Kris Benson

Orioles@Toronto Blue Jays Day .................. Time .............. TV ......................... Starters Tonight ............ 7:07 ............. CSN ......... Kris Benson (6-5, 4.64 ERA) ..................................................................... vs. Casey Janssen (5-3, 3.07) Tomorrow ....... 7:07 ............. CSN ............. Adam Loewen (0-0, 7.80) ..................................................................... vs. Roy Halladay (7-1, 2.93) Wednesday ..... 7:07 .....

Melvin Mora said he didn't hear third base coach Tom Trebelhorn telling him to stay put. All he saw was Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Aaron Hill ranging back to left field and Mora figured that if Hill was going to catch Ramon Hernandez's shallow pop-up, he'd be too off balance to throw him out at the plate. With the Orioles trailing by two runs, Mora's run meant nothing. The Oriole on second, Luis Matos, was the tying run, the one that if scored, would have meant, at the very worst, extra innings and a blown save by their former teammate, B.J. Ryan.

On a night of missed opportunities, perhaps it was fitting that the Orioles' last out came on a too-short sacrifice fly. Melvin Mora was thrown out at the plate trying to score and the Toronto Blue Jays prevailed, 5-3, in front of 15,803 last night at Camden Yards. With their old teammate looming in the Blue Jays' bullpen, the Orioles knew that their best chance to tie the game was at hand earlier. They had the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh inning and a once-three-run deficit down to one. When the ball left pinch hitter Jeff Conine's bat, it appeared destined for right field.

Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo has learned to love the way his portly reliever, Chris Britton, seizes the ball night after night and peppers the plate without fear. Britton hadn't surrendered a run since being recalled from Double-A Bowie on May 15. But a few hours after Perlozzo praised the rookie to reporters last night, one of Britton's strikes met the bat of Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Alex Rios and sailed into the left-field stands. Blue Jays@Orioles Tonight, 7:05, Comcast SportsNet, 1090 AM Starters: Blue Jays' Casey Janssen (4-3, 3.26)

Perhaps, it's impossible to quantify what kind of effect the weather delay of 1 hour, 32 minutes last night had on Orioles starter Erik Bedard. He surrendered a long two-run homer two innings before the tarp went on the field and then got two quick outs immediately after it came off. At that point, both his location and his velocity looked fine. But then the enigmatic left-hander lost his way, giving up three third-inning runs and the lead, as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays avoided a three-game sweep with an 8-6 victory before a crowd of 14,044.

Late Orioles game: Last night's game between the Orioles and Angels in Anaheim ended too late to be included in this edition. A complete report can be found at www.baltimoresun.com. ORIOLES@ANGELSToday, 3:35 p.m., Ch. 54, 1090AMStarters: Orioles' Kris Benson (6-4, 4.62) vs. Angels' Kelvim Escobar (5-4, 3.60)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Before last night, Orioles officials had not included Erik Bedard as one of their major concerns, even though the majority of his recent starts suggest they should. Perhaps it is a testament to how many other issues currently exist for the Orioles, who fell to a season-high six games under .500 with a 10-1 loss last night to the Los Angeles Angels in front of 43,005 at Angel Stadium. Orioles@Angels Today, 3:35 p.m., Ch. 54, 1090 AM Starters: Orioles' Kris Benson (6-4, 4.62)

SEATTLE -- The idea was to somehow find a way to get the ball to closer Chris Ray with a lead, no matter the means. It began with five innings from John Halama, who made his last start eight months ago and continued with a shaky one-third of an inning from top prospect Adam Loewen in his major league debut. Todd Williams came on for 1 2/3 innings and then LaTroy Hawkins sweated through two outs, and at last, Ray was on the mound with the Orioles clinging to a one-run lead and the tying run on third with two outs in the eighth inning.