to my local office near Baltimore that afternoon.  I remember stopping by a McDonalds to pick up lunch on the way back from DC and noticing that the workers there were all wearing maroon pinstriped dress shirts like the one that my friend Linda had picked out for me over the previous weekend.  I told myself that if this new job didn't work out that at least I already had clothes for a fall back position at McDonalds.  Luckily it wasn't needed - I ended up staying at this job for almost nine years.

Sunday June 12 at the Yankees

Opponent: New York Yankees
Outcome: L
Score: 5-6
Streak: L2
Record: 15-45
Rank: 7th
GB: 23.5

51,142 fans were in the big ballpark in the Bronx this afternoon - the most people to watch an Orioles game since the third game of the season - and they witnessed a see-saw battle that the Yankees won in the bottom of the ninth.  The Birds took a 1-0 lead with a two out rally in the top of the first - Mickey Tettleton had an RBI single after Cal Ripken had singled and Eddie Murray had drawn a walk.  They extended the lead to 2-0 in the fourth.  Murray and Tettleton led off the inning with singles and were sacrificed up a base by Fred Lynn.  Yankees starter Tommy John then walked Ken Gerhart to load the bases and Jim Traber followed up with an RBI single.  Yankees manager Billy Martin pulled the 45 year old John and replaced him with Charles Hudson who got two shallow fly balls to get out of the bases loaded situation without giving up any more runs.

The Yankees tied it up in the bottom of the inning.  With one out Jack Clark walked.  Mike Pagliarulo hit a ground ball that first baseman Murray made an error on.  Clark and Pagliarulo ended up on third and second respectively.  After Dave Winfield struck out, Jay Buhner hit a single to left that scored both runners.  Buhner was cut down trying to get to second on the throw to the plate to end the inning however.

New York went ahead in the next inning.  Rafael Santana led off with a single and moved to second on a balk by Orioles starter Jay Tibbs.  Joel Skinner then sacrificed Santana to third and he scored on Wayne Tolleson's double.  Tibbs then walked Jose Cruz and gave up a run scoring single to Claudell Washington.  That was it for Tibbs - Orioles manager Frank Robinson replaced him with Dave Schmidt.  Schmidt walked Clark to load the bases however and Pagliarulo hit a ground ball that Murray handled unassisted at first which scored Cruz from third and moved the other runners up one.  Schmidt intentionally walked Winfield to load the bases back up but struck out Buhner to end the inning.  The score was now 5-2 Yankees.

The Orioles made a comeback in the top of the eighth.  Bill Ripken led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch from Hudson with his brother Cal at bat.  Cal then hit a single that scored Bill with the Birds' third run of the afternoon.  Martin went to the bullpen again and brought Cecilio Guante in to relieve Hudson.  Murray greeted the new pitcher with a game tying two run home run, his third one in the past three games (all two run shots with Cal on first).  Guante then settled down and got Tettleton to pop out and struck out Lynn and Gerhart to end the inning.

The game remained tied going into the bottom of the ninth.  Tom Neidenfuer had relieved Schmidt to begin the bottom of the eighth and he struck out Skinner to start the ninth.  But three consecutive singles by Tolleson, Cruz and Washington allowed the Yankees to walk off with the victory.

I had spent this weekend in Delaware at my parents' house.  My "business attire" at my government job had been less than professional - I generally came in wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  My new employer required that I wear a suit every day so I went shopping over the weekend with my friend Linda (girl friend of Harry of my friend Steve's Opening Day Springsteen concert fiasco) who "helped" me (i.e. picked out all the clothes) design a wardrobe that would allow me to at least appear to be an actual grown up.

Saturday June 11 at the Yankees

Opponent: New York Yankees
Outcome: L
Score: 6-8
Streak: L1
Record: 15-44
Rank: 7th
GB: 22.5

This game made news before it even started - Yankees manager Billy Martin decided to use Rick Rhoden, who was the losing pitcher in last night's game, as his DH this afternoon, skipping several other more traditional options such as Claudell Washington, Mike Pagliarulo and Jose Cruz.  Martin felt that none of those three were likely to hit well against Orioles starter Jeff Ballard.  And oddly enough it actually worked somewhat.

