After losing his last start against the Cleveland Indians despite allowing three runs over seven innings, Orioles pitcher Kevin Millwood remarked, "I guess I just got to pick a better night to pitch, when we score more runs."
Tuesday night wasn't it, as Millwood again reprised his role as hard-luck loser while matched up against an unheralded, young left-hander. Millwood allowed just one run in eight innings, but his counterpart, Luke French, was even better, holding the Orioles scoreless for 7 2/3 innings in the Seattle Mariners' 4-0 victory in front of an announced 14,739 at Camden Yards.
Matt Tuiasosopo, a late entry into the Mariners' lineup, drove in the only run off Millwood with an RBI double in the fifth and then broke the game open with a three-run homer off Armando Gabino in the ninth.
The Orioles (42-78) lost for the third time in four games and just the second time in nine home games under manager Buck Showalter. The Orioles fell to 12-25 against left-handed starters this season. Of the eight times they've been shut out this season, three of them have been by a left-hander.
French, who entered the game with a 4.96 ERA, allowed just three hits, two of them by rookie third baseman Josh Bell, who broke up the Seattle starter's no-hit bid with a one-out single in the sixth. The Orioles' other two hits off him came in the eighth, when Bell hit a two-out double and Brian Roberts followed with a single.
With his team's lead just 1-0, Mariners interim manager Daren Brown brought in Brandon League, who retired Nick Markakis on a fielder's choice to end the threat.
"We haven't seen him, but he pumped the zone," Orioles first baseman Ty Wigginton said of French. "That was it. He used his fastball, mixed in enough changeups and a couple of sliders. It's a shame because Millwood definitely deserves better."
Millwood has dropped five straight decisions and is winless since June 24. With his 13th loss, he overtook teammate Brian Matusz for the American League lead in that category.
"I worry about things I can control, and scoring runs is obviously not something I can control," Millwood said. "I feel like if I go out and pitch well, give us a chance, then I've done my job. If I felt like guys weren't trying, it would be a different story. Everybody is going up there trying to put the ball in play, trying to get hits, trying to score runs. It just didn't happen for us today."
In Millwood's last start against the Indians, the Orioles were held down by Jeanmar Gomez, a 22-year-old making just his fourth big league start. On Tuesday night, it was French, a 24-year-old who was making just his 17th career start.
Millwood did get through the first inning unscathed, which hasn't been an easy feat for him. In 11 of his previous 14 starts, the veteran right-hander had given up two earned runs or more in the first inning. He surrendered at least one earned run in the first inning of 12 of those outings and a total of 35 first-inning runs during that span.
However, he got through a relatively easy 12-pitch first Tuesday night, allowing just a one-out single to Chone Figgins before retiring Russell Branyan and Jose Lopez to end the inning.
Millwood got a little help from his defense in the third inning. After a one-out walk to No. 9 hitter Josh Wilson, Ichiro Suzuki drove a ball to right-center. On a dead sprint, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones ran the ball down and caught up with it just in front of the wall. Jones then fired a long throw back to first base to try to double up Wilson. Ty Wigginton caught it but was too late getting back to the bag.
Millwood's shutout bid stayed intact until the fifth, when catcher Adam Moore, who had four hits, including a homer, the previous night, hit a leadoff single and Tuiasosopo lined a double into left-center field. Moore scored without a throw to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead.
French, meanwhile, was having very little trouble sitting down the Orioles. He issued a leadoff walk to the hot-hitting Scott in the second inning before retiring Jones on a strikeout, Felix Pie on a flyout and Matt Wieters on a groundout.
French issued another leadoff walk to Markakis in the fourth, but he was quickly erased when Wigginton hit into a double play.
The Orioles finally got their first hit off French with one out in the sixth inning when Bell ripped an 87 mph, 2-1 fastball into the hole between shortstop and third base for a single. They also got their first runner in scoring position in the inning as French's second walk of Markakis put runners on first and second with two outs. Wigginton then flied out to right field to end the threat.
"He was sharp," Showalter said of French. "That wasn't some fluky thing. He drove the ball in the inner half. That changeup, threw a small slider. He was good. He was really good."
jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com