O's Miss Out On Fenway Sweep

Kevin Millwood gave up a few home runs, and the O's offense went quietly in a 6-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.

Millwood (3-16) gave up two long balls to put the Birds in a hole they couldn't climb out of...Millwood's 30 taters allowed are second-worst in the AL. His final line: five innings, seven hits, six runs, a walk and five strikeouts. Millwood was brought on to eat innings and mentor a young staff, and while he has certainly been a work-horse, his record leaves much to be desired. His first inning ERA is the worst in baseball (nearly 12.00) and his 16 losses are the worst on a squad full of rookies. Let's not even talk about the 16 losses...and don't even try to bring up the fact that Millwood has some of the worst run support in baseball. If you give up six runs a game, you're going to lose more often than not...

Once again, though, the Birds just couldn't score with Millwood on the mound. Ty Wigginton slapped an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth to plate Nick Markakis and give the O's a 1-0 lead. The Sox answered right back, as David Ortiz smashed a three-run shot in the bottom of the inning to give Boston a lead they would never relinquish.

Still, the Orioles won the series at Fenway and went 9-9 against the Red Sox this season. They are playing great baseball under Buck Showalter, and have held their own against the East over the past two months. The O's take Thursday off before taking on the Blue Jays in Toronto for a three-game set. Before last week's home sweep, the Birds had gone 0-12 against the Jays in 2010. The O's still have yet to beat the Jays in Toronto, and they send Chris Tillman to the mound on Friday night to attempt to reverse that trend...