Blown out: Today's 9-1 loss was the most lopsided of the year. The previous biggest margin of defeat was the four-run loss, 5-1 to Tampa on Monday. The Orioles completed a winless first homestand, going 0 and 6. They were outscored 37 to 16 during the six losses vs. Toronto and Tampa. Tampa outscored the Birds 22-8 during the three-game sweep. The 1-8 start is the worst since the 0-21 start in 1988. Tampa Bay is 5-1 vs. the O's on the season. Today's win evened the all-time series...

You want good news? The Orioles didn't give up a run in the eighth or ninth inning for the first time this season. That's progress. I respect the fans who applauded Luke Scott's one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth inning. I won't question their sanity. Way to stay in the game. Dave Trembley talks with the media after the O's 9-1 loss to the Rays Garrett Atkins followed with a little roller in front of the plate. The catcher picked up the ball and tagged Atkins on the foot for...

Any Orioles' mistake seems to be costly these days. In the first inning Wednesday, Tampa's Carl Crawford, batting second with one out, hit a popup on the infield. It was right near Cesar Izturis at short. But he never saw the ball. Miguel Tejada, playing third base, thought he heard Izturis calling to make the play. Tejada came over at the last moment and the ball popped out of his glove for an error. Of course, a few batters later Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer and all three runs...

Phillies catcher Brian Schneider taking on his former team in the Nats this week. He has played for the Nats, Mets and now Phillies in the last three seasons and is settling in as the backup catcher to Carlos Ruiz. When Brian was in D.C., he mentored a lot of young players for the Nats and was a leader on the field as well as in the clubhouse. I remember several times he would be walking off the field during batting practice with his arm around the shoulders of a Nats teammate telling him...

Manager Dave Trembley confirmed that Jim Johnson would "get that consideration" as Mike Gonzalez's replacement in the ninth inning. It's not a ringing endorsement, but it sounds like Johnson is the frontrunner to close. He brings a little experience, if not a lot of success, to the table. Gonzalez told Trembley that his shoulder has been bothering him the last couple of days. The club is awaiting the results of his MRI.

For the Orioles a winless first homestand. At least today there was no late-inning, gut-wrenching loss. The drama ended early. It was 6-0 after three and 8-0 after Tampa batted in the fourth. The final was 9-1, Rays. Brad Bergesen got rocked for eight runs in three innings plus. Mike Gonzalez went on the disabled list. The Orioles went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. They weren't exactly all over the bases today. They were outscored 37 to 15 during the 0-6 homestand and...

Today's attendance: 10,248. Not a record low, but pretty darn low. That's 125,646 tickets sold for this homestand. B.J. Upton has two home runs this season - both of them coming today. He connected off Brad Bergesen in the third inning and took Jason Berken deep in the seventh. Tampa Bay 9, Orioles 1 Did two blown saves in four games really turn things around this dramatically? It's the second multi-homer game of Upton's career, the other coming July 20, 2007 at New York. See, bad...

The Orioles honored catcher Matt Wieters last night with the first T-Shirt Tuesday of the 2010 season. I have a feeling most O's fans were pleased with the choice in Wieters for the first round of T-Shirt Tuesdays, and more than 13,000 fans turned out to pick up their Wieters tees. But if you take a look at the O's Promotions schedule, you'll see that there are five more T-Shirt Tuesdays coming up this season. You'll also notice that none of the remaining names have been...

Dennis Sarfate entered today's game at Triple-A Norfolk, but he apparently left without throwing a pitch. Anybody else find that strange? The Tides lead Charlotte, 7-0, in the bottom of the seventh. Jake Arrieta tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five. He threw 79 pitches, 56 for strikes. Update: Sarfate left the game with a strained oblique muscle. He's tossed three scoreless innings for the Tides this season, allowing one hit, walking one and striking...

Brad Bergesen is getting hit hard early today by the Rays, who already lead 6-0 in the third. He has allowed a pair of 400-foot, three-run homers, one to Carlos Pena and one to B.J. Upton. Pena has hit two three-run homers in his last two at bats here in less than 24 hours. Pena's first-inning three-run homer produced three unearned runs after Miguel Tejada dropped a pop up. Through three frames, Bergesen has allowed six runs on five hits. The Rays are 5 for 15 against him with four...