BALTIMOREOutings dont get more bipolar for a starting pitcher than it did for Aaron Cook and the Red Sox on Wednesday night.
The veteran right-hander was working quickly and his sinker diving through five innings, and hadnt given up a single hit while slicing and dicing the Baltimore Orioles lineup. But just as beautifully as things had gone for Cook in the first five frames, they went horribly awry for him in the sixth on his way to a 5-3 loss to the Os at Camden Yards.
Cook was the first to put himself squarely in the crosshairs for blame in defeat.
His stuff was so good that only three of his 71 pitches was something other than a sinking fastball, but that didnt matter in the sixth.
I cost us the game. Its a play Ive made over a hundred times. I didnt get my feet set. I had plenty of time and I just yanked it, said Cook, who has walked six batters in his last two outings after walking only four batters over the previous eight games. It was just a bad throw. I cant let that happen. I need to set my feet, take my time and make a good throw so we can get out of that inning.
The trouble started pretty harmlessly with a one-out walk, and then J.J. Hardy broke up the no-hitting with a single to left field. A Nate McLouth single to right field scored a run and finally seemed to wake the Baltimore offensive from their five innings stupor. But it was the next play that changed the face of the game.
Adam Jones smacked a grounder right through the box and Cook gloved it as he sprang off the mound. The right-hander had his plant foot slip slightly as he released the ball and uncorked a wildly errant throw to the left of the second base bag that ended up in center field.
Aaron really pitched well for the five innings and was really fielding his position, said Bobby Valentine. He just didnt make a play in that inning, and Oh Lordy we didnt turn the double play. He gives up a double and the next thing you know were down a couple of runs.
Were in the dugout if Cook makes the play. It looks like he might have slipped a little on the mound when he threw the ball to second.
Instead of a double play that could have ended the inning, the tying run scored and the Os kept their rally alive.
Matt Wieters followed with a ground-rule double to left field that Carl Crawford appeared to get a late jump toward, and that was it for Cook. A Mark Reynolds double over Crawfords head when he failed to get his hands up to attempt a catch scored two more of Cooks inherited runners, and he went from a no-hitter to five runs allowed in the span of a 13 of an inning.
That is a dizzyingly fast turnaround.
We should have been out of there with one run allowed and high-fiving each other right now, said Cook. I feel awful. Were trying to win games and we should have won. We lost it because I made an error.
Give Cook credit for fully absorbing the brunt of the blame, and setting an example in defeat for a number of teammates routinely looking to escape blame when things go bad. Unfortunately good things dont always happen even when things are being done the right kind of way.