masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles might want to mix in a run once in a while.

Not trying to be a know-it-all here, but I think it’s pretty solid advice and I’m offering it up for free.

It’s almost like they’re being punished since Jason Hammel tossed a one-hit shutout Saturday night in Atlanta. They needed another shutout to win the following day while being limited to two runs, and they managed only one hit last night while being shut out by Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Tonight, left-hander Johan Santana…The Orioles might want to mix in a run once in a while.

Not trying to be a know-it-all here, but I think it’s pretty solid advice and I’m offering it up for free.

It’s almost like they’re being punished since Jason Hammel tossed a one-hit shutout Saturday night in Atlanta. They needed another shutout to win the following day while being limited to two runs, and they managed only one hit last night while being shut out by Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Tonight, left-hander Johan Santana has shut them out on four hits over six innings, and it’s even more disturbing because Tommy Hunter has held the Mets to three hits and is losing, 1-0.

Santana has thrown 101 pitches in six innings. Hunter has thrown 67 in five.

The Orioles are 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and have stranded five runners. That’s not helping.

Hunter’s allowed five earned runs in three of his last four starts, but he’s better tonight. Then again, he also needed a diving stop by first baseman Mark Reynolds on Daniel Murphy’s sharp grounder with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fourth to prevent more than one run from scoring.

Is that one run really going to make the difference tonight?

Instant update: Lucas Duda just belted a two-run homer in the sixth, so the offense will really be tested.

Mets 3, Orioles 0.

Hunter has served up 18 homers in 77 innings.

Update II: Dylan Bundy walked one and struck out two in one inning tonight for the Carolina League All-Stars. He threw 21 pitches.

Update III: The Orioles didn’t properly execute a rundown in the seventh inning, and Dana Eveland let two inherited runners score. Hunter is charged with five earned runs for the fourth time in five starts.

The Orioles have been shut out in consecutive games, for the first time since April 2005, after they posted back-to-back shutouts over the weekend in Atlanta. When is the last time that’s happened?