The Orioles took an early lead in the top of the third via some small ball.  Joe Orsulak led off with a single and Rene Gonzales laid down a bunt to attempt to sacrifice him to second.  But Gonzales ended up beating it out to put runners on first and second with no one out.  Pete Stanicek then successfully executed the sacrifice bunt and moved the runners up 90 feet (not that Gonzales' bunt wasn't successful).  A single by Bill Ripken brought in Orsulak but Ripken was out a second trying to sneak an extra base on the play.  Cal Ripken struck out to end the inning.

The Birds got two more in the next inning.  Eddie Murray led off with a single and Mickey Tettleton followed up with a double to put runners on second and third.  Two consecutive sacrifice flies by Jim Traber and Ken Gerhart brought the two in and the Orioles led 3-0.

But the Yankees came back in the bottom of the third.  With one out Dave Winfield singled and Jack Clark drew a walk.  Jay Buhner hit a single to score Winfield and Gary Ward followed with another RBI single that scored Clark (and moved Buhner to third).  This brought Rhoden up for the second time today (he had grounded out to lead off the bottom of the third).  Rhoden hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Buhner to tie up the game.  It was the last RBI of Rhoden's career which ended the following season in Houston (which was still NL at the time so he did bat that year).  Rafael Santana then lined out to end the inning.

The Yankees broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth.  With one out Wayne Tolleson and Bobby Meachum hit back to back singles.  When Ballard got behind in the count to Winfield, Orioles manager Frank Robinson pulled him in the middle of the at bat and replaced him with Doug Sisk.  But Sisk ended up walking Winfield to load the bases and then proceeded to walk Clark to force in a run.  Buhner then followed up with a grand slam, the second one that the Orioles had given up in the past three games after not having given up one all season.  The score was now 8-3 in favor of New York.  Sisk managed to get Ward and Cruz (who pinch hit for Rhoden) out on ground balls to get out of the inning without further damage but what damage had happened was bad enough - five runs on three hits and two walks.

The Orioles used some long ball to make it close.  Eddie Murray hit his second two run home run in as many days in the eighth to make it 8-5 and Ken Gerhart led off the ninth with a home run but it was too little too late.

Friday June 10 at the Yankees

Opponent: New York Yankees
Outcome: W
Score: 5-3
Streak: W1
Record: 15-43
Rank: 7th
GB: 21.5

It was a surprisingly easy win for the Orioles tonight over the first place Yankees.  They capitalized on a two out rally that consisted of two hits, a couple walks and an error to score three runs in the top of the first off of New York's starter Rick Rhoden.  The Yankees cut the lead to only one run with a couple RBI singles (one by Dave Winfield in the second and the other by Wayne Tolleson in the fourth) before Eddie Murray (who was playing first again after three games at DH) hit a two run home run in the top of the fifth to push the Birds' lead back to three runs.  Orioles starter Mike Boddicker gave up a solo home run to Winfield in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 5-3.  Boddicker ended up going the full nine innings, giving up seven hits and three walks while striking nine.  It was the first complete game victory for an Orioles pitcher this season, the third straight decision that Boddicker had won (after breaking his streak of losing 13 straight decisions) and the fourth straight Boddicker start that the team had won.

With the loss the Yankees were actually in danger of falling into a tie for first with the surprising Cleveland Indians who started the day only a game out of first.  Cleveland lost in Detroit however so the Yankees remained in first for now.  The Orioles picked up a game in the standings and were 21.5 games out of first - the closest they'd been for two weeks (closest obviously being a relative term here).  Sadly they'd never be that close again the rest of the season.

