Game Wrap and Morning Links: May 3, 2011

Baltimore 2, Chicago (A) 6

Box Score Play-By-Play AP Game Recap

The Birds dropped the series finale to the White Sox, missing out on a chance for a sweep for the second straight series. Jeremy Guthre (L, 1-4) put together a solid start. The Orioles' Ace scattered five hits and two walks over seven innings, with his only real trouble coming in the 6th when he loaded the bases and subsequently allowed a Paul Konerko sacrifice fly. Derek Lee continues to climb out of the statistical hole dug by his highly unlucky offensive April. The former All-Star was 3-4 last night with one walk and one home run. Matt Wieters showed very well, again, behind the plate with two more sub-2.0 pops to second, throwing out 2-of-3 would-be base stealers. His 53% caught stealing is second in all of baseball, among qualified catchers, behind Oakland's Kurt Suzuki.

Stat of the game

Team LOB 13 (BAL); 0-9 RISP (BAL)

Guthrie continues to suffer through abysmal offensive showings from his teammates -- this time in the form of 13 runners left on base and an inept 0-9 with runners in scoring position. On the season, Guthrie has received the 7th worst run support in all of baseball, with the O's managing just 3.46 runs per Guthrie start.

Orioles Game ball

Derek Lee (3-4, HR (2), BB)

MiLB game balls

Norfolk - PPD
Bowie - Ronnie Welty, of (2-4, 0 SO!)
Frederick - Tyler Townsend, 1b (2-5, HR (4))
Delmarva - Jonathan Schoop, 22/3b (3-5, 2 2B, 3 R)

Three Morning Links

The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly notes beleagured Alfredo Simon, a suspect in a fatal shooting this winter in the Dominican Republic, could start Thursday's game for the AA Bowie Baysox.

The Sun's Jeff Zrebiec with his Morning Notes covering Guthrie, Markakis, Rupe and Bergie.

Brit Ghiroli takes a closer look at Guthrie's lack of run support at MLB.com, noting, "In Guthrie's 18 losses since 2010, the Orioles have scored 24 runs when he's pitching."

Baltimore heads to Kansas City tonight, 8:10 pm Eastern start. Brad Bergesen (0-3, 4.76) will take the hill for the Orioles against Jeff Francis (0-3, 5.03) of the Royals.