CLEVELAND - — CLEVELAND - -What was initially thought to be a scheduling quirk - the Orioles' making their first and only trip to Progressive Field on the penultimate weekend of the season - suddenly looked like a scheduling gift.
In the Cleveland Indians, the Orioles found an opponent that was actually playing worse than them. But even what appeared to be a favorable matchup wasn't enough to break the Orioles out of a funk that has them spiraling dangerously close to the third 100-loss season in franchise history.
The Orioles played another poor all-around game Friday night, and they were beaten, 4-2, in front of an announced 33,472 in a result that ended one dubious losing streak and continued another. With just their second victory in their past 17 games and only their fourth this month, the Indians halted an 11-game losing streak, which was one defeat shy of tying a franchise record set in 1931.
Meanwhile, the Orioles (60-93) lost their season-worst eighth straight game and will have to go 3-6 the rest of the way to avoid reaching the 100-loss plateau.
"A loss is a loss," said Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora, whose fifth-inning throwing error scored what turned out to be the game-winning run and marred a solid outing by rookie David Hernandez. "It doesn't matter how it [happens]. We don't score a lot of runs, so you can't win if you don't make the plays. I didn't make the plays, so how are we going to win? I feel bad. I threw it away, and that run made a difference."
With one more defeat, the Orioles will clinch their worst season since they went 67-95 in 2002. And they might have to play the rest of the way without center fielder Felix Pie, who had emerged as one of the bright spots in a season that can't end soon enough.
Pie was helped off the field by Orioles athletic trainers Richie Bancells and Brian Ebel, unable to put any pressure on his left leg, which he hurt while trying to beat out a double play in the seventh inning. After crossing the bag, Pie collapsed in visible pain, slapping the ground twice and whipping his helmet away. He was later diagnosed with a quadriceps strain, and his status for the rest of the road trip - and the season, for that matter - is in question.
"That's tough. I want to play, I want to help my team finish the season strong," Pie said. "I'll see tomorrow how I'm feeling, but I can tell nothing tonight because I have a lot of pain."
