Their bodies aching after playing 8 hours, 16 minutes worth of baseball on Saturday, Melvin Mora and Luis Matos were held out of the Orioles' starting lineup yesterday.
Mora was scratched in the morning after manager Lee Mazzilli planned to use him as the designated hitter. Mazzilli gave that duty to Jose Leon, with Luis Lopez moving to third base.
Mora started the first 57 games this season before grounding out as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning yesterday. He went 3-for-10 with a double Saturday, and scored the winning run in Game 2, when Larry Bigbie hit a two-out, bases-loaded single in the 12th inning for a 5-4 victory.
"It's just soreness, his legs," Mazzilli said.
Matos also lasted through both ends of the doubleheader, going 0-for-6 in the nightcap. Bigbie replaced him in center field yesterday.
"Playing two games out there, it's not easy," Mazzilli said. "I was looking for a chance to give him a day off."
Those moves wound up getting magnified, as Lopez and Bigbie had their difficulties in the field. Lopez double-clutched his throw on an infield single by Pedro Feliz in the sixth inning, allowing one run to score and keeping the inning going long enough for Barry Bonds to hit a run-scoring single.
Bigbie looked disoriented as he tried to track Michael Tucker's run-scoring triple to the center-field wall in the seventh inning.
Gibbons still hitless
The Orioles will decide today in Cleveland whether to activate right fielder Jay Gibbons from the disabled list. Gibbons, who has been out since May 25 with back spasms, went 0-for-3 yesterday for Double-A Bowie, making him hitless in five at-bats this weekend.
Gibbons was on the team flight to Cleveland last night.
"We'll wait and see how he feels before we make any move," executive vice president Jim Beattie said.
Parrish does his part
John Parrish also did some heavy lifting in Saturday's doubleheader, pitching in both games and holding San Francisco scoreless over 3 1/3 innings. He was credited with the win in the nightcap after the Giants won the opener, 9-6, in 11 innings.
"I felt good this morning, just a little tired," Parrish said. "I'm a little stiff but not really sore at all."
Said Mazzilli: "He came to me and said he could get an out if I needed it, but I don't see him pitching today [yesterday]."
Parrish wasn't going to argue. He has made six appearances this month after totaling eight in April and seven in May.
"Getting the day off will be good," he said, "but just today."
The doubleheader included 784 pitches and didn't end until Bigbie's single at 1 a.m.
Starting options
Mazzilli said he probably will wait until tomorrow to decide on a starter for Wednesday's game in Los Angeles.
"I've got five options that I can do," Mazzilli said. "There are whole different scenarios. I've got more than two options."
The Orioles could recall Matt Riley from Triple-A Ottawa or give reliever Rick Bauer a start. Mazzilli also could use Rodrigo Lopez or Erik Bedard on short rest, though he'd rather avoid it.
Ottawa's John Maine and Bowie's David Crouthers pitched Saturday and would be working on short rest.
Hairston moves around
Jerry Hairston started in left field yesterday after making his first career appearance in right during Game 2 of the doubleheader Saturday night.
Hairston went to right in the ninth inning, with Brian Roberts replacing him at second base after pinch hitting for Tim Raines Jr. He handed both chances cleanly, catching a liner from Edgar Alfonzo to end the ninth and strand two runners, and a fly ball from Deivi Cruz to begin the 10th.
"I feel a lot better out there," he said, "but they were just routine plays."
Sun staff writer Joe Christensen contributed to this article.
