Six Innings

JUPITER, Fla. -- Sidney Ponson became the first Orioles pitcher to go six innings yesterday. He had to navigate some choppy waters to get there. At times, the waves were over his head. Looking to balance an uneven spring, Ponson raised more questions about his readiness for an April 5 start at Camden Yards after giving up six runs and 11 hits. He walked one and didn't allow a homer, the only positive developments in an 8-4 loss to the Montreal Expos. He also didn't record a strikeout.

The four-run lead that Orioles right-hander Freddy Garcia took into the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday seemed safe enough, especially given the relative ease in which Garcia had held the Angels hitless through the game's first six frames. “We were on cruise control,” first baseman Steve Pearce said. “And then, boom.” The calm suddenly turned chaotic as the Orioles blew their lead and lost momentum until Pearce - who was 3-for-4 starting at first base in place of the injured Chris Davis - slapped a game-winning single with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Orioles a 5-4 win over the Angels in front of an announced crowd of 32,136 at Angel Stadium.

NEW YORK -- For David Cone, yesterday's start in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series was a labor of love.Cone loved being in the postseason, but he labored through six innings before being removed.Bringing little else to the mound except his guile and resilience, Cone pitched badly enough to lose, yet departed with the score tied, 2-2. He had nothing to do with the decisive blow, a two-run homer by Rafael Palmeiro off Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson that sparked the Orioles' 5-3 victory.

Members of the Orioles starting rotation have had their struggles getting deep into games, but right-hander Jason Hammel gave the team a gritty six-inning effort against the Dodgers in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader. Through 16 games, no Orioles starter has yet to last more than six innings. Still, the way Hammel battled through early pitch-count problems was key to the series-opening victory. It also served as an example to the rest of the rotation. Hammel struggled through a 32-pitch first inning that saw the Orioles go down early on Andre Ethier's three-run homer.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- If Jason Johnson is, indeed, part of the Orioles' rotation for the 2003 season, then Rick Helling and Pat Hentgen are left to compete for one spot. Helling appeared to state his case a little louder yesterday, even with a performance that left him dissatisfied. Facing the Montreal Expos, Helling permitted two earned runs over six innings in a 3-0 loss. The game was halted in the eighth because of rain. Manager Mike Hargrove indicated before Saturday's game that Johnson would be counted among the starters, though he couched it after the right-hander allowed six runs in the first inning and seven overall.

Erik Bedard shut down the Red Sox for six innings and a driving rainstorm did the rest, as the Orioles beat Boston, 6-1, in six-plus innings yesterday. Bedard, the 26-year-old left-hander who entered the exhibition season projected as the No. 3 starter, continued his March mastery with a tremendous performance against a Red Sox lineup that only was missing one starter -- outfielder Trot Nixon. Bedard didn't allow a runner to second base until the fourth inning, when Manny Ramirez singled with two outs and David Ortiz drove him home with a double.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- For five innings the Orioles were held to one hit by Oakland Athletics starter Gil Heredia and found themselves trailing 5-0. Their answer was one of the most convincing this season.Battering one of the league's better bullpens with 11 hits and consecutive home runs during the next three innings, the Orioles rallied for seven unanswered runs to reward solid relief work by Doug Johns (1-1), Jesse Orosco and Arthur Rhodes. The uplifting result was a 7-5 reversal before 26,247 at Network Associates Coliseum.

Good morning -- Jeremy Guthrie -- Remember back in Little League, when they played only six innings?

A recap of the Orioles' 6-5 loss to the Tigers last night: Six innings, no win Garrett Olson lasted six innings for the first time since June 5, but he left the game with the Tigers ahead 5-4. Olson allowed seven hits, walked four and struck out five. He threw 91 pitches, 57 for strikes. Olson had a clean first inning but put runners on base in all the others. Gary Sheffield hit a two-run homer in the second, Marcus Thames had a run-scoring double in the third and Brandon Inge belted a two-run homer in the sixth.

In a showdown between the Maryland Scholastic Association B Conference's two best baseball teams yesterday, Boys' Latin (10-3, 7-2) downed host Mount Carmel (9-6, 6-3), 11-3, to clinch first place in a game that was shortened to six innings because of rain.Lakers sophomore right-hander Myron Hayes pitched the entire game, striking out four and walking two.Senior center fielder Phil Booker was 2-for-3, including a leadoff double in the first inning and a triple in the fourth. Senior catcher Jay Arminger was 3-for-4 with three RBI.

