KANSAS CITY, Mo.— The Baltimore Orioles took their second game from the Royals within a span of 24 hours Thursday afternoon with another comeback victory over Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium.

With their 5-3 win over the Royals, the Orioles (25-14) went 11 games over .500 for the first time this season and ensured their stay in first place in the American League East for the night.

The victory was their seventh straight on the road. Their 13-6 road record is the best in the majors.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy — who fueled a ninth-inning rally to force extra innings in the Orioles’ 15-inning win Wednesday night — hit a two-out, broken-bat single in the seventh inning to break open a score tied at 3.

Hardy, who entered the day hitting .357 in May, took Aaron Crow’s pitch to right field for the game-winning hit. Wilson Betemit scored the tying run earlier in the inning when Chris Davis’s liner to center went past center fielder Jarrod Dyson, allowing Betemit to score from first.

“Everybody’s contributing,” said Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, who hit his team-high 13th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth inning. “We’re not leaning on one guy in particular. We’re just trying to win games as a team.”

And left-hander Brian Matusz (3-4) turned in his third quality start in his last five outings, yielding three runs on seven hits through six innings. He walked one and struck out two.

The Orioles’ bullpen, fresh off eight innings of work Wednesday night, tossed three scoreless innings to preserve the win, with Luis Ayala, Pedro Strop and Jim Johnson tossing scoreless frames in the seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. Johnson earned his 14th save.

— Baltimore Sun

KANSAS CITY, MO. Adam Jones hit a two-run homer, J.J. Hardy also drove in a pair of runs and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 on Thursday for their seventh straight road win.

The Orioles also improved to 12-1 when Jones goes deep, including a victory over the Royals the previous night, when his homer in the 15th inning decided the game.

Jones has homered 13 times this year; he didn’t hit No. 13 until June 25 last season.

Brian Matusz (3-4) won for the third time in four starts after enduring a career-worst 12-decision losing streak. He allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings.

Relievers Luis Ayala and Pedro Strop made it through two innings unscathed, and Jim Johnson worked the ninth for his 14th save. He’s converted 22 straight since Aug. 14, 2011.

Luke Hochevar (3-4) pitched well for six innings. His only real miscue was the two-run homer by Jones in the fourth. But the right-hander ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing back-to-back singles by Wilson Betemit and Chris Davis, the start of a three-run inning for the Orioles.

Hochevar was pulled after Davis’s base hit, which centre-fielder Jarrod Dyson grossly misplayed. The ball bounced in front of him and went to the wall, allowing Betemit to score.

Reliever Aaron Crow came into the game and got two quick outs, but then walked No. 9 hitter Luis Exposito and leadoff hitter Xavier Avery to load the bases. Hardy followed with a two-run single that broke the tie and sent the Orioles on to yet another road victory and their longest streak of them since 1999.

Kansas City had ample opportunities to pick up a couple wins against Baltimore, but instead wound up with a pair of frustrating losses in the two-game, midweek series.

Jonathan Broxton blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning of the opener Wednesday night, and the Royals eventually lost their third straight extra-inning game. They jumped out to a three-run lead after three innings Thursday before the Orioles mounted their comeback.

Humberto Quintero’s two-run double and Johnny Giavotella’s RBI single to right brought in the runs for Kansas City, but that’s all that Matusz allowed in an otherwise strong outing.

Hochevar was just as good most of the afternoon.

After watching his ERA balloon to a run per inning, the former No. 1 overall draft pick put together seven innings of three-hit ball in his last start against the White Sox. Hochevar ran his scoreless innings streak to 10 before making a mistake on a 3-2 pitch to Jones.

NOTES: There was a three-man umpire crew after Ed Rapuano left prior to the game for family reasons. … The fire department was called to Kauffman Stadium when smoke was seen atop the scoreboard, where fireworks are shot off. Firefighters climbed up and extinguished the residue causing the smoke. … Royals RHP Luis Mendoza will start Friday night’s opener against Arizona. Orioles RHP Jake Arrieta will take the mound Friday night at Washington.

The Associated Press

CBSSports.com wire reports
May 17, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Adam Jones turned his night around with a swing of the bat.

Jones homered with one out in the 15th inning, lifting the Baltimore Orioles to a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

Jones was hitless in six at-bats before connecting for his team-leading 12th home run — nine of them tying the game or giving the Orioles a lead. Jones sent a 2-2 pitch from Nate Adcock (0-1), the fifth Kansas City pitcher, far over the left field wall.

Jones came to the plate in the third, eighth and 12th innings with runners in scoring position.

“I had three opportunities earlier with men in scoring position that I did not succeed in, which is by far the most frustrating thing for me,” Jones said. “I was 0 for 3. I did not give one of my seven at-bats away. I can live with myself when I do that.”

