The last time the Orioles were a .500 team this late in a season, they were coming off a second consecutive appearance in the American League Championship Series and Scott Erickson's right elbow had its original ligament.
Erickson won't take them into October this year, but balancing the Orioles' 2002 record seemed almost as worthy of an accomplishment. If only Jason Giambi hadn't put so much weight on the right side of the scale.
Leading 2-1 in the sixth inning last night, Erickson surrendered a two-run homer to Giambi that dictated the game's outcome. Giambi had his 18th career multi-homer game, and the Orioles lost a prime opportunity to break even for the first time since May 11.
Erickson's fourth career 10-strikeout game couldn't prevent a 3-2 loss before the Orioles' first sellout crowd since Opening Day. But satisfaction inside the home clubhouse came from again taking two of three from the Yankees.
Since May 22, the Orioles have gone 14-13 against some of baseball's most feared heavyweights.
Rather than hit the canvas like Mike Tyson, a glove covering their faces, they remained upright against the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. Not a tomato can in the bunch.
"They've been scraping all year," Giambi said. "If you score five runs, it seems like they score six, so it was good to get out of here with a win."
Playing on another sweltering night at Camden Yards, the Orioles came within a Giambi uppercut of completing their first three-game sweep of the Yankees since the end of the 2000 season.
"He knows we count on him a great deal," said Yankees manager Joe Torre.
"Tonight he was our whole offense."
Signed to a seven-year, $120 million deal this winter, Giambi was targeted by angry Yankees fans in early April for not producing Ruthian numbers. Only his contract was fat.
He was batting .308 against the Orioles this season, but had truly hurt them only once - driving in five runs and coming within a triple of the cycle in a 13-5 victory earlier this month at Yankee Stadium.
He led off the fourth last night with a homer to center field, reducing the Orioles' lead to 2-1. Erickson went low and away with a 91 mph fastball.
Erickson found the same spot in the sixth after Derek Jeter led off with a single, this time going off-speed at 2-1. Same result.
Erickson couldn't complain about the pitch. The only poor location was where the ball landed - above the scoreboard in right field.
"He hit a couple of pretty good pitches," Torre said, "and we needed every bit of it."