PHOENIX _ John Means might be the rookie in the Orioles' rotation, but by now, they know what they're getting from him every fifth day on the mound.
But on a day when he didn't live up to that, their two most experienced players _ first baseman Chris Davis and second baseman Jonathan Villar _ illustrated that even the modest standards they've set can't be consistently met. Each left the bases loaded late in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks to complete miserable series for each and put another series loss on the Orioles' resume.
Villar, who went 0-for-5 in the leadoff spot in the first two games of the series, was hitless in his first three at-bats before leaving the bases loaded with a chopper back to the mound trailing 4-2 in the seventh inning.
In the eighth, with the deficit at 5-2, the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs for Davis, who struck out. Villar capped the frustrating day for the Orioles veterans by flying out on the first pitch he saw after back-to-back walks to open the ninth inning. The Orioles didn't score.
Davis went 0-for-9 with eight strikeouts in the series, while Villar was 0-for-15.
The team's young outfielders, however, produced well. Dwight Smith Jr. and Anthony Santander had two hits apiece, with Santander and Trey Mancini chipping in solo home runs to account for the Orioles' offense.
