Brian Matusz, or any of the other Orioles starters, for that matter, hasn't gotten much experience this season protecting any lead, never mind a four-run advantage. So perhaps it shouldn't have been a total surprise that Matusz looked completely uncomfortable in such a situation Wednesday night after the Orioles had one of their best offensive innings of the season.
Matusz managed to get just one out before squandering the four-run lead and then allowed the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the woeful Orioles lost again, dropping a 7-5 decision to the Florida Marlins in front of an announced 13,720 at sultry Camden Yards.
"They all hurt," Orioles interim manager Juan Samuel said. "We are trying to win as many games as we can. They all hurt. After scoring those four runs we thought, 'OK, we could add,' but we've been in that situation before many times. They all hurt."
The Orioles made it a one-run game in the eighth on Corey Patterson's infield single, but Miguel Tejada flied out with the bases loaded to end the threat. Patterson had three RBIs on Wednesday, while Tejada has driven in just one run since May 27. The inning also included a curious decision to have Matt Wieters drop down a sacrifice bunt with men on first and second and no outs. Florida got the lead runner at third, which loomed large as the Orioles rallied later in the inning.
Marlins closer Leo Nunez pitched the ninth for his 16th save after Florida gave him a two-run cushion with a run in the ninth off closer Alfredo Simon.
It was the second time in their past three games that the Orioles (19-52) blew an early four-run lead in falling for the third straight time and the ninth time in the past 11 contests. They've lost 11 straight games to the Marlins, who overcame the distraction of manager Fredi Gonzalez's firing earlier in the day and then erased a 4-0 second-inning deficit by the top of the third to give interim manager Edwin Rodriguez his first victory.
"That's why we're in the situation that we're in," the Orioles' Luke Scott said. "It's been a collective thing. It hasn't been for a lack of effort. We've worked hard, we're playing hard, we're trying our best. Are we pressing? Yeah. I wouldn't expect anything less but to press in situations like this. We're human, and you can't escape it. We got to come here every day and play. It's stressful. It's been difficult for us, but it's baseball, it's life. Things like that happen. You just got to continue to press on and press through it. I don't like it and I don't enjoy it, but you can't give up."
Gaby Sanchez and Jorge Cantu hit two-run homers in the third, after Scott and Adam Jones had hit back-to-back homers as part of the Orioles' four-run second against Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco (6-6).
"They hit the two home runs and two mistakes that we're probably belt high. When he was down, he was tough," Wieters said of Matusz. "They had a difficult time with him. But when you're down, down, and you make that one mistake, it looks like a beach ball coming up there because they haven't seen those types of pitches. When you get ahead in the count, you have to focus on making quality pitches."
Catcher Ronny Paulino then broke the tie in the seventh inning with a one-out double after Matusz walked the leadoff batter. Chris Coghlan followed with an RBI double to make it a two-run game and ensure that Matusz would go winless for a 12th straight start. He allowed six earned runs on seven hits and two walks over 61/3 innings while falling to 2-8 on the season.
Nolasco, meanwhile, was so shaky early that the Marlins' bullpen was warming up in both the second and third innings. However, after Ty Wigginton's leadoff double in the third, he didn't allow another hit until Tejada's single in the top of the seventh.
The Orioles had six hits in their four-run second, their most in an inning since they had six hits in their six-run fifth against the Boston Red Sox on May 1.
They also hit back-to-back homers in the inning for just the second time all year. The other came in the ninth inning of a 7-5 loss to the New York Yankees on May 5, with Wieters and Nolan Reimold connecting.
This time, it was Scott and Jones. Scott drove Nolasco's 0-1 pitch 398 feet into the right-field seats to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. It was Scott's 11th homer of the season and his first in 50 at-bats. On Nolasco's next pitch, Jones crushed a 418-foot shot over the center-field wall.
It was Jones' 10th homer of the season as his bat continues to heat up.
The Orioles weren't done in the inning. Wieters hit a one-out single, and after Scott Moore struck out, Cesar Izturis' double put runners on second and third with two outs. Patterson drove in both of them with a line single out of the reach of second baseman Dan Uggla to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead.
Nolasco finally got out of the inning when Nick Markakis flied out with two men on.
Three days earlier, the Orioles had given rookie Jake Arrieta a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning against the San Diego Padres, and he gave it back and then some by the bottom of the third.
This time, fellow rookie Matusz couldn't even get three outs before losing the lead. Coghlan hit a one-out single to center, and Sanchez bashed a 1-2 changeup deep into the left-field seats. Matusz then walked Hanley Ramirez and watched his 2-1 pitch to Cantu get muscled into the left-field seats for a game-tying, two-run homer.