Koji Uehara

BACK TALK Several Orioles - and Red Sox, for that matter - were clearly not pleased with the strike zone of plate umpire Doug Eddings. Leadoff man Brian Roberts was particularly perturbed by two calls in his first at-bat and one during his second. In the latter at-bat, Roberts carried on a heated conversation with Eddings before Orioles manager Dave Trembley finally came out of the dugout both to protect Roberts and get in his say. SLUMP BREAKER What better way to break an 0-for-17 slump than to lay down a bunt against a tough pitcher like Josh Beckett?

The Toronto Blue Jays put a hurting on Orioles pitching Thursday by bashing six homers, but the pain incurred wasn't limited to bruised egos in a 13-3 loss. In the span of eight pitches in the fifth inning, Orioles catcher Craig Tatum left with a bruised left index finger and then his battery mate, right-hander Koji Uehara, walked off the field with a strained left hamstring. Uehara has been bothered by hamstring troubles off and on during his career, including last spring.

- Ty Wigginton and Garrett Atkins homered Saturday, but the New York Yankees roughed up Jeremy Guthrie in the early innings and scored a 5-3 victory at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Wigginton hit a two-run shot off Yankees starter Javier Vazquez for his second homer of the spring and Atkins hit his first off Alfredo Aceves, but that was not enough to keep the Orioles from losing for the eighth time in 10 games. The Yankees batted around in the first inning to score three runs on five hits off Guthrie, who settled down enough to work through 3 1/3 innings.