Fernando Valenzuela

It has reached the point where the only surprise about Fernando Valenzuela comes when he allows the opposition to score.That happened in the second inning yesterday, when the Twins ended a streak of 24 2/3 scoreless innings by the veteran left-hander. But after that it was back to a string of zeros.Valenzuela limited the Twins to six hits, only two after the second inning, as the Orioles cruised to a 7-2 victory that kept them within a half-game of the lead in the American League East. The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, tied for first, both won.It was the third complete game of the year for Valenzuela (5-7)

No doubt, they were celebrating in the streets of Navajoa Mexico, last night, when word arrived that favorite son Fernando Valenzuela was on top of the world again.They certainly were celebrating at Camden Yards, where Valenzuela pitched a game that was reminiscent of his glorious past and the Orioles scored a rain-shortened 7-0 victory over Cleveland that gave him his first win since Sept. 14, 1990.Maybe it was not Fernandomania, but it was an incredible simulation. Valenzuela pitched a two-hit, eight-inning shutout -- finishing his amazing performance to the accompaniment of thunderclaps and a series of near-thunderous ovations from the crowd of 43,710.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Let's just say, for the sake of gaining the appropriate perspective on the signing of Fernando Valenzuela, that the Orioles had forgotten to mention his name in making the announcement.If they had just said that they were bringing into camp a 32-year-old pitcher who had not won a major-league game in three years, exited with a sore shoulder and had barely bettered .500 in the Mexican League last year, would anyone have cared? Even noticed?Of course not. The general rule is that a pitcher who isn't regularly blowing away the Cordoba Coffeegrowers won't help you much in a pennant race with the Blue Jays.

TORONTO -- You want social climbing? Listen to this one.Fernando Valenzuela was the fifth starter in the Orioles' rotation, and a shaky one at that, when he threw his first pitch against the Blue Jays last night at SkyDome. Then he started moving up. And up.He passed Arthur Rhodes and moved into the No. 4 spot sometime in the fourth inning, which has been the average point of Rhodes' departures this season.He passed Ben McDonald and moved into the No. 3 spot sometime in the fifth inning, by which time McDonald had departed against the Jays on Thursday night, having allowed a dozen home runs or something like that.

If anyone knows the sense of panic that might grip the Orioles pitching staff this weekend in Detroit, it's poor Mike Hampton of the Seattle Mariners.Hampton, a rookie left-hander, had never pitched above the Double-A level before this season and made his major-league debut April 17 at Tiger Stadium. It took only 2 2/3 innings, four hits and four runs for Hampton to feel the fury of the Detroit attack as the Tigers blasted Seattle, 20-6.But the Tigers have been presenting this horror show to pitchers with a lot more experience than Hampton, including former Oriole Storm Davis, who was on the receiving end of a 20-4 beating Detroit administered to Oakland earlier that week.

Just when all seemed lost, when all hope from this bizarre season seemed gone, along came Fernando Valenzuela, pushing rewind on his career, and fast forward into the Orioles' hearts.The Toronto Blue Jays hadn't been shut out this season, but along came Roland Hemond's favorite relic last night, escaping a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the second, then bringing the crowd back to its feet in the ninth.Fernando shuts out Toronto.Maybe the dinosaurs really are coming back.Oh, how everything looks different now. That ninth-inning collapse Tuesday night, the one that left manager Johnny Oates sitting for hours in his kitchen in the dark?

Fact: (excerpted from the 1994 baseball season): ". . . needing just two more wins to lock up that wild-card spot . . ."Opinion: You could have gotten some pretty terrific odds on the Orioles' making this run with three starters (Rick Sutcliffe, Jamie Moyer, Fernando Valenzuela) who were discarded by their former employers.Fact: Seven major-league teams are experiencing drops in attendance this year, as opposed to 16 last year. Oakland is the biggest loser so far.Opinion: This year's top four NBA picks (Chris Webber, Shawn Bradley, Anfernee Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn)

CLEVELAND -- The Orioles embarked on this nine-game road trip with all the leading indicators pointing to a down-to-the-wire finish in American League East, but the prospects for a division title have diminished at every stop.The situation is now bordering on hopeless after a 6-4 loss in the opener of a three-game series against the Indians at Cleveland Stadium. The Orioles are 5 1/2 games out of first place with 12 games to play, and the '64 Phillies are not in their division.This was a series the Orioles had to sweep, but the Indians rallied from a three-run deficit with a middle-inning rush and sent the Orioles to their fifth loss in seven games on the trip.

It had to be the most exciting 20 minutes of baseball in the San Francisco Bay area in several years. Two sites. Two of baseball's biggest stars. Two heart-stopping comebacks.The Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants don't usually play at home at the same time, but they each opened a home series Friday night in dramatic fashion. Barry Bonds hit a sudden-death three-run homer to carry the Giants to a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres. Twenty minutes later and a few miles across the bay, Oakland first baseman Mark McGwire hit a game-ending grand slam off former Orioles closer Lee Smith to carry the A's to an 8-5 victory over the California Angels.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- On the surface, it appeared Mark Williamson and Brad Pennington had a reversal of form here yesterday.But to manager Johnny Oates, the two pitchers merely took another progressive step in yesterday's 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.Williamson, who could be in the midst of a career adjustment, was hit hard for the first time this spring, giving up three hits and two runs in the sixth inning. He had pitched nine scoreless innings in three previous appearances.Pennington, trying to win the one job still available in the bullpen, rebounded from an erratic effort (an infield hit, two walks and 29 pitches in one inning)