At least the Orioles' latest loss didn't include a bullpen implosion or a slew of missed opportunities to lament. The Orioles fell behind 4-0 by the bottom of the third inning and 5-0 by the fifth.
In his last start of the season, David Hernandez was pummeled for five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, ending his rookie campaign with a 4-10 record and a 5.42 ERA. The big blow came off the bat of Ben Zobrist, who hammered a poorly located 1-1 fastball just inside the right-field foul pole for a three-run third-inning homer.
Hernandez allowed another homer, a solo shot by Carl Crawford in the fifth, before he was removed from the game. It was the sixth time in his past 12 starts that he left before five complete innings.
Overall, the 24-year-old went 2-8 with a 6.10 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star break compared with 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA in six appearances (five starts) before it. He allowed at least one homer in each of his final 12 starts and in 16 of his final 17.
"It's tough to go out like this," said Hernandez, who called his first season a great learning experience. "I felt like I was just fighting my mechanics through the first four innings. I just never really got comfortable out there. I made a couple of mistakes and paid for it."
Trailing 5-0, the Orioles looked as if they would be victimized by another shutout - this one by Rays starter James Shields, who had held them to just three singles - until they rallied in the eighth inning. Mora hit a leadoff single, and Michael Aubrey doubled. Chad Moeller ended Shields' shutout bid with a sacrifice fly, and Ty Wigginton followed with a two-run pinch-hit homer to cut the Rays' lead to 5-3.
Matt Wieters hit a two-out single in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but Russ Springer fanned Mora on a high fastball. Game over, losing streak continues.
"We're human. We want to succeed," said outfielder Luke Scott, who was removed from the game in the seventh with a strained muscle in his left foot, which he doesn't think is serious. "It doesn't matter what aspect of life you're in. You're going to go through adversity and you're going to go through difficult times, some more than others. You can either allow it to break you down or you can allow it to build character."
Longest losing streaks in the majors this year
Team Streak When
Orioles 13 Sept. 17-now
Rays 11 Sept. 3-13
Indians 11 Sept. 13-24
Royals 10 July 10-24
Blue Jays 9 May 19-27
Astros 9 Sept. 13-22
Pirates 9 Aug. 28-Sept. 5
Orioles' longest losing streaks
Games Year Dates
21 1988 April 4-28
14 1954 Aug. 11-25
13 2009 Sept.17-now
12 2004 Aug. 16-28
12 2002 Sept. 18-29
Box score
for Wednesday's game PG 4
ORIOLES @RAYS
Tonight, 7:08
TV: MASN HD
Radio: 105.7 FM
Inside: Bergesen remains hobbled PG 5
