If things keep going like this, Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie won't need any help from a pitching coach, he'll need a psychiatrist or a lawyer. This kind of stuff could drive a guy nuts. It could make him sue for lack of support. All those cliches for when bad things happen to good pitchers.

Every fifth day, Guthrie is handed the ball and typically, he turns in a better-than-decent job holding the opposition to two, three runs. And typically, the Orioles' offense goes south.  It did it again last night in a 4-2 loss to the Yankees that left the O's treading water at .500 for the seventh time this season.

Sun Orioles' beat writer Jeff Zrebiec did an excellent job today chronicling the team's hitting problems when Guthrie, now 2-6, pitches. In today's game story, Zrebiec came up with these numbers: "The Orioles have scored a total of eight runs in his six losses this season and two runs or fewer in five of his 12 starts."

Baltimore had a couple of opportunities to catch up last night but couldn't come up with the clutch hit. The O's left six men in scoring position.

On the Yankees' side, the Joba Chamberlain script worked perfectly. Starter Andy Pettitte, who merely has to show up to beat the Orioles, pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up the two runs; Chamberlain -- who is being groomed to start -- threw 1 1/3 (28 pitches) and struck out three, and Mariano Rivera closed it out in the ninth.