First, the Orioles didn’t make the play. Then they didn’t get the hit.
Either one might have prevented Baltimore from a 3-2 loss to the Athletics Monday night, a defeat that kicked off a six-game swing through first Oakland and then Seattle.
This wasn’t the sort of mind-numbing loss that gets Orioles fans reaching for things to punch or throw against the wall - like, say, each of the losses in the previous series against the Red Sox. This was a tight game against a respectable team, and one that just happened to not go their way.