Rafael Palmeiro has turned to earplugs as he tries to end his slump.
Booed frequently and not hitting at all, Palmeiro is struggling so much that interim manager Sam Perlozzo implied on Monday that Palmeiro had lost his starting first base job.
Palmeiro has just two hits in 26 at-bats since a 10-day suspension for testing positive for steroids. He has been a target of boos, and decided to try earplugs while going 0-for-4 as Baltimore lost, 7-2, lost Tuesday in Toronto.
"You want to be accepted by people," Orioles teammate Brian Roberts said. "For 99 percent of his career, he has been and for that to completely change now, I think is something I don't know if any of us can comprehend what he's going through. By his expressions, you can tell that it is definitely beating him up."
Palmeiro struck out swinging in the first, popped out weakly to the pitcher in the fourth, lined out to first base in the sixth and took a called third strike in the eighth. His batting average has dropped from .280 at the time of his suspension to .266.
Toronto manager John Gibbons said he never wore earplugs. "I wasn't good enough to need them," Gibbons said.
Baltimore has lost five straight.
Athletics 2, Angels 1 The Los Angeles Angels got a superb start from ace Bartolo Colon, but their slumping hitters couldn't do much against the A's ace, Barry Zito.
Bobby Kielty's homer off Francisco Rodriguez leading off the 11th inning helped Oakland beat visiting Los Angeles and sent the Angels to their fifth straight loss.
Oakland has won seven straight to open a season-high two-game lead in the division over Los Angeles which has scored only 13 runs during its skid - eight came in one game - and they have lost consecutive games by 2-1 scores.
Zito gave up only three hits, walked two and struck out nine in nine innings, with one of the hits Robb Quinlan's solo homer in the eighth. Colon allowed six hits, walked one and struck out three in his 9 1-3 inning stint.
Red Sox 7, Devil Rays 6 Trot Nixon singled in the winning run with two outs in the ninth, completing Boston's rally from a five-run deficit.
Making his first start at Fenway since April, Curt Schilling gave up five runs in the first two innings before settling down with four scoreless innings.
In the National League:
Mets 6, Phillies 4 Ramon Castro set off a celebration at Shea Stadium, capping a New York comeback that tightened the NL wild-card race even more.
Castro's three-run homer in the eighth inning helped the Mets rally from a three-run deficit against Philadelphia.
The Mets closed within a half-game of Philadelphia and Florida (70-62), which are tied for the NL wild-card lead following the Marlins' 7-6 victory over St. Louis.
Houston beat Cincinnati, 5-2, and is tied with the Mets at 69-62. Washington beat Atlanta, 3-2, and is 1½ games out at 68-63.
Kenny Lofton hit his first homer since opening day and Pat Burrell added a two-run shot in the first. Carlos Beltran drove in two runs for the Mets with his 14th homer and a fifth-inning single.
Padres 5, Diamondbacks 3 Joe Randa hit a go-ahead homer leading off the sixth at San Diego. Brian Giles had a three-run shot in the first for the Padres, who took a 5½-game lead in the NL West. San Diego is one game under .500 (65-66), the latest in a season a team has led a division with a losing record.
Jake Peavy (12-6) beat the Diamondbacks a day after cutting his left, nonthrowing, hand while stuffing a bag of trash into a garbage can, requiring a couple of stitches and a tetanus shot. He allowed Troy Glaus's two-run homer and Luis Gonzalez's solo shot.
Rafael Palmeiro has turned to earplugs as he tries to end his slump.
Booed frequently and not hitting at all, Palmeiro is struggling so much that interim manager Sam Perlozzo implied on Monday that Palmeiro had lost his starting first base job.
Palmeiro has just two hits in 26 at-bats since a 10-day suspension for testing positive for steroids. He has been a target of boos, and decided to try earplugs while going 0-for-4 as Baltimore lost, 7-2, lost Tuesday in Toronto.
"You want to be accepted by people," Orioles teammate Brian Roberts said. "For 99 percent of his career, he has been and for that to completely change now, I think is something I don't know if any of us can comprehend what he's going through. By his expressions, you can tell that it is definitely beating him up."
Palmeiro struck out swinging in the first, popped out weakly to the pitcher in the fourth, lined out to first base in the sixth and took a called third strike in the eighth. His batting average has dropped from .280 at the time of his suspension to .266