Orioles Learn Close Doesn’t Count, 4-3

The Baltimore Orioles tried a new lineup and even a new set of managers. They wound up with the same old result--their 17th straight defeat.

“They played well. I saw some pluses,” Manager Frank Robinson said after the Kansas City Royals beat the winless Orioles, 4-3, Saturday on Kurt Stillwell’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth inning, extending Baltimore’s record season-opening losing streak.

“I’ve always said that as long as they played hard, I have no problem with that,” Robinson said. “But a loss is a loss.”

Robinson, who exploded at his players after Friday night’s 13-1 defeat, was ejected in the second inning Saturday for yelling at the umpires about a balk call. Coaches Minnie Mendoza, Herm Starrette, Terry Crowley and John Hart ran the team in his absence, yet they could not do what Robinson and the fired Cal Ripken failed to do--win.

Robinson inserted five new players in the starting lineup, including pitcher Mark Williamson, who made his first start of the year.

The moves looked good for a while as Williamson worked seven strong innings and Ken Gerhart homered. The Orioles held one-run leads three times but could not prevent their fourth one-run loss of the season.

“We did everything to win the game but win the game,” outfielder Fred Lynn said.

The Orioles extended the major league record for season-opening defeats and continued their club-record losing streak.

“I feel kind of bad for them,” Royal Manager John Wathan said. “It’s unfortunate. They’ve got too good a ballclub to go through something like this.”

With one out in the ninth, Bo Jackson hit a fly ball to right field that he “thought was a routine pop-up.”

Instead, the ball carried in the wind and hit the top of the fence, above Lynn’s leap for a triple.

“I started going back and thought I was going to get it,” Lynn said. “Then it kept going, and I said, ‘Oh no, it’s going to be a home run.’ ”

Reliever Doug Sisk intentionally walked pinch-hitter Thad Bosley, and Stillwell hit the first pitch up the middle for the game-winner.

Sisk, who entered in the eighth inning, dropped his first decision. Ted Power pitched four innings of scoreless, one-hit relief and earned his first American League victory.

The Orioles, outscored, 111-33, this season, moved closer to the major league record of 23 straight losses set by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961. The American League record is 20, held by three teams.

Williamson prevented the Royals from going ahead in the seventh, pitching out of trouble after Stillwell’s one-out triple, by retiring Willie Wilson and Kevin Seitzer on grounders.

Baltimore, batting just .113 with runners in scoring position, took a 3-2 lead in the fifth when Billy Ripken doubled with two out and Rene Gonzales followed with an RBI single. Cal Ripken Jr., hitting only .125, followed with a double that sent Gonzales to third, but Eddie Murray flied out to end the inning.

Kansas City made it 3-3 in the sixth on leadoff singles by George Brett and Danny Tartabull and Mike MacFarlane’s one-out RBI single. Williamson avoided further trouble by getting Jackson to ground into his first double play this season.

Murray hit a run-scoring double in the first after Cal Ripken Jr. drew a two-out walk. Gerhart hit his first homer in the Oriole fourth off Royal starter Floyd Bannister.

Stillwell singled and scored on Seitzer’s one-out double in the Royal third. After Brett walked, Tartabull hit into a double play.

Jim Eisenreich opened the Kansas City fourth with a single and advanced on Williamson’s second balk. Eisenreich moved to third on a fly ball and scored on Jackson’s sacrifice fly for a 2-2 tie.