At the end of July, many of the facets that enabled the Orioles to shine like a jewel have become dull and lifeless. The relief corps, an early season plus, has become tired and erratic. Even the defense, which has been outstanding the entire season, has slipped a little. In the last game of July, they made four errors and allowed four unearned runs, matching their total for the entire season to that point. They are now 54-49, three games up on Toronto and Boston, going into Boston.

The O's have attempted a bargain reload with two moves. One was the trade earlier in the month for fleet outfielder Stan Jefferson, while the Yanks received John Habyan in return. The deadline move is considered more significant. Brian DuBois, a pitching prospect, is traded to the Tigers for Keith Moreland a career .281 hitter currently hitting .299 for the Tigers.

As far as pitching goes, there doesn't seem to be any help. A 29-year-old native Baltimorian who has never pitched an inning in a ML tilt is called up from Rochester. Dave Johnson has posted a 7-6, 3.26 record at AAA. It's a desperate move, but these are desperate times.

Moving into Fenway, the Orioles drop both ends of a twin bill. Their lead is down to one game. Frank Robinson attempts to keep the ship upright by remaining calm and encouraging, and reminding the players to keep things in perspective, though that's quite a task when losing five straight and 13 of 14.

The players trudge into Fenway for the third game, knowing if they lose they will be out of first place; many say it will be the beginning of a fall to the bottom of the AL East. As the game begins, the Bosox score. And score. And Score. Soon, it's 6-0. The bench is dead. Although Brian Holton has entered the game to pitch, the bullpen phone rings. It's Frank, and he's calling for Kevin Hickey, not to pitch, but to report to the dugout. Bewildered, Hickey does as asked. When he arrives, he asks Robinson, "What do you want?"

"Liven up this morgue," Robinson replies.

With the hyperkinetic Hickey leading cheers, Mickey Tettleton provides a spark with a home run over the Green Monster. Moreland singles. Craig Worthington doubles. Billy Rip hits a bouncer to second, and dives safely into first base. It's 6-2. Before the inning ends, Devo singles in Worthington to close the gap to 6-3.

Holton handles in Sox in the bottom of the inning, and Cal leads off the seventh with a single. Tettleton walks. After a Moreland fly out, Randy Milligan steps in, and drives a pitch into the right center field bullpen, and the game is tied. Suddenly, the O's are energized again. It feels more like the way it felt the first three months of the season.

In the eighth, Phil Bradley scores on a Cal Ripken double. Cal scores on a sacrifice fly by Milligan, and Worthington singles home Mickey Tettleton. The O's end up with a 9-8 victory. It's time to go home to the best fans in baseball.

The Rangers come to town, and President George Bush comes out to see the Birds. Of course, his son owns the Rangers. Tonight, his 3-0 streak comes to an end, as the Birds fall to the Rangers, 6-4. There's more bad news. Mickey Tettleton, who is fourth in the AL with 22 homers, has torn the cartilage in his left knee. He will not be able to catch at all, and will not be available to DH until September, if then. After considering the options, Jamie Quirk is signed by the O's instead of recalling Chris Hoiles from Rochester, as Robinson wants a stronger defensive presence behind the plate. Bob Melvin is now going to be the everyday catcher.

The O's, despite the news that their offensive leader is gone, don't miss a beat. On Saturday, they beat Nolan Ryan 3-1 and win again on Sunday in extra innings, 3-2.

The Twins come in next. In Game One, Cal Ripken is tossed out of the game in the first inning for arguing balls and strikes. Cal's consecutive game steak remains intact at 1,198, but rhe O's waste a decent performance by Jeff Ballard, losing 4-2. Commenting on Cal's second career ejection, umpire Drew Coble said "it was kind of like kicking God out of Sunday School."

Next up for the Orioles is the pride of Middle River, Maryland, a blue-collar neighborhood on the east side of Baltimore County. Dave Johnson is making his first ML start after 7 1/2 years in the minors. Spending most of those years with the Pirates organization, Johnson was picked up by his hometown team before the season. His dream comes true in spectacular fashion. Demonstrating pinpoint control, Johnson overcomes a less than mediocre fastball by staying on the corners, tossing a 6-1 complete game victory.

The next night, Robinson tried catching lightning in a bottle again, trotting out Mark Thurmond to replace the slumping Dave Schmidt. It didn't work, though, as the Birds go down to a 7-0 defeat.

Now the Red Sox are coming to town for the weekend. The O's are 58-54, two games up on the Jays, and 2 1/2 on Boston. Friday is another doubleheader after all the early season rainouts. The Sox take game one behind Roger Clemens, 6-4, as a late rally falls short. Game two features Pete Harnisch (1-5, 5.55 ERA) against Mike Smithson. Harnisch throws his best game ever in the majors, tossing a three hitter as the Orioles prevail, 4-1.

Saturday the offense comes around, but the pitching blows up. The O's blow a 6-1 lead, losing 10-8 in 13 innings. So now on Sunday, the lead is once again down to a half game. Dave Johnson is on the mound again Sunday, in front of a sellout crowd. All six of the O's relievers were used Saturday. Robinson tells Johnson that even if he gets hit hard, Frank is going to leave him in for six innings. It's not an issue, though, because Johnson delivers again, delivering another 6-1 complete game win.

So the Orioles are still alive, boosted by the back to back complete game wins by a local guy who is a volunteer fireman in the off-season. They have beaten back two challenges to their first place standing in the last 10 days. But looming over the horizon is a visit from the Toronto Blue Jays.