Scoring Position

Huff homer? With two on and two out in the first inning, Aubrey Huff drilled a ball to deep right-center field that bounced high into the air after appearing to hit the top of the wall, but video replays were inconclusive. It was initially ruled a three-run homer, which would have been Huff's first this season, but the umpires changed the call, making it a two-run ground-rule double. Huff, who entered the game batting .220, went 2-for-4 and scored a run. No doubter Nick Markakis hit his first career grand slam in the eighth inning on the 11th pitch of his at-bat against Royals reliever Todd Wellemeyer.

Chesapeake junior shortstop Angela Yannone had a positive feeling when she stepped to the plate in the top of the fifth inning yesterday at Anne Arundel rival Northeast. She had watched the three batters before her hit two-out singles, and she wasn't about to end the fun. Yannone's triple - a line drive that found the gap between right and center field - highlighted a five-run inning that broke open a tight game, leading No. 4 Chesapeake to an 8-3 win over the No. 8 Eagles. The Cougars, who have had to scratch and claw for wins most of the season, improved to 13-2 overall and to 10-1 in the county.

Cubs: Catcher Benito Santiago left after six innings with a bruised right big toe.Mets: Orel Hershiser is 22-9 with a 3.18 ERA lifetime against the Giants. New York has won 17 of 23 and is 36-22 on the road. Mike Piazza had seven straight hits over two games.Phillies: In the first two games of the series, Philadelphia has stranded 12 runners in scoring position. Doug Glanville had two hits and extended his hitting streak to 11 games (17-for-50).

Northeast coach Marianne Shultz carefully scrolled through the score book and showed a look of disgust after her usually resourceful Eagles stranded 12 runners in a 10-inning, 3-2 loss to Severna Park last week."

Those old Soviet elections were more legitimate than the Gold Glove voting. Rafael "The Phantom" Palmeiro played 28 games at first base last season. Will "Iron Horse" Clark more than doubled that total.But don't tell that to the American League managers and coaches who viewed Palmeiro's 28 games as genius not seen since Mozart, and voted him his third straight Gold Glove.Never again can Palmeiro complain about a lack of recognition. He conceded that Texas teammate Lee Stevens was more deserving, and how about the New York Yankees' Tino Martinez, who only made seven errors in 151 starts?

Athletics: Oakland was just 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position in losing the first two games of the series against Boston, but went 6-for-12 yesterday.Pub Date: 8/28/98

Pat Gillick is sick of it. We're all sick of it. Umpires shouldn't decide postseason games. Especially not umpires whose performance during the regular season merits a harsh evaluation, not an October paycheck."

Indians: David Justice was scratched before the game with a strained lower back.Rangers: Ivan Rodriguez failed to reach the 1,000-hit plateau by going 0-for-4.Red Sox: Troy O'Leary is 7-for-14 in the first three games of the series with three homers and five RBIs.Royals: Kansas City has obtained right-handed pitcher Greg Hansell from the Athletics to complete the April 8 trade that sent catcher Mike Macfarlane to Oakland for outfielder Shane Mack. Hansell has been assigned to Triple-A Omaha.

After a mental mistake allowed Northeast to break a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning yesterday, Chesapeake coach Dennis Thiele gathered his players together."

HitsOn the day he signed a two-year, $15.1 million contract, third baseman Cal Ripken homered and doubled twice to accompany a diving stop at his new position. Ripken's homer was his fourth on Opening Day and immediately followed his larceny against Jeff King to end the fourth inning.Brady Anderson answered any question about his fitness to play by singling three times and scoring the winning run on Eric Davis' sixth-inning double. Anderson, who ditched a modified flak jacket, slid into first base for one of his hits.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - -After watching for more than a decade as their starting pitchers fall behind hitters game after game, year after year, the Orioles have stressed to their new crop of talented young arms the importance of throwing strikes. Rookie Chris Tillman, who may have the highest upside of the group, is listening. But his yearning to get ahead in the count has had one considerable drawback: In his five big league starts, five of his first-pitch strikes have quickly left the ballpark, including three Wednesday night at Tropicana Field in a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Less than two hours before Wednesday's game, manager Dave Trembley summoned the Orioles' 13 position players into his office for a quick talk. Fed up with his team's recent play, Trembley gave a brief and stern lecture that focused on playing hard and smart, but most importantly, playing team baseball. The Orioles then went out and proved why such a talk was needed. Finding different ways to squander scoring chances and getting another uneven start from rookie Jason Berken, the Orioles were beaten, 6-3, by the Oakland Athletics in front of an announced 19,128 Wednesday at Camden Yards.

