ARLINGTON, Texas -- Ask him if he enjoys punishing his former team and Texas Rangers designated hitter Rafael Palmeiro will deflect the issue. He needn't say a word. Last night the hobbled slugger's bat again exacted retribution from a team now numbed by its plight.
Palmeiro broke open a tie game with a three-run homer in the sixth inning as the Rangers rolled to an 8-1 win before 46,118 at The Ballpark. To those still counting, the Orioles have lost six straight and seven of eight to construct a 12-24 record. Now 3-15 on the road, their 2-7, three-city tour comes to a merciful close this afternoon with momentum again suggesting a move on manager Ray Miller as soon as tomorrow.
"It has never bothered me. It really hasn't. Because I'm a realist," Miller said of the possibility of his firing. "I get a little upset when I get second-guessed. Everything I'm doing is trying to get us back in a ballgame."
Palmeiro's blast off reliever Doug Johns (0-1) completed three days of payback. Still bothered by the aftereffects of two arthroscopic knee surgeries, Palmeiro enters today with six RBIs, five runs scored and two home runs against a team that offered him $50 million over five years but could not sign him last December. The Rangers mashed 14 hits against six Orioles pitchers, as Ricky Bones and Arthur Rhodes were the only relievers to escape the carnage.
"When you go to the bullpen it's not supposed to be a never-ending trip. When you bring them in, all you're trying to do is get people out," Miller said.
The Orioles actually held the game at 1-1 for five innings. However, starting pitcher Juan Guzman left after four innings due to lower back stiffness, the same malady that has afflicted Delino DeShields and Cal Ripken to different degrees.
Guzman's removal brought on Johns, summoned Friday night to take Doug Linton's spot in the bullpen. Johns survived only 1 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs and four hits. The Rangers followed their three-run sixth inning with a four-run seventh, leaving the Orioles outscored 30-14 for the series and 53-29 during their losing skid. After entering last Saturday with the major leagues' longest winning streak, they now have the longest losing run.
"How many times can you say, 'Let's go get them. Keep your heads up,' " Miller said. "Especially when people come out of the bullpen and walk people. I have to sit here and explain it every day. That's my job. But I'm running out of words."
Five games had passed since the Orioles had received a quality start. Guzman appeared poised to give them their first since last Sunday when his lower back grabbed him after the fourth inning. With little warning Johns was hustled into the game and allotted as much time to warm as necessary.
The Rangers represented a good opportunity for Guzman. Last year he had gone 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA against them, including a Sept. 14 appearance in which he received no decision for seven shutout innings.
Since receiving an additional day off following his April 28 start, Guzman had resembled a more confident, more focused pitcher. He had gone seven innings in two subsequent starts, earning a win at Camden Yards against the Chicago White Sox and suffering a tough loss last Monday in Cleveland. Guzman surrendered three leads while using 123 pitches.
Guzman fell behind 1-0 in the first inning after Tom Goodwin outran a grounder for an infield single. He stole second base on the third pitch to Mark McLemore, took third on a right-side grounder and scored when left fielder Rusty Greer pounded a double to right field.
The big-swinging Rangers did nothing more against Guzman, who has rediscovered the boring sinker that became his trademark with the Toronto Blue Jays. He faced the minimum 11 hitters in his last 3 2/3 innings, striking out four. Charles Johnson assisted by throwing out McLemore stealing to end the third inning.
The Orioles had little more success against Rangers starter Rick Helling (4-4), who won for the fourth time in five starts. Previously a pinata vs. the Orioles, Helling reversed a trend in which he had allowed 25 earned runs in as many innings in six earlier appearances against them.
B. J. Surhoff extended his two-week tear by doubling with two outs in the first inning but was stranded.
A celebration of Cal Ripken's return from the disabled list continued in the second inning. With one out and Jeff Conine at first base, Ripken drove a double into the right-field corner. While Roberto Kelly fumbled for the rebound, Conine circled the bases to give Ripken his fourth RBI in three games since coming off the disabled list Thursday.
Ripken, who owns as many extra-bases since his return as in the eight games before his departure, is no longer constrained by a contorted, stiff-legged stance.
With the help of hitting coach Terry Crowley, he has returned to a flexed position square to the pitcher. Whereas before he appeared restricted, he now appears much quicker through the ball. Friday he homered off Rangers closer John Wetteland to pull the Orioles within 7-6.
But just as Guzman quieted the Rangers after an early rally, Helling prevented the Orioles from pushing another runner into scoring position until the seventh inning. Albert Belle led off the fourth inning with a single but immediately erased himself with a futile delayed steal attempt.
The Rangers broke through against Johns in the sixth inning. For the second consecutive night Palmeiro carried the hammer.
Ivan Rodriguez's one-out single put runners at first and second for Johns. Palmeiro entered the at-bat hitting .386 with runners in scoring position, a facet of his game that drew consistent criticism during his final two years in Baltimore.
Two innings after being hobbled by a foul ball that glanced off his aching right leg, Palmeiro wheeled on Johns' third pitch for a towering fly ball that scaled the right-field wall for a 4-1 lead.
Once again, the Orioles were victimized by a big inning. During their six-game losing skid they have surrendered eight innings of three runs or more, including breakouts of six and eight runs.
Palmeiro wasn't through until the seventh. The Rangers had already tagged Mike Fetters for two runs on a double-triple-single combination by McLemore, Greer and Rodriguez. Miller imported Jesse Orosco to face Palmeiro and was answered with a drive that never rose more than 15 feet before slamming into the right-field fence for a single. Palmeiro completed the series 6-for-10 against his former team.
Behind eight ball
Whether in the midst of a five-game winning streak or a six-game losing streak, the Orioles seem to stay the same distance behind the first-place Yankees. A look:
D O's NYY GB
5/2 W 6-0 W 9-8 9 1/2
5/4 W 9-5 L 8-5 8
5/5 W 8-0 W 5-3 8
5/6 W 4-2 W 4-3 8
5/7 W 9-4 W 10-1 8
5/10 L 6-4 off 8 1/2
5/11 L 11-6 L 9-7 8 1/2
5/12 L 6-5 L 1-0 8 1/2
5/13 L 15-7 L 2-0 8 1/2
5/14 L 7-6 L 8-2 8 1/2
5/15 L 8-1 L 12-4 8 1/2
Orioles today
Opponent: Texas Rangers
Site: The Ballpark in Arlington
Time: 3: 05 p.m.
TV/Radio: HTS/WBAL (1090 AM)
Starters: O's Sidney Ponson (2-3, 5.40) vs. Rangers' Aaron Sele (3-3, 4.54)