Their fiery manager was watching in street clothes from an unused broadcast booth, but it was the Orioles' offense that seemingly wasn't allowed on the field Friday night.
Orioles manager Dave Trembley, serving the first game of a two-game suspension, had a different perspective, but he witnessed the same, alarming trend unfold against another left-handed starter.
For the sixth time this season and the third in 11 games, the Orioles were shut out, losing, 2-0, on Friday night to the Toronto Blue Jays and Maryland native Brett Cecil.
More concerning, it was the fourth consecutive game in which the Orioles (38-48) failed to solve a left-handed starter. In their past four games after rocking Los Angeles Angels lefty Joe Saunders on Sunday, the Orioles have managed just two runs and 10 hits while striking out 22 times in 24 innings against lefties.
"That's all? Wow," Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora said. "I don't know [why], but it's something we need to figure out."
The Blue Jays (44-44) will start lefties in the final two games of the series, and it's likely the Orioles could see two more to kick off the second half next week in Chicago against the White Sox. Overall, the Orioles are 15-17 against left-handed starters and are batting roughly 15 points lower against them this season.
"I really don't [know why]," Trembley said. "We've certainly seen enough of them."
This time it was 23-year-old Cecil, a native of Dunkirk in Calvert County, who baffled the Orioles. The former University of Maryland standout yielded seven runs in his last start but threw six shutout innings Friday.
Cecil (3-1) allowed just four hits and two walks in front of an announced 30,574 in his Camden Yards debut.
"He threw the ball, and we didn't hit it," Mora said. "It felt like an invisible ball."
Only once did the Orioles mount a rally against the rookie. They loaded the bases with two outs in the second, but shortstop Cesar Izturis, in his first big league at-bat since June 3, grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.
"It was a chance for us," said Izturis, who had been recovering from an emergency appendectomy. "I got a 2-2 count, he threw me a good changeup."
The Orioles had one more scoring opportunity in the seventh, when Adam Jones popped out with runners on first and third and two outs. Four Jays relievers, including closer Scott Downs (ninth save) combined to pitch three scoreless innings to end Toronto's three-game losing streak.
