Read More: Luke Scott (1B – BAL), Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Luke Scott has been trying to play through a torn shoulder labrum for much of the season. He was just recently activated from a DL stint that was related to his shoulder, but continued discomfort sent him back to the doctor’s office, and one thing led to another, and now we’re here. Jeff Zrebiec:

Luke scott is scheduled to have shoulder surgery tomorrow. Will be performed by dr. James andrews

Scott has opted for surgery to fix this problem once and for all, as it was proving too difficult to play through. The surgery will end Scott’s season, and quite possibly his Orioles career. Not that he would leave a gaping hole in Baltimore’s collective heart were he to end up elsewhere, but for so long he was a fine hitter, where so many Orioles were not.

The impact the injury had on Scott’s performance is plainly evident, as his OPS dropped from .902 in 2010 to .703 in 2011. It didn’t cripple him, but it made him considerably worse, so Scott’s looking like a bounceback candidate for 2012.

Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie will continue to hold down left field now that Scott’s season is toast.

Read More: Luke Scott (1B – BAL), Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Luke Scott has been trying to play through a torn shoulder labrum for much of the season. He was just recently activated from a DL stint that was related to his shoulder, but continued discomfort sent him back to the doctor’s office, and one thing led to another, and now we’re here. Jeff Zrebiec:

Luke scott is scheduled to have shoulder surgery tomorrow. Will be performed by dr. James andrews

Scott has opted for surgery to fix this problem once and for all, as it was proving too difficult to play through. The surgery will end Scott’s season, and quite possibly his Orioles career. Not that he would leave a gaping hole in Baltimore’s collective heart were he to end up elsewhere, but for so long he was a fine hitter, where so many Orioles were not.

The impact the injury had on Scott’s performance is plainly evident, as his OPS dropped from .902 in 2010 to .703 in 2011. It didn’t cripple him, but it made him considerably worse, so Scott’s looking like a bounceback candidate for 2012.

Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie will continue to hold down left field now that Scott’s season is toast.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore Orioles left fielder Luke Scott is probably done for the season, or at best headed for an extended stay on the disabled list with a troublesome shoulder injury.

Scott has a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He was activated from the 15-day DL before Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, but after going 0 for 3 he was poised to be replaced by a pinch hitter for his final at-bat as the designated hitter. The game ended with Nolan Reimold in the on-deck circle in Scott’s place.

“He was not going to take that last at-bat,” manager Buck Showalter said of Scott.

Scott wanted to play through the injury for three to five days before deciding whether it was possible to stave off undergoing a rehabilitation program or surgery until the offseason. He evidently only needed one night to make an assessment.

“He wanted to take a shot at it this weekend to see if it would be workable,” Showalter said. “That’s probably an avenue we won’t go down anymore.”

Scott didn’t talk to the media after the game, but the downtrodden look on his face served as an indication that he was tired of playing in pain.

“I’m not going to put words in his mouth. The paint isn’t even dry,” Showalter said. “Luke is a tough guy. A lot of guys would want to have flew the coop, but he wanted to play. He knew it was something he would have to do anyway. I applaud him for that – the want to – but it’s not fair to the Orioles or to Luke to proceed down this path anymore. As far as what happens from here, that’s Luke’s decision. You’re going to see him rehab it or have surgery as we go forward, but that’s an educated guess by talking to him.”

Scott hit a team-high 27 home runs in 2010, but this year he’s batting .220 with nine homers and 22 RBIs in 64 games.

“It’s pointless if I come up here and do what I’ve done the last month,” Scott said before the game. “It’s not helping the team. It’s not helping myself. It’s not being a benefit. So, at the end of the day you have to make an honest evaluation.”

The Orioles planned to have Scott make the call, but after Friday night it appears both sides agree on the next course of action.

Scott has already been gathering information on whether to try to rehab the shoulder or have surgery, and now it appears the timetable for making a decision has moved up.

For Scott, surgery is the final option.

“I want to avoid surgery at all costs, but if it’s riskier to not have the surgery, that’s when surgery will win,” Scott said.

Baltimore freed up a roster spot for Scott by optioning outfielder Matt Angle to Triple-A Norfolk. Angle made his major league debut Sunday and was 0 for 7 in his first stint in the big leagues

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

“It’s kind of like sharks on a feeding frenzy,” Luke Scott said. “There was a lot of excitement. A lot of positive energy, everyone pulling for each other.”

Adam Jones had two hits and two RBIs in an eight-run fourth inning, and the Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 9-2 last night for their fourth straight victory.

Double, single, RBI groundout. Walk, double, walk, single, walk, single, single.

The hits just kept on coming in the magical fourth, Baltimore’s most productive inning since an eight-run sixth against Washington on June 26, 2009.

“It was about time when we get one of those instances where you bat twice in an inning,” said Jones, who started it all with a double and later added a two-run single. “You get men on base, you get back-to-back hits, you get timely hits. That’s all the making of a rally.”

Baltimore sent 13 batters to the plate in the fourth against Luke Hochevar (3-5), who yielded six hits, walked three and threw a wild pitch.

After beating the Nationals twice over the weekend and taking the first two games of this three-game series, Baltimore is riding its longest winning streak since opening the season 4-0.

“We are playing better of late,” said Jones, who hit a game-winning homer Tuesday night. “We are not trying to get ahead of ourselves and think about three days in advance.”

