It was a familiar sight for the Orioles on Monday night. Texas Rangers left-hander Derek Holland would record the final out of an inning, and a number of Orioles would leave their place on the bases after they were stranded.
The Orioles left 10 runners on base and hit 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position as the Rangers defeated the Orioles, 8-5, at Camden Yards.
"You have to give Holland credit," center fielder Adam Jones said. "He got into some jams and was able to get out of them, especially the first three innings. We let him off the hook, but that's why he gets paid the big bucks — he makes good pitches at times, also."
Holland allowed the Orioles to reach at least second base in each of the first three innings, but worked out of the jam each time. In the first inning, the Orioles had runners on first and third with one out, but Holland struck out first baseman Chris Davis and catcher Matt Wieters to end the inning.
In the second, shortstop J.J. Hardy reached second after a single and sacrifice bunt, but designated hitter Brian Roberts and second baseman Alexi Casilla couldn't come up with hits.
It was the same in the third, as Holland struck out Davis and Wieters again to end the inning after the Orioles put two on with no outs.
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Davis — who was selected to the American League team for the Home Run Derby earlier Monday — and Wieters struck out four times each, marking the fourth time in franchise history that two Orioles struck out at least four times in a game. The last time it happened was Sept. 7, 2011 at the New York Yankees, as Mark Reynolds struck out four times and Davis struck out five times.
The Orioles were able to break through against Holland in the fourth to score three runs, but after Davis was intentionally walked to load the bases, Wieters struck out to end the threat. The pair, batting fourth and fifth in the lineup, went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Wieters provided some late offense with a two-run home run in the seventh to cut the Rangers lead to 8-5.
But in the ninth inning against Rangers closer Joe Nathan, Davis and Wieters struck out back-to-back for the third and final time as the Orioles' comeback bid fell short.
"Yeah, we had our chances," Wieters said. "We were able to get guys on with no outs and just couldn't quite get them in. It's something to where, sometimes you have games like that and you've just got to be ready to go tomorrow. If that situation presents itself, be ready to drive them in."