O' so close...

The Birds almost managed to avoid being swept out of New York on Wednesday afternoon, but lost their third straight to the Yanks, 7-5.

The O's managed an impressive rally in the eighth and ninth innings, but it just wasn't enough...

Down 6-1, Ty Wigginton broke out of an 0-10 slump and jacked a 2-run shot to put the Birds within three in the eighth inning.

Trailing 7-3 in the ninth, Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold slapped back-to-back solo jacks to trim the Yankees' lead to 7-5. It was the first time this season the O's hit consecutive home runs.

After two walks, Wigginton came up to bat as the go-ahead run, but flied out to right field to end the threat, and the series.

The O's are now 1-5 against New York this season, and went an incredible 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position over the current three-game set. The Birds also hit into seven double-plays during the series, with four of them coming in Wednesday's defeat.

The Birds now head to Minnesota to take on the red-hot Twins for a four-game series. The Twins (19-9) are only behind New York and Tampa Bay for the best record in all of baseball...meanwhile, the O's (7-21) have the worst record in the majors...