Friday September 30 at the Blue Jays

Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Outcome: L
Score: 0-4
Streak: L2
Record: 54-105
Rank: 7th
GB: 34.5

The Orioles suffered any number of indignities during the 1988 season but one thing they managed to avoid was getting no-hit.  Tonight was the closest all season they came to succumbing to that fate - Dave Stieb of the Blue Jays held them hitless until two outs in the ninth inning when pinch hitter Jim Traber lined a single.  It was the second straight start that Stieb had lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth (he had done it against Cleveland on September 24th) and his third consecutive complete game shutout.  Stieb would end up losing three no-hitters in the ninth inning in his career which is the record.  He did eventually throw a no-hitter in 1990 - it was the first and so far only no-hitter in Toronto Blue Jays history.

With the Orioles not hitting (and they only drew one walk) the game went very quickly, clocking in at one hour and 52 minutes, the second shortest game by time for the Birds all season (behind the September 3rd game against the Mariners).

Toronto got a run in the bottom of the first when Tony Fernandez led off with a triple and Kelly Gruder followed with a single.  Those two knocked in three more runs in the fifth inning when Fernandez singled with two on to knock in one run and Gruber tripled to knock in the other two.

From May through August the Orioles had pretty much just been mediocre.  They'd held steady from May through July and actually were almost a .500 team in August.  September though was a disaster.  With today's loss the Orioles had gone 8-19 this month, allowing 118 runs while only scoring 75.