David Hernandez has lost his last 10 decisions as a big leaguer.
And right now he is on the hook for No. 11, which would be the second longest personal losing streak in O's history, passing Jay Tibbs' 10 (7-14-88 to 10-1-88) and two behind Mike Boddicker's 13 (9-9-87 until 5-14-88).
Hernandez pitched well early on – but he unraveled in the fifth and sixth, again felled by an inability to throw strikes.
After allowing one hit through four innings, he gave up a leadoff homer in the fifth to Ryan Langerhans – that happens.
But then with two on and two outs, he intentionally walked Ichiro Suzuki to load the bases and walked Chone Figgins – who entered the game hitting .185 and is so lost he attempted to bunt in that bases-loaded at-bat -- for the second run.
In the sixth, he got two quick outs and then walked two more before a single to left – that Nolan Reimold badly misplayed, by the way – and two more runs scored. Jason Berken allowed an inherited runner to score and now the Orioles are down 5-0 in the sixth.
Here's Hernandez's line: 5 2/3 IP, 5H, 5R/4ER, 4BB, 4K, 1HR, 2WP.
You have to wonder how much longer the Orioles will stick with Hernandez.