BALTIMORE _ The Orioles haven't given the home crowd at Camden Yards much to cheer about lately, and after an eighth-inning implosion on a sweltering Saturday afternoon at Oriole Park, they gave their fans plenty to boo.
Their late-inning unraveling ended in a 6-2 loss, their seventh straight defeat and 17th in their past 18 home games.
After a five-run eighth inning sequenced by the bad baseball that has summarized their season, those who remained of the announced crowd of 38,838 booed the Orioles off the field.
The fact that the Orioles managed just two runs _ and had just three singles after scoring those runs in the opening frame _ wasn't a good omen. The Orioles are just 3-34 in games in which they score two runs or fewer.
But right-hander Andrew Cashner had given the bullpen his fourth straight non-rain delay quality start, holding the Angels to one run on four hits over six innings in what was one of his grittiest efforts of the season.
And even with a bullpen badly diminished by season-ending injuries, the Orioles were set up well with late-inning arms to protect a one-run lead.
But set-up man Mychal Givens failed to hold the lead in the eighth, surrendering back-to-back one-out walks to Mike Trout and Justin Upton that spelled trouble. Givens walked Trout on nine pitches _ a plate appearance that included five foul balls _ then gave him second base on a wild pitch and fell behind Upton 3-0 before walking him on four pitches.
Albert Pujols took the first pitch he saw the other way into the right-center-field gap for a double that tied the game.
After Andrelton Simmons was intentionally walked with first base open, left-hander Tanner Scott didn't fare much better. His defense didn't help him. Chris Young hit a sharp grounder to Tim Beckham at third, but after touching the bag there, he hesitated on his throw to first and pulled first baseman Chris Davis off the bag, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
Ian Kinsler then beat out a grounder to shortstop Manny Machado for an infield single to score another run, and Scott hit Martin Maldonado with a pitch to make it 5-2. The Angels took a 6-2 lead on David Fletcher's two-run single to center, but Adam Jones threw out Maldonado at third to end the inning.
Cashner had learned to work with little run support from his offense this season. He has very little to show for the quality starts he's recorded in his past three non-delay-shortened outings going into Saturday's start. And after Saturday's outing, he's had six starts without a win and the Orioles are 4-12 in games he starts.
Cashner battled through a 27-pitch fifth inning that ended with him stranding the bases loaded by striking out Upton.
He used his curveball effectively, especially early in the count to get ahead, throwing the pitch for a strike 16 of 21 times.
The Orioles manufactured two runs in the bottom of the first with station-to-station baseball against Angels starter Tyler Skaggs as Beckham, Jones and Machado opened the game with singles. Machado's single scored Beckham and Danny Valencia's sacrifice fly drove in Jones to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.
But the Orioles had just three hits after that, one that actually ended an inning when Machado hit a ball the other way destined for right field but hit Jones on the bases between first and second for a runner's interference call that ended the fifth.
