BALTIMORE _ Whether the Orioles learn their lessons from the recurring problems that hampered them all week and led to Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays _ running into outs at home plate and pitching to Randal Grichuk _ won't do much to fix the damage.
Grichuk, who homered both Monday and Tuesday, had two more blasts Wednesday afternoon at Camden Yards. The latter gave Toronto a slim lead in the sixth inning. By then, the Orioles had squandered many of their best chances.
The Orioles (12-12) had no trouble getting base runners early, but the run of bad outcomes on the bases that began in the 10th inning the night before with Dwight Smith Jr. getting caught in a rundown at home plate continued.
Chance Sisco was on third base with no outs after a leadoff walk and a double by Anthony Santander in the first inning, and was running on contact when Renato Nunez grounded right to the third baseman, who easily threw home for the first out of the inning. The Orioles didn't score.
They stranded two more in the second inning after Grichuk's first home run, and finally broke through in the fourth when Hanser Alberto doubled and scored on an error in the outfield on a single by Smith, and Smith scored on a single by Pat Valaika.
Valaika ended up at third base with one out after a single by Cedric Mullins, but was out trying to score on a fly ball to right field for an inning-ending double play.
The Orioles stranded two more runners in scoring position in the fifth inning, but managed just three base runners from that point on and left two more on base when the game ended.
The Orioles have had eight series this year, and six of them have been sweeps. They swept the Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies in three-game series, and didn't win a game in a two-game series against the New York Yankees, a four-game series against the Miami Marlins and this three-game series against the Blue Jays (10-11).
Save for the two home runs to Grichuk that the Orioles couldn't overcome, veteran left-hander Tommy Milone took advantage of an aggressive Blue Jays lineup for one of his best starts of the season. Milone allowed three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts, bringing his ERA to 4.13.
Thomas Eshelman allowed a run in two innings of relief, and Cavan Biggio scored off Paul Fry after opening the ninth inning with a double on a routine fly ball that Smith didn't catch in left field.
Alberto got a day off Tuesday after a miniature slump by his own lofty standards, and returned with two hits.
Chris Davis, who like Alberto entered Tuesday's loss as a substitute but hadn't started since Friday, struck out in three of his four plate appearances and lined out to center field in the fourth.