On a personal note - this was my last day working for the government.  I had spent much of the spring looking around for a new job.  I'd spent a lot of the year so far being unhappy about my home and job situations.  I had resolved the home situation a few weeks earlier and now I'd resolved the job situation.  I left the government to go work for a consulting firm - I basically became a Beltway Bandit. 

Thursday June 9 - Off Day

The Orioles had an off day on June 9th to lick their wounds after the beating the Tigers had given them the night before.  They would head on the road for the next week with a three game series in New York against the Yankees followed by three games in Detroit.

Wednesday June 8 vs the Tigers

Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Outcome: L
Score: 4-12
Streak: L1
Record: 14-44
Rank: 7th

GB: 22.5

This was a tight ballgame until the top of the sixth at least.  The Tigers got two in the top of the first when Pat Sheridan hit a home run with Gary Pettis on base.  The Orioles got one back in the bottom of the second when Jim Traber (of all people) scored from first(!) on a single by Terry Kennedy.  A two run home run by Darrell Evans in the top of the fourth put the Tigers up 4-1 but a Traber solo home run in the bottom of that inning cut the lead to 4-2.  A sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth by Fred Lynn got the Orioles within a run.  But then the top of the sixth happened.

It started out looking like it would be a harmless inning.  Orioles starter Jose Bautista struck out Sheridan to open the inning and then got Alan Trammell to ground out for the second out.  But then he hit Evans with a pitch.  A passed ball with Chet Lemon at the plate moved Evans to second but he would have ended up there anyway as Lemon eventually walked.  Orioles manager Frank Robinson decided that was enough for Bautista and brought Dave Schmidt in to pitch.  Matt Nokes greeted Schmidt by hitting an RBI single that scored Evans and Ray Knight (a member of the Orioles in 1987) followed up with a double that scored Lemon and Nokes.  When Schmidt walked Tom Brookens Robinson went back to the bullpen to bring in Don Aase.  Aase gave up an RBI single to Pettis to make the score 8-3.  He then walked Lou Whitaker to load the bases and bring up Sheridan who had led off the inning in what seemed hours earlier.  Sheridan unloaded the bases by hitting the first pitch of the at bat out for a grand slam.  It was Sheridan's second home run of the game and I think the first grand slam the Orioles had given up all season.  The score was now 12-3.  But the inning was still not over.  Trammell singled and Evans walked before Aase finally got the last out of the inning on a fly ball by Lemon.  The Tigers scored eight runs on five hits, four walks and a hit-by-pitch, all with two outs in the inning.  They sent 13 men to the plate.

The Orioles scored a fourth run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Cal Ripken but it was clearly too little too late.  It was the sixth time this season that the Orioles had given up ten or more runs in a game.  On the plus side it had been almost a month since they had last done it on May 10th against the Rangers.

Tuesday June 7 vs the Tigers

Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Outcome: W
Score: 4-3
Streak: W2
Record: 14-42
Rank: 7th

GB: 22.5

A day after he had been demoted to DH due to his batting slump, Eddie Murray was the star of the game as the Orioles won consecutive games for just the second time this season.  The game was a back-and-forth affair with the Orioles getting on the board first in the bottom of the first when Murray singled to bring Cal Ripken in from second.  The Tigers tied it up in the top of the second when Chet Lemon hit an RBI single of his own to score Alan Trammell from second.  Mickey Tettleton hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to put the Orioles ahead 2-1 but Trammell hit a two run home run in the top of the sixth to put the Tigers up 3-2.  Murray re-tied the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning however and the game remained 3-3 until the bottom of the eighth.  With one out Bill Ripken doubled and Tigers starter Frank Tanana intentionally walked Cal Ripken to face Murray.  Murray made him pay by doubling to score Bill Ripken with the go-ahead and eventual winning run.  Murray went 3-4 this evening with a double and home run.  He knocked in 3 of the 4 Oriole runs.

