NEW YORK - -During batting practice before Monday's series opener at Yankee Stadium, Orioles manager Dave Trembley walked to the outfield to deliver a message to struggling starters Rich Hill and Jason Berken.
He reminded them of the extended opportunities they've had, ones that probably would not have been afforded elsewhere. He told them to stop over-thinking things and get back to what had gotten them into the big leagues in the first place. There were no threats made, but the situation should have been perfectly clear: If Hill and Berken didn't start pitching better, changes would be made.
The message went unheeded over the past two days, and now the Orioles are left to figure out the next move in a season that is unraveling before their eyes. A day after Hill lasted just three-plus innings in a performance that even he described as terrible, Berken surrendered four runs in the first inning of the Orioles' eventual 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees in front of an announced 47,134 on a picturesque Wednesday afternoon.
"Today what we needed to do was score early and put zeros on the board," Trembley said. "When they come out and get the four runs, it kind of takes the wind out of your sails. You can only do so much."
Shut down for the first six innings by A.J. Burnett, the Orioles (41-53) scored twice in the seventh inning and twice more in the ninth, in which Adam Jones and Nick Markakis connected for back-to-back homers off Brian Bruney. But all that did was bring Mariano Rivera into the game, and the future Hall of Famer struck out the slumping Aubrey Huff to finish the Yankees' second three-game home sweep of the Orioles this season.
The Orioles, who are a season-worst 12 games under .500, have lost nine straight games in the Bronx. In the first series in late May, the Orioles were outscored 27-9. Over the past three days, they lost by a total of five runs, little consolation for a team that appears to be starting its annual second-half slide. The Yankees have won six straight games.
"We're competing," said Jones, who tied a career high with four hits. "It's always that one thing, that one inning, that one base-running mistake, the one defensive mistake. It's just that one thing that sets us back a little bit. You have to keep playing. That's why there are 162 [games]. Just keep fighting."
Jones scoffed at the notion that the Orioles could become demoralized, saying: "That's like saying that nobody really cares. We're out here competing every single day. Things just don't happen our way."
