STANFORD-It was a night to forget for the Cal bullpen. And the Bears' defense. And the offense.

It was a night to forget for pretty much everyone on the Cal baseball team other than starting pitcher Kevin Miller, as the Bears dropped their eighth game in a row to Stanford, 14-4, on a chilly Monday night at Sunken Diamond.

"I think every team goes through this once in a while," first baseman Michael Brady said. "We're struggling on all fronts. Pitching and not swinging the bats as well. I think we just gotta limit the walks … and execute and capitalize on all the opportunities we have."

Miller pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball and struck out six in one of his best starting appearances of the season, but Cal (15-18, 3-10 in the Pac-10) fell apart late to lay waste to Miller's effort.

With the Bears up 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Cardinal struck, and struck hard. Miller left the game with a runner on second, who was promptly driven in by third baseman Adam Gaylord's single off the first pitch from reliever Dixon Anderson.

The next batter, shortstop Jake Schlander, reached on a fielder's choice and Gaylord advanced to third on an error by shortstop Brian Guinn. Both Schlander and Gaylord came around to score to tie the game at 4-4.

And then things got really ugly.

In a long seventh inning, Bears relievers Michael Bugary and Daniel Wolford gave up six runs to a Stanford squad that ranks second to last in batting average in the Pac-10. The Cardinal banged out a single, a double and a bases-clearing triple in the frame to go up 10-4.

"It seems to be typical that the other team is getting the big inning the last few games, and we're not," center fielder Brett Jackson said. "The big inning that they had killed us a little bit. It's not that we didn't keep fighting … It's just hard when they're putting up runs and you aren't."

Stanford (14-13, 8-5) added four more in the eighth off a sacrifice fly by Schlander and RBI singles from center fielder Joey August and right fielder Kellen Kiilsgaard.

Cal initially looked to be the superior team, going up 2-0 in the first on a two-run double by Brady and remaining in control behind Miller's solid pitching. But the Bears didn't score after second baseman Jeff Kobernus' run-scoring single in the top of the sixth, and the bullpen couldn't hold on.

"You gotta keep trying and keep pushing," Brady said. "If we had two three-run innings, which isn't that difficult to do against that kind of pitching, it would have been different."

Arguably the hardest part of Cal's conference schedule still remains, as No. 4 Arizona State, UCLA and USC loom on the horizon.

"I wish there was an easy answer, an easy solution to our slump, but it's baseball," Jackson said. "There's no doubt that our team is going to keep coming out and playing hard. We haven't lost faith that we're a good team."

Tags: BLAKE SMITH, CAL BASEBALL, DAVID ESQUER, BRETT JACKSON