Orioles Lose Another Slugfest, 13-11

James Johnson loses his Major League debut.

So it turns out Johnson is not ready for the big leagues. He got hammered for 9 hits (1 homerun) and 8 runs with 3 walks and no strikeouts in 3 innings. He threw mostly fastballs in the 89-91 range and his curveball was ineffective. Didn’t see much of a changeup. This shouldn’t really hurt him in any way, I would think it could only help. He knows what he has to work on if he wants to stick in the Major Leagues. It was an emergency start and he can go back to AA Bowie and continue his development. Russ Ortiz, yes hes still on the team, pitched the next 4 and a third innings and of course he didn’t do well. He let up 5 hits (2 homeruns), 3 runs, and a walk. Kurt Birkins came in for an out, but also let up a run. LaTroy Hawkins pitched the rest of the game (last appearance?) and gave up a run. The pitching overall was just bad, or maybe the bats were just that good. And that goes for both teams.

The offense surged to 11 runs on 19 hits, but somehow it was again not enough. We tried to make a comeback from a huge deficit, but came up just short. As you would expect, there were plenty of notable performances. Brian Roberts had a couple of hits including a double. Melvin Mora had 3 hits and a walk. Miguel Tejada, amidst trade rumors, had a 4 hit game including his 19th homerun of the year. Apparently there are 2 teams left in the trade talks for Tejada, the Rangers and the Astros. I would like to move Tejada, but only if the package is right. We can always trade him in the offseason if we can’t now. Jay Gibbons made his return with a double and 2 walks. Jeff Conine had a double and a walk. Corey Patterson had 3 hits, one was a double, and a stolen base. Ramon Hernandez had a single and a walk, but he hit a ball to the wall that would have been a go ahead grand slam in the 6th. Close but no cigar. Nick Markakis went 4-5 with 2 doubles. Kevin Millar was the only player without a hit. So it wasn’t the offenses fault this game. Maybe tomorrow…

Markakis watch: 4-5 (.290)

Tomorrow Bruce Chen (0-6, 7.09) makes his return to the rotation to face off against Javier Vazquez (9-6, 5.31) as the Orioles try to avoid the sweep. We’re getting closer and closer to the trade deadline and I love it. We still haven’t made any deals, so I’m looking for a flurry of them at the last minute. Go O’s…