BALTIMORE -- Orioles starter Alex Cobb took the mound in the top of the fifth inning Wednesday with a two-run lead in the middle of his best outing of the season. And then it all fell apart.
The righty surrendered four runs in the inning, five in total, to his former club and was lifted after a two-out walk, marking his third consecutive short start since joining the O's. Cobb's outing set the tone in an 8-4 series-opening loss to Tampa Bay. Baltimore has now lost 12 of its past 14 games and is 12 games under .