Burres implodes
Brian Burres had been a picture of consistency for the Orioles, but in his last start of the first half, he came up small. Burres turned in the shortest outing of the season by an Orioles starter, going just 1 1/3 innings. He allowed seven runs on six hits, pushing his ERA from 3.38 to 4.27. Jermaine Dye capped off Chicago's five-run first inning with a three-run home run to left-center. Tadahito Iguchi then ended Burres' evening with a two-run shot to right-center.
Iguchi comes up a single short
Even with a six-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning last night, most of the announced crowd of 30,364 at U.S. Cellular Field stayed. That was because Iguchi was due up second in the inning and he was only a single shy of the cycle. With many of the fans on their feet and chanting his name, Iguchi worked a 3-1 count on Orioles reliever John Parrish. He then fouled off several tough pitches before walking. That prompted a wave of boos from the fans.
Patterson goes deep
Though it served as little more than window dressing on the scoreboard, Corey Patterson's two-run homer, which cut the White Sox's lead to 10-5 in the seventh inning, was significant for the Orioles' center fielder. After all, it was his second home run of the season and his first since April 10, the Orioles' eighth game of the season. Patterson's homer, off White Sox starter John Danks, traveled 423 feet and landed in the right-field bleachers.
On deck
A three-game weekend set with the Texas Rangers, the last series before the All-Star break, will begin tonight with Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie (4-2, 2.63) taking the mound against right-hander Kameron Loe (5-6, 5.72). Guthrie is coming off his first loss since April 24. Loe, 6 feet 7, 240 pounds, will make his 15th start. He is 4-0 in his past four outings and hasn't given up more than three earned runs in any of them.