The Orioles trail the Twins 5-4 after six innings in today's homer opening at Camden Yards. The Twins scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning on Brian Dozier's out-out single off reliever Troy Patton. Patton entered the game for starter Jake Arrieta, who left runners at first and second with no outs in the inning after a leadoff walk to Ryan Doumit and a single by Trevor Plouffe. The Orioles tied the game 4-4 in the fifth inning when Adam Jones hit a run-scoring double over Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks, scoring Nick Markakis from first base to cut the Orioles' deficit to one. Jones moved to third on the throw home, which skipped past catcher Ryan Doumit, and then scored on Chris Davis' sacrifice fly to center to tie the game.

Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta made a huge push toward solidifying his case for the team's fifth starter spot on Thursday night, tossing six shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates -- his third straight scoreless Grapefruit League outing -- at Ed Smith Stadium. Arrieta hasn't allowed a run over 14 2/3 innings in his past three spring outings. He allowed an unearned run in an exhibition start against Spain's World Baseball Classic team in the outing before that stretch. In five Grapefruit League outings, Arrieta has allowed just three earned runs and 11 hits, recording a 1.56 ERA with 16 strikeouts and eight walks.

It didn't take long for right-hander Jake Arrieta to retreat to the video room inside the Orioles' clubhouse to go over another tough start Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after the Orioles' 6-5 series-finale loss to the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards, Arrieta could be found inside a dark room full of computers, trying to find answers to explain his up-and-down season. When the 26-year-old right-hander has pitched well, he has shown the potential to become the front-line ace the organization needs, but when he has struggled, he has had heads shaking.

It had been nearly 18 months since Brian Matusz pitched a game with the precision of the one he threw against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night. During Matusz's dubious losing streak - the longest in the major leagues - the Orioles left-hander has shown flashes of revival, but those games never ended with a complete package of optimism. Orioles manager Buck Showalter has waxed about Matusz's marked improvement in 2012, but the results haven't been there. But on Thursday night, against a lineup known to feast on left-handed pitching, Matusz recorded his first quality start since the final week of the 2010 season and the Orioles hit a pair of pivotal eighth-inning homers as they completed a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays with a 5-2 win at Camden Yards in front of an announced 13,725.

Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada threw 100 pitches in an extended spring training game in Florida on Saturday, and will make his next start in a Triple-A game next week. Wada, placed on the DL on April 4 in order to give him time to elevate his pitch count, threw six scoreless innings against the Rays minor leaguers in Port Charlotte, allowing just two hits. He struck out seven but walked five. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he's leaning toward sending Wada to Triple-A Norfolk to pitch in Thursday's game at Gwinnett (Ga.)

Despite their first four-game sweep in more than a year, one that culminated with Thursday's 6-1 victory against the reeling Minnesota Twins, the Orioles seem to understand life isn't about to get any easier as they return home Friday. They're scheduled to play five games in four days against the mighty New York Yankees in a series that might be interrupted by Hurricane Irene's rampage. They'll also be dealing with another type of storm, a swirling, emotional one that struck in the middle of Wednesday's game when news broke that MASN broadcaster, former Orioles pitching great and team executive Mike Flanagan had died -- and one that is sure to resurface again Friday as the city collectively mourns the loss of one of its favorite sons at Camden Yards.

Yankees' David Cone (7-3, 3.32) vs. Braves' Tom Glavine (17-11, 2.89)(records include postseason)What Cone throws: Fastball, a number of speeds on breaking balls. He loves to throw sidearm breaking balls and fastballs when he's ahead in the count against right-handed hitters.What Cone has done lately: Since his first outing off the disabled list in September, when Cone threw seven no-hit innings against Oakland, the veteran right-hander has been mediocre, very hittable. Cone gave up six runs in six innings in the Division Series against Texas, and the Yankees lost the only game he started in the ALCS against the Orioles.

The Orioles have been searching for weeks for a strong performance by a young starter, and they received it Tuesday night from an unheralded source against an unforgiving offense. Yet it didn't matter because the Orioles once again couldn't take advantage of their own offensive opportunities in a 4-2 loss to the Texas Rangers. Right-hander Mitch Atkins, making his Orioles debut and his first big league start, allowed just one run in six innings and left with his new team leading 2-1. But Orioles reliever Jim Johnson, who has been excellent much of the season, gave up three runs (two earned)

The conventional wisdom explaining the Orioles' sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in the season-opening series at Tropicana Field was that the defending American League East champs were caught at the right time, when they were dealing with key injuries and an unsettled bullpen. That theory was easy to buy after the Rays came to Baltimore last weekend and swept the Orioles, setting up what was supposed to be more dominance by the first-place Rays this weekend. But something funny happened on the way to the Trop this time around.