It’s July 13, 1996, and the O’s chances of winning the AL East blew away with the remnants of Hurricane Bertha as the Birds dropped both games of a doubleheader to the Yankees, 3-2 in Game 1 and 7-5 in Game 2.

The O’s are now nine games out of first and may need to shift all their postseason hopes to the wild card.

In Game 1, the Yankees scored twice in the ninth inning off O’s starter David Wells to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win. In Game 2, newly signed slugger Darryl Strawberry (whom the O’s recently passed on signing themselves) hit two home runs as the Yankees blasted rookie Rocky Coppinger and then handed reliever Arthur Rhodes his first loss of the season as he fell to 9-1. 

Brady Anderson hit his 31st home run in Game 1, and Cal Ripken added a dinger in Game 2, but the team was 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position across the doubleheader. 

“I don’t know the answers,” a frustrated O’s manager Davey Johnson said. (Baltimore Sun, p. 7C, July 14, 1996)

The Sun’s Ken Rosenthal, always eager to pile on when it comes to the O’s, did not hold back. “It’s embarrassing, getting beat by a player you scouted but didn’t sign. It’s embarrassing, hearing your fans shouted down in your own stadium. It’s embarrassing, losing three straight at home in the biggest series of the season.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1C, July 14, 1996)

Well, hard to argue with any of that.

To add injury to insult, Rhodes had some pain in his shoulder after pitching in both games. “We’re meeting with a doctor and it’s a possibility we may have to shut him down,” Johnson said. (Baltimore Sun, p. 4C, July 14, 1996)

Anyway, the less said about today the better.

Here are the box scores (Game 1, Game 2) with the devastatingly not-so-lovely totals.

Two games, but only two homers. One for Brady. One for Cal.

The Brady-O-Meter returns on a bleak day. He’s got 31 homers.

Yankees (55-33) at Orioles (46-42), 1:35 p.m.

Starting Pitchers:
NYY – LHP Andy Pettitte (13-4, 3.81 ERA)
BAL – RHP Scott Erickson (5-6, 4.71 ERA) 

The Sun’s Bill Glauber has some big news from across the pond. “Princess Diana took the money, the apartment and the access to her kids but gave up her royal title in a divorce deal that was announced yesterday.”

After 15 years, the marriage between Diana and Prince Charles is officially over. Diana will receive a one-time buyout of roughly $23 million. She also gets to keep her apartment at Kensington Palace. The two will share custody of their sons William, 14, and Harry, 11.

But what people are most focused on is the slight: losing the title.

“The British monarchy is in danger of being considered untraditional and mean in its decision to strip Diana from the designation which is rightfully hers,” said Harold Brooks-Baker, publishing director of “Burke’s Peerage” a fawning publication for aristocrats. “This is without precedent in history.”

He goes on to compare it to 1936, when King Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry Baltimore divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson. Simpson became the Duchess of Windsor but was denied the HRH designation.

“Diana must now be the most despised member of the royal family of all time,” Brooks-Baker said. “Mrs. Warfield Simpson takes second place.”

I guess this would be considered trouble in paradise.

Welcome to a recurring segment where I find fun things in today’s (in 1996) Baltimore Sun!

I hope she’ll be ok.