Orioles right-hander Brian Bass no-hit the Rays Monday. But he never made it out of the fifth inning. An outburst of walks indicated the end of the line for Bass, a long-reliever/spot starter.
"He seems more of a two- or three-inning guy," manager Dave Trembley said. "Then all the sudden, the switch goes off." Bass issued four of the eight walks the Orioles allowed Monday; three of them came consecutively with two outs in the fifth before he was pulled from the game.
In three starts with the Orioles, Bass has allowed just one run in the first four innings. But in the fifth inning of those three outings, spanning 1 1/3 innings of work, he's allowed nine runs on five hits and four walks.
"For three starts, Bass has shown good movement, life and location. Then he seems to hit the wall," Trembley said. "I saw it again (Monday night) in the fourth. Things seem to break down. He's a strike-thrower, he works fast, he's down, and then in the fourth he seemed to lose it a bit."
The Orioles are likely to slot Bass in a long relief role to begin the 2009 season, a slot similar to the one right-hander Matt Albers thrived in during the first half of 2008.
RAYS 4, ORIOLES 2: Rays rookie David Price didn't earn the win in his first big league start, but he held the Orioles to four hits in 5 1/3 innings. The Orioles handed out eight walks, and Tampa Bay had more runs (four) than hits (three).
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