The Orioles' loss to the Mariners on Monday was hard to take because it extended the team's latest losing streak to three games. Nobody could say it was unexpected because it came at the hands of Seattle's Jamie Moyer, a left-hander just as the Sportsbook odds predicted.
It was the 10th loss of the season in the 14 games when opponents started a lefty. And, as much as manager Sam Perlozzo wants to push aside the club's record against southpaws, he has to face up to the reality that his team has major problems against left-handers
As much as the jinx against lefties bothers Perlozzo, there are too many other things going on with his team to concern himself with that. The Orioles called up a pitcher who isn't ready for the majors, but 21-year old Hayden Penn was knocked out Monday by appendicitis before he could get to the mound.
With Penn expected to pitch on Tuesday, the Orioles brought up Adam Loewen from Double-A Bowie to fill the roster spot, but Perlozzo wasn't sure Monday who would pitch for him Tuesday.
Tampa's Seth McClung likes to say that he learns something in every start. Monday's lessons in the 6-4 loss to the Blue Jays might be a little more painful than some others. McClung was criticized after the game for his lack of preparation as well as his attitude upon being taken out.
"What he has to look at in a situation like that is what he did going into the start, how he prepared for the start," manager Joe Maddon said. "And he also has to look at what he did to settle down and get deep into the game, because he did settle down and he did start pitching well at a certain point.'I think those are two things for him to learn from."
What the 25-year-old right-hander admitted was a "hurried" bullpen session led to a bad start as he allowed five runs in the first three innings. That he was able to get in such a good groove later, retiring 15 straight before being issued after a leadoff walk in the eighth, further accentuated the problem.