Milacki

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jeff Ballard walked into the visiting clubhouse yesterday and confronted teammate Bob Milacki, his comrade in sore arms."

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Bob Milacki scored his first victory of the year yesterday when an arbitrator awarded him a $1.18 million salary for the 1992 season.Milacki, the first player to take the Orioles to a hearing since infielder Billy Smith lost an arbitration case in 1980, became the fourth-highest-paid pitcher on the Orioles' staff whenarbitrator Anthony Sinicropi chose his salary request over the $700,000 figure submitted by the club.Agents Alan and Randy Hendricks represented Milacki in the three-hour hearing Thursday in Chicago.

Free-agent right-hander Bob Milacki has agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with the Oakland Athletics and has been invited to spring training to compete for a place in their starting rotation.Milacki accepted a one-year deal worth $350,000 plus incentives to join the A's, who recently signed former Oriole Storm Davis to a two-year deal and also have added former Orioles 18-game winner Jeff Ballard to their Triple-A roster.That leaves only three free agents from the 1992 Orioles roster unsigned, including Bill Ripken, who is believed to be close to signing with an American League West team.

DETROIT -- The Orioles may have seen the last of right-hander Bob Milacki, whose final appearance of the 1992 season did little to enhance his chances of winning a place in the club's rotation next year.The question, which became particularly cogent after Milacki dropped a 4-2 decision to the Detroit Tigers last night, is whether he will be in an Orioles uniform when spring training opens in February.Milacki didn't exactly force the issue. He gave up four runs on seven hits over six innings to end his season with a 6-8 record and a 5.89 ERA, leaving the Orioles to decide whether they want to renew his contract this winter.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Baltimore Orioles pitcher Bob Milacki was hurt badly enough to require precautionary X-rays, but not badly enough to take himself out of a no-hitter.Manager John Oates couldn't see any way around it. Milacki was having trouble gripping the ball, and the Orioles still didn't have a firm grip on the game. It would turn out to be the right decision.Three relievers combined to pitch the last three innings of the first Orioles no-hitter in 22 years, a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics yesterday before 40,047 at the Oakland Coliseum.

The game-time temperature at Oriole Park yesterday read 89 degrees, allegedly the coolest day of the four-game series with the Minnesota Twins, but even in the shade of the home team's dugout, Orioles manager Johnny Oates said it felt a lot hotter."

Using a combination of inside and outside baseball, the Chicago White Sox ran to six early runs against Bob Milacki en route to an 8-4 victory over the Orioles last night before 45,451 at Camden Yards.The big blow against Milacki (5-6) was a two-run homer by Dan Pasqua in the third inning, but it was a combination of singles and stolen bases that caused most of his problems. Four of the White Sox's five stolen bases came while the right-hander was pitching and were instrumental in all of the scoring in the first three innings.

The final Memorial Stadium series between the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees means very little in the collective sense. The teams involved are playing for pride at this point in the season, and there is precious little of that to go around.But this is a very important time for pitcher Bob Milacki and part-time designated hitter Sam Horn, both of whom played important roles in the Orioles' 8-0 victory in the opener last night.Milacki threw a five-hit shutout -- his sixth solid performance in a -- row -- to further establish himself as the most consistent pitcher in the starting rotation.

Orioles pitcher Bob Milacki will become the first player to take the club to salary arbitration since 1980 if his contract dispute is not settled before a hearing today in Chicago.Milacki filed for a salary of $1.18 million for the 1992 season. The club submitted a $700,000 salary figure. The Orioles have a history of finding some middle ground in negotiations with their arbitration-eligible players -- they have done so in every case since infielder Billy Smith took them to a hearing 12 years ago -- but an arbitration showdown with Milacki now seems almost inevitable.

WASHINGTON -- The Baltimore Orioles reached the 25-player limit with a series of moves yesterday, the most striking an option of pitcher Bob Milacki to the Class AA Hagerstown Suns.Milacki, last year's Opening Day starter, is scheduled to pitch the Suns' second game at home against Williamsport on Thursday."I'm surprised in a way," he said. "I wasn't expecting it. I wish I had known it earlier. I've been working on a lot of things in spring training and a lot of things are beginning to work for me."