Adcock hung a slider and Jones delivered.

“I had some pitches to hit, just missed them, part of it, 0 for 6,” Jones said. “Some people were behind me, yelling at me, `Hey, come on Jones.’ I showed them. After I hit that, they shut up the heck up.”

Jones is hitting .290 with 24 RBI and could earn a return trip to Kansas City on July 10 to for the All-Star game at Kauffman Stadium.

“I know Jonesy was a little frustrated there with some previous at-bats, but he got back under control and hit a mistake,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Jonesy is having a great year. Jonesy doesn’t ever give in. You always feel like if he struggles at some point someone is going to pay down the line. He doesn’t forget. It’s nothing personal. It’s competition. It’s just the way he’s wound. He’s a very competitive young man.”

The Orioles improved to 5-0 in extra-inning road games.

“It’s pretty crazy what this team does,” said Orioles starting pitcher Tommy Hunter. “It’s 13 innings, 15 innings, 17 innings.”

The Orioles beat the Red Sox 9-6 in 17 innings on May 6.

Kevin Gregg (1-1) pitched two hitless innings, walking one, to pick up the victory. Jim Johnson earned his 13th save.

Royals right-hander Felipe Paulino, who was making only his third start after beginning the season on the disabled list with a right forearm strain, held the Orioles to five hits in seven scoreless innings. He struck out nine and walked two.

“Great pitching from Paulino and great pitching from Adcock,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “They gave us an opportunity to put it away. We just couldn’t do it.”

The Royals bullpen had a 1.04 ERA in the past seven games but relievers Jonathan Broxton and Kelvin Herrera gave up three runs on six hits in the eighth and ninth innings.

Broxton was trusted with a 3-1 lead in the ninth, but blew his second seven in 10 opportunities and his first since April 11 at Oakland. Broxton gave up a solo homer to Wilson Betemit with one out and three singles to produce the tying run. J.J. Hardy’s two-out hit scored pinch-runner Ryan Flaherty to make it 3-all.

Humberto Quintero’s two-out single in the fifth scored Jeff Francoeur, who led off the inning with a double, and Alcides Escobar, who was hit by a pitch. It was Quintero’s first multi-RBI game with the Royals.

The Orioles cut the lead to 2-1 in the eighth, when Hardy and Nick Markakis led off the inning with doubles against rookie reliever Herrera.

Alex Gordon’s two-out double in the eighth scored Mitch Maier to give the Royals a 3-1 advantage. Maier ran for Billy Butler, who had singled for his second hit.

Orioles starter Tommy Hunter yielded two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He threw only 82 pitches and was backed by double plays in three of the first four innings.

Royals second baseman Chris Getz left with a bruised left rib after a collision with Chris Davis on an infield single in the fifth inning. Irving Falu replaced Getz in the seventh inning and singled. Falu has a hit in each of his five big league games.

Notes

• Royals LHP Danny Duffy, who has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, will see Dr. Lewis Yocum on Friday in Tempe, Ariz., for a second opinion.
• The Royals have not announced who will start Friday and Sunday against Arizona. “If everything holds to form,” Yost said he would probably start RHP Luis Mendoza Friday and RHP Vin Mazzaro Sunday. Mazzaro made his first start Tuesday at Texas and picked up the victory, allowing three runs in five innings. LHP Brian Matusz, who is 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA in three road appearances, will start Thursday for the Orioles. The Royals will counter with RHP Luke Hochevar, who is 0-2 with an 11.91 ERA in three home starts.
• The Orioles are 11-1 when Jones’ homers.
• Royals 1B Eric Hosmer went 0 for 7 to drop his average to .174.

Before the game against the Kansas City Royals, the team was minus Manager Buck Showalter, who arrived at the ballpark less than an hour before the first pitch of Wednesday’s game. Showalter was sent to see a doctor by team trainers after he complained of not feeling well, but checked out fine and managed the game.

The Baltimore offense also arrived late, needing a ninth-inning rally to force extra innings after being shutout by Royals starter Felipe Paulino for seven innings.

The Orioles played their third extra-inning game in their past four road games here at Kauffman Stadium.

The victory, which was the Orioles’ fourth straight extra-inning win — all on the road — kept Baltimore (24-14) tied for first place in the AL East with the Rays.

The Orioles bullpen provided six scoreless extra-innings. Long-reliever Dana Eveland retiring nine of 10 batters he faced and winning pitcher Kevin Gregg did not allow a hit in two innings of work. Jim Johnson pitched a scoreless 15th to end the four-hour, 10-minute marathon for his 13th save. Counting their sleep-deprived three-game series in Boston, the Orioles have played 54 innings in their last four road games.

Jones, who hit in game-winning homer in Baltimore’s 17-inning win at Fenway two Sundays ago, hit the game-winning blast again, taking reliever Nