Reliever Jason Berken has been so good this season, but it was bound to happen with how much the Orioles have been relying on him in recent weeks.
The timing just couldn't have been any worse for an Orioles team that was desperate for a victory over the Toronto Blue Jays and for Jeremy Guthrie, who hadn't won in eight straight starts and did everything in his power to make it happen Saturday night.
Called on in the eighth inning to protect a one-run lead and Guthrie's first win since May 25, Berken watched Jose Bautista turn around a fastball and deposit it into the visiting bullpen at Camden Yards. The two-run shot for the major league home run leader pushed the Blue Jays to a 3-2 victory before an announced 28,518, and their eighth victory in as many tries against the Orioles this season.
Bautista's 25th homer stood up as the game winner because the Orioles (29-61) botched a great opportunity in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game or take the lead. Cesar Izturis led off the inning with a single, but Corey Patterson twice failed to get down a bunt and then struck out.
That loomed large when Miguel Tejada followed with a single that instead of scoring Izturis, put runners on the corners with one out. Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston brought in Scott Downs to face Nick Markakis and the lefty got the Orioles' top hitter to bounce into a rally-killing double play.
Kevin Gregg then put two runners on with one out in the ninth, but got pinch hitter Scott Moore to pop out on his first pitch. After Gregg walked Julio Lugo to load the bases, Gaston pulled his closer from the game and earned quite a stare and some words from Gregg. However, Shawn Camp came on and got Izturis to hit into a fielder's choice.
Camp's first save gave starter Toronto starter Brandon Morrow his first win in 10 road starts this season and the Blue Jays an opportunity to go for the series sweep Sunday afternoon.
Guthrie was forced to swallow a no-decision after allowing just one run and striking out six over 6 2/3 innings. The only run he surrendered was on his first pitch of the night, which Fred Lewis knocked over the center-field wall for the solo home run.
It was Guthrie's first start in nine days, but the break figured to come at a good time for the right-hander, who had a disappointing June and didn't fare much better in his first two outings this month. In five June starts, Guthrie went 0-4 with a 5.29 ERA. He then followed that up by going 0-1 with a 10.39 ERA in two starts before the All-Star break.
Overall, Guthrie had surrendered four earned runs or more in six of his past eight starts entering the night, and pitched more than six innings just twice during that span.
When the first pitch he threw was pounded over the outstretched glove of a leaping Adam Jones and the center-field wall by Lewis, it appeared as if it would be more of the same. However, Guthrie settled in and relied on a fastball, that he consistently threw in the mid 90s, to get out of some jams.
Already leading 1-0 on Lewis' fourth leadoff homer of the season, the Blue Jays had two men on, but Guthrie retired Aaron Hill on a groundout. He then stranded Bautista after his two-out double in the third by getting All-Star Vernon Wells to fly out to center field.
But his greatest escape was in the fourth, an inning that started with Adam Lind's double to left on a ball that Felix Pie didn't appear to take the greatest route on. Hill fought off an inside fastball and blooped a single in front of Pie in left, putting runners on first and third and no outs. That brought up Lyle Overbay, who was 10-for-30 with two homers off Guthrie in his career.
Overbay got ahead 3-1 before Guthrie worked back in the count to get the strikeout. He then got Edwin Encarnacion to hit a ground ball right at Lugo, who flipped to Izturis at second and then Izturis threw to first to complete the double play.
Guthrie sprinted off the mound after escaping the jam, but there was still the matter of scoring some runs against Morrow. The talented but enigmatic right-hander entered the game 0-5 with a 6.80 ERA in nine road starts this season compared to 5-1 with a 3.27 ERA in nine outings at Toronto's Rogers Centre.
Coming into Saturday night, Morrow hadn't made it past six innings in any of his nine road starts. However, he was in firm control early Saturday night, facing the minimum through three innings. Markakis connected for a two-out double in the fourth, but Morrow left him at second by striking out Ty Wigginton.
The Orioles finally bunched together some hits in the fifth, starting with Jones' line single to center. Pie followed with what appeared to be a double-play ball, but it hit off the glove of Morrow and trickled into shallow right field before Hill caught up with it.
With men on first and second and no outs, Craig Tatum squared to bunt but he took one fastball for a strike and then fouled off another attempt. However, he made up for it by drawing a walk to load the bases. Morrow struck out Lugo for a big first out and then left a fastball up that Izturis drove to the left center-field gap for a two-run single.
The Oriole still had runners at first and third and one out, a nice opportunity to give their pitching staff more than a one-run cushion. However, Patterson fouled out to shallow left field and then Morrow fanned Miguel Tejada to end the inning.
Guthrie then clung tightly to the 2-1 lead, retiring the side in the sixth inning while getting two of the outs on strikeouts. He then struck out Overbay to start the seventh before giving up a one-out single to Encarnacion. Guthrie retired Jose Molina to get the second out and then Will Ohman came on to strike out Lewis.
But Guthrie, who jogged off the mound to a standing ovation, lost his win the next inning when Berken surrendered a leadoff single to Yunel Escobar and then the two-run homer to Bautista on a 1-0 fastball.
jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com