So now the question is: What kind of nose dive are the Orioles in this time? Is it the same old nose dive of the past 11 years, when they managed a nifty .410 winning percentage (254-368) in August and September? Or is this one somehow different, the sort-of-expected cratering of a team trotting out a lot of young arms and a couple of promising rookie position players while prepping for the future? Go ahead, you decide. Flip a coin if you have to. And do you even care if this nose dive is any different from all the others?

At least he didn't give up any home runs. Jeremy Guthrie, who entered his latest start tied for the major league lead with 27 home runs allowed, kept the ball in the ballpark Monday, but very few of the balls were hit anywhere near his Orioles teammates. The Oakland Athletics, last in the American League in batting average and third to last in runs, pounded Guthrie for 11 hits and five runs in just 4 2/3 innings in a 9-1 throttling of the reeling Orioles in front of an announced 14,688 at Camden Yards.

When George Sherrill took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning to preserve another improbable Orioles win, his first baseman was Luke Scott, who had played one inning at the position in his major league career. Ty Wigginton was at shortstop, a position that he's never started a game at in his career, and Brian Roberts was at second base after he wasn't supposed to be in the game at all due to a 10-day battle with an upper-respiratory infection. The Orioles pulled out all the stops Wednesday to win a game that they probably had no business winning.

TORONTO -They spoke through gritted teeth and in hushed tones, vowing that better days are ahead. But even the most optimistic Oriole couldn't look past their latest grueling loss in a season that is unraveling by the day. Despite numerous mistakes and missed opportunities Saturday, the Orioles had a one-run lead in the 10th inning and their closer on the mound. George Sherrill, whose outings are usually shrouded in suspense, didn't even allow the drama to build this time as he gave up a game-tying homer to Aaron Hill on his second pitch, suffering his second blown save in six chances.

NOT THIS TIME An Orioles offense that entered the game hitting .303 with runners in scoring position didn't get the job done. Overall, the Orioles were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Trailing 2-0 in the sixth, they had men on first and second with no outs, but Jon Lester struck out Felix Pie and Nick Markakis, and got Aubrey Huff to hit into a fielder's choice. They had men on first and third with no outs in the ninth and managed only Ty Wigginton's RBI groundout, leaving the tying run at second.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -The Orioles' spring clubhouse has something of a split personality. For the most part, the position players are on one side of the room and the pitchers are on the other. There are a couple of exceptions, but the physical division between the hitters and the pitchers stands out for all to see, especially those who are in the mood for metaphors. It is purely coincidence, however, that such an obvious line of demarcation also exists between the outlooks for those two groups this season.

BOSTON - The matchups appeared to favor the Orioles each time third baseman Melvin Mora stepped to the plate yesterday. Their leading hitter with runners in scoring position at .355, he batted five times with a chance to put his stamp on the game. And five times, he failed to produce in a 2-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Mora ended the first, third, fifth and seventh and ninth innings, stranding 11 men in the process. Before yesterday, Mora was hitting .406 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

MILWAUKEE -- There is seemingly no rational explanation for the Orioles' Sunday losing streak, which stands at 11 games after a 7-3 defeat yesterday to the Milwaukee Brewers. However, it was no secret what caused their latest Sunday loss. The Orioles hit into five double plays and the Brewers belted four home runs. Trying to make a statement by taking a road series against one of the National League's better teams, the Orioles watched the Brewers turn the series finale into a glorified round of infield and batting practice before an announced 43,517 at Miller Park.