Jake Arrieta (6-2) allowed two runs and five hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking three. He’s 2-0 against Kansas City this season and 5-0 in five starts against the AL Central.

But he failed to have a perfect inning and was pulled after 106 pitches.

“He’s fortunate to get through six innings. He worked himself into some trouble,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Would you take six innings and two runs every night? Probably. But he’s kind of a victim of his potential to do even better. He’s 6-2 and he’s only had a couple bad outings where he didn’t give us a good chance to win.”

Melky Cabrera homered for the Royals, who have lost four straight and nine of 11. Kansas City is 5-13 on the road, the worst record in the majors.

“You know, we’re not really playing bad,” designated hitter Billy Butler said. “We’ll snap out of it.”

Hochevar went seven innings, five of them perfect. But the fourth inning was one he won’t soon forget.

Jones led off with a double, advanced on a single by Nick Markakis and scored on a groundout by Vladimir Guerrero. After Matt Wieters walked, Scott doubled in a run and Wieters scored on a wild pitch.

J.J. Hardy followed with an RBI single, Ryan Adams walked and Felix Pie singled in a run. Jones followed with a two-run single, and after Markakis popped out, a throwing error by shortstop Alcides Escobar let in the final run.

Hochevar didn’t allow a runner over the next three innings, but the damage was done.

“That was really, really bad execution by me in the fourth,” Hochevar said. “Everywhere I wanted to throw the ball, I just didn’t throw it there. There is really no excuse for it. I am a lot better than that. That was just really bad.

“I don’t think I ever have had a game where I had an inning that was that terrible.”

In five career starts against Baltimore, Hochevar is 0-4 with a 7.98 ERA.

Cabrera homered in the fifth after a walk to Chris Getz to get the Royals to 8-2.

“You give up eight runs in one inning,” Butler said, “we got a little too far behind.”

Mark Reynolds connected for Baltimore in the eighth off Robinson Tejada.

NOTES: After the game, the Orioles optioned infielder Brandon Snyder to Triple-A Norfolk. Catcher Craig Tatum is expected to be called up before today’s game. … There was a moment of silence before the game for Paul Splittorff, the winningest pitcher in Royals history, who died of cancer yesterday at age 64. … Guerrero and Markakis have 10-game hitting streaks. … Arrieta has surrendered a home run in seven straight games. He has given up nine HRs, tied with Jeremy Guthrie for most on the team. … Cabrera has 15 RBIs and has scored 11 runs in 19 games since May 3.

Orioles 9, Royals 2

Kansas City Baltimore

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Gordon lf 5 0 1 0 Pie lf 4 1 1 1

MeCarr cf 3 1 2 2 AdJons cf 4 1 2 2

Hosmer 1b 4 0 1 0 Markks rf 4 1 1 0

Francr rf 4 0 0 0 Guerrr dh 4 0 1 1

Butler dh 3 0 2 0 Wieters c 3 1 0 0

Betemt 3b 4 0 1 0 Scott 1b 4 1 2 1

Treanr c 4 0 0 0 MrRynl 3b 3 2 1 1

Getz 2b 2 1 0 0 Hardy ss 4 1 1 1

AEscor ss 4 0 0 0 RAdms 2b 3 1 0 0

Totals 33 2 7 2 Totals 33 9 9 7

Kansas City 000 020 000-2

Baltimore 000 800 01x-9

E-A.Escobar (3), Mar.Reynolds (8). DP-Kansas City 1, Baltimore 1. LOB-Kansas City 8, Baltimore 3. 2B-Gordon (16), Ad.Jones (10), Scott (7). HR-Me.Cabrera (6), Mar.Reynolds (6). S-Me.Cabrera.

IP H R ER BB SO

Kansas City

Hochevar L,3-5 7 8 8 7 3 1

Tejeda 1 1 1 1 0 1

Baltimore

Arrieta W,6-2 6 5 2 2 3 7

Ji.Johnson 2 2 0 0 0 2

M.Gonzalez 1 0 0 0 0 1

WP-Hochevar.

T-2:29. A-15,740 (45,438).

While even Donald Trump backed off from questioning if President Barack Obama was born in the United States, a copy of his birth certificate wasn’t enough for one critic: Baltimore Orioles outfielder Luke Scott.

“[His] birth certificate has yet to be validated,” Scott told the Kansas City-Star earlier this week. “If they can counterfeit $100 bills, I think it’s a million times easier to counterfeit a birth certificate, if you ask me. So, all it is, let’s just see if it’s real.

“Anybody can produce a document, so let’s check it out.”

While this wasn’t the first time Scott has gone off on his so-called “birther” rant, the comments elicited pleas from fans – and local columnists, including one who urged him to “let it go.”

“Stick to hitting baseballs. And catching them,” wrote Baltimore Sun columnist Kevin Cowherd. “This nonsense about Obama’s birth is starting to make you sound crazy.”

Fans of the team, which is in a city that voted heavily for Obama in the 2008 election, also seem to be tired of the politics being mixed with their baseball.

“Luke just needs to shut up now, he’s surpassed annoying,” one commenter wrote on Sun’s blog post about it. “Maybe he will be better fitted having a show on Fox News than playing for the Os.”

“Maybe Luke Scott should show proof he’s a major league baseball player,” another added. “Haven’t seen much evidence of that.”

Scott, a Florida native who has been in the big leagues for six years, is hitting .273 for the third-place Orioles.

nmandell@nydailynews.com

By SAM MELLINGER

The Kansas City Star