Brewer Rookie Chills Orioles’ Bid to Gain

Frank Robinson knew Toronto had wasted a two-run lead and lost in Detroit, but the Orioles were more concerned with Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jaime Navarro Tuesday night.

Navarro held them to seven hits and slowed their chase of the Blue Jays with his first major league complete game, leading the Brewers to a 7-3 victory.

“We were concentrating on what was happening here. I wasn’t relieved,” Robinson said of the Blue Jays’ 4-3 loss.

Baltimore stayed one game behind Toronto with four games left. The teams play in a season-ending three-game series.

“It was fortunate for us that we’re not any worse off than before the game,” Robinson said. “That’s the nice thing about that, but I was concerned about what was going on here.”

And so was Navarro, who began the season in double-A ball. He improved to 7-7 with hitting support that included home runs from Mike Felder, Gary Sheffield and Paul Molitor.

“I’ve been waiting for this a long time,” Navarro said. “I was cold a little bit but I didn’t ever think about that, I just threw my game. This is good and even better against a team like that.”

Felder hit a leadoff inside-the-park home run in the first and Sheffield hit a solo home run in the second. The Brewers chased starter Dave Johnson (4-7) with a two-run third capped by Billy Spiers’ triple.

Molitor extended his hitting streak to 16 games with his 11th home run of the season. Felder’s low drive to center field in the first skipped past Mike Devereaux to the wall for an inside-the-park homer.