Monday June 6 vs the Tigers

Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Outcome: W
Score: 5-2
Streak: W1
Record: 13-42
Rank: 7th

GB: 22.5

On the face of it there's not a lot to say about this game.  The Birds won 5-2 on the back of a three run home run by Cal Ripken off of Jack Morris.  Jeff Ballard started for the Orioles and almost pitched a complete game - he was lifted with two outs and two on in the top of the ninth.  Tom Neidenfuer came in and struck out pinch hitter Darrel Evans to end the game and earn his sixth save of the season.

I was at this game (all the "Three Buck Nights" were either Monday or Thursday games) and I remember almost nothing about it.  But reading Richard Justice's game story from the next day's Washington Post (and I have no idea why I have the Post's article and not the Baltimore Evening Sun's) I see there's a couple interesting things.  Had Ballard gotten the complete game it would have been the first complete game victory for an Orioles pitcher in half a season.  Cal's home run was the first three run home run the O's had hit since the previous September.

The big news of the evening though was the demotion of slumping first baseman Eddie Murray to the DH role.  Murray's relationship with the Orioles had been deteriorating since he was criticized by owner Edward Bennett Williams late in the 1986 season and this was just one more stone in his road out of town after the season ended.

Sunday June 5 vs the Yankees

Opponent: New York Yankees
Outcome: L
Score: 2-9
Streak: L1
Record: 12-42
Rank: 7th

GB: 23.5

After a grueling 14 inning game the night before I'm sure that Orioles manager Frank Robinson was hoping to be able to give his bullpen a bit of rest on this Sunday afternoon.  But as so much this season what he hoped for and what he got were two different things.  The Yankees quickly reminded the Orioles that they were in first place for a reason.

For the third game in a row Rickey Henderson got on base to lead off the game.  This time he got on via a walk from Orioles starter Jay Tibbs.  Unlike the previous two games however he didn't steal second although he got there anyway when Tibbs walked the second batter of the game Willie Randolph.  Claudell Washington then brought Henderson in with the first run of the game with a single.  After Tibbs walked Jack Clark to load the bases, Robinson decided he'd seen enough and brought Mark Williamson in to pitch.  

Williamson's outing started promisingly enough when he got Jose Cruz to hit a ground ball to Eddie Murray at first base that allowed the Orioles to force Randolph out at the plate for the first out of the inning.  But Mike Pagliarulo then singled to bring in Washington and Clark to make it 3-0 Yankees.  Williamson got Gary Ward to strike out but then walked Rafael Santana to load the bases again.  It looked like he was going to get out of trouble when Joel Skinner hit a ground ball to Cal Ripken at shortstop but Cal made a bad throw to first pulling Murray off the bag and everyone was safe - including Cruz who scored with the fourth run.

Now the floodgates opened.  Henderson had a two RBI single that scored Pagliarulo and Santana and Randolph doubled to score Skinner and Henderson.  When Washington hit his second RBI single of the inning to bring in Randolph the score was now 9-0.  Mercifully Clark finally ground out to end the inning.  The Yankees scored nine runs on five hits, four walks and one error.

That was pretty much the ballgame.  The Orioles only managed to get six hits and score two runs off Yankees starter Rich Dotson who threw a complete game and gave the Yankees bullpen the rest the needed after Saturday night's marathon.  Williamson combined with Don Aase and Doug Sisk to keep the Yankees off the board for the remainder of the game.

Saturday June 4 vs the Yankees

Opponent: New York Yankees
Outcome: W
Score: 7-6
Streak: W1
Record: 12-41
Rank: 7th
GB: 22.5

This one was a roller coaster.  The Yankees got on the board in the first inning in a similar way that they had the night before.  Rickey Henderson led off the game with a single and then stole second with Willie Randolph at the plate.  Randolph then flew out to short right for the first out.  With Claudell Washington up, Orioles starter Mike Boddicker caught Henderson leading off too far from second but threw the ball away on the pickoff attempt.  Henderson ended up at third and scored when Washington singled.  Boddicker was able to get out of the inning without any further damage (despite hitting Jack Clark with a pitch and walking Dave Winfield to load the bases).

Unlike the night before however the Orioles came back and took the lead in the bottom of the second.  A Larry Sheets walk, a Keith Hughes single, a Terry Kennedy RBI double and a Rene Gonzales sacrifice fly put the Birds up 2-1.  They increased the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the third on an RBI groundout by Eddie Murray.

Meanwhile Mike Boddicker was pitching one of his best games of the season.  After pitching out of trouble in the first inning he only gave up three more hits until the ninth although one of those hits was a solo home run by Joel Skinner in the top of the seventh.  But things got interesting in the top of the ninth with the Orioles up 3-2.  Boddicker got the leadoff hitter (Mike Pagliarulo) to line out back to the pitcher for the first out but Winfield singled to put the tying run on first.  Orioles manager Frank Robinson went to his bullpen and brought in the team's closer, Tom Neidenfuer.  Neidenfuer gave up a single to Gary Ward to move Winfield to third and then a game tying single to pinch hitter Jose Cruz.  He got pinch hitter Jay Buhner to fly out for the second out of the inning before Robinson brought Dave Schmidt in to relieve him.  Schmidt walked Handerson to load the bases before striking out Randolph to keep the game tied at three.

But it wouldn't stay tied for long.  With one out in the top of the tenth Clark connected for a solo home run off of Schmidt to put the Yankees up 4-3.  After a fly out by Pagliarulo the Yankees looked like they were going to get some more runs when Winfield and Ward singled but Schmidt got Bobby Meachum to ground out to end the threat.

With the Yankees closer Dave Righetti on the mound things didn't look good for the Orioles but Sheets led off the bottom of the tenth with a single.  Robinson put Wade Rowdon in to run for him and sent Ken Gerhart up to hit for Hughes.  Gerhart worked a walk but Rick Schu (who was pinch hitting for Kennedy) struck out for the first out.  But then Gonzales came through with a double that tied up the game again and put the winning run on third with one out.  A Bill Ripken ground out and a Mickey Tettleton fly out ended the inning though.

Both teams threatened over the next three innings, especially the Orioles.  The Birds left runners on second and third in the bottom of both the eleventh and twelfth.  The Yankees broke through in the top of the fourteenth.  Washington led off the inning with a single off Orioles reliever Doug Sisk and Clark followed up with a walk.  Pagliarulo and Winfield had back to back RBI singles to put the Yankees up 6-4.  Sisk avoided further damage by getting Ward to pop out for the first out and Meachum to ground into an inning ending double play.

But the Orioles had one more comeback in them this evening (actually it was Sunday morning at this point) - it was another one of those bizarre innings that they were usually on the other end of.  Schu led off the inning against Yankees pitcher Hipolito Pena by hitting a ground ball that shortstop Meachum made an error on.  Gonzales followed with a single and Bill Ripken walked to load the bases.  It looked all over though when Pena fanned Tettleton and Fred Lynn for the first two outs.   At this point Yankees manager Billy Martin somewhat inexplicably went to his bullpen again and brought in Cecilio Guante to pitch to Cal Ripken.  It looked like the move was going to pay off when Cal hit a ground ball to Pagliarulo at third but Pags threw the ball into the right field corner for a bases clearing, game winning error.  The stats for the winning inning were three runs on one hit, one walk and two Yankee errors.  It was the Birds' third walk off win of the season and their third extra inning victory.  At 14 innings it would be the longest game the team would play all season.

Friday June 3 vs the Yankees

Opponent: New York Yankees
Outcome: L
Score: 0-4
Streak: L2
Record: 11-41
Rank: 7th
GB: 23.5

Another night where the offense failed to come through.  And it didn't help that neither Orioles starting pitcher Jose Bautista or catcher Mickey Tettleton could contain Yankees outfielder Rickey Henderson on the bases.

Bautista started the game by walking Henderson which was never a good idea.  With a patient Willie Randolph at the plate, Henderson promptly stole second.  Two pitches later, he stole third.  Bautista was rattled enough that he ended up walking Randolph.  Claudell Washington then hit a ground ball that forced Randolph at second but allowed Henderson to score.  With Jack Clark at the plate Bautista balked to move Washington to second.  He made it to third on Clark's ground out but was left stranded there when Mike Pagliarulo grounded out to end the inning.  The Yankees had managed to score a run without the benefit of a hit.

The Yankees picked up another run in the third when Henderson singled with one out.  He stole second to move himself into scoring position and then scored when Randolph singled.

Meanwhile Tommy John, the Yankees 45 year old starting pitcher, was taking care of business.  The Orioles kept getting guys on base but they weren't able to do anything with them.  And it didn't help that leadoff singles in the bottom of the fifth and sixth got immediately erased on double plays.

The Yankees capped their scoring in the top of the eighth when Washington hit a home run with Randolph on first.  This was the ninth time the Orioles were shutout this season and the third time in their last nine games.

Thursday June 2 - Off Day

The Orioles returned from their 10 day West Coast road trip and got to enjoy an off day at home before opening a six game home stand against the AL East leading Yankees and the third place Tigers.

Wednesday June 1 at the Mariners

Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Outcome: L
Score: 3-4
Streak: L1
Record: 11-40
Rank: 7th
GB: 22.5

The first West Coast road trip of the year wrapped up on a frustrating note.  The Orioles had chances to win this game but didn't execute.

The Mariners got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when Henry Cotto led off the inning with a triple off Orioles starter Jeff Ballard and came in to score when Glenn Wilson hit a ball that third baseman Wade Rowdon couldn't handle for an error.  The M's got a second run two innings later when Cotto doubled with one out, stole third and then scored when catcher Mickey Tettleton's throw to third sailed into left field.

The Orioles would tie it up in the top of the fourth.  Joe Orsulak doubled off of Seattle starter Scott Bankhead to start the inning.  After Jim Dwyer struck out Cal Ripken singled to score Orsulak.  Eddie Murray popped out to short but Larry Sheets singled, moving Ripken to third.  With Tettleton at the plate Bankhead committed a balk, scoring Ripken from third and tying up the score.  Bankhead then struck out Tettleton to end the threat.

The Orioles went ahead in the top of the sixth.  Orsulak led off the inning with a double.  Two batters later Cal Ripken walked and then Eddie Murray hit an RBI double, putting the O's up 3-2.  The Orioles looked like they were poised to score more runs when Bankhead intentionally walked Sheets to load the bases but Tettleton grounded into yet another rally-killing double play to limit the damage.

Seattle took the lead back for good in the bottom of the seventh.  With one out Dave Valle singled and Rey Quinones followed up with a two run home run to put the M's up 4-3.  The Mariners threatened again in the bottom of the eighth but Tom Neidenfuer got Valle to pop up with the bases loaded to get out of the jam.

Tonight's Mariners victory was the 1571st and final victory in the managerial career of Hall Of Famer Dick Williams.  Seattle would get swept in a four game series in Kansas City after this game and Williams would be fired when the team returned to Seattle on Monday June 6th with a record of 23-33.  His replacement was Jim Snyder who led the team to a 45-60 record for the remainder of the season.

The 1988 Amateur Draft was started today and would go over the next two days.  The Orioles had the fourth overall pick and took Auburn pitcher Gregg Olson.  Olson would be the closer for the 1989 "Why Not?" Orioles team and ended up winning the 1989 AL Rookie Of The Year award.  The most significant player of the Orioles draftees was a left handed pitcher from La Vega High School in Waco, Texas who they took in the second round.  Arthur Rhodes ended up with a 20 year career with the Orioles, Mariners, Athletics, Indians, Phillies, Marlins, Reds, Rangers and Cardinals between 1991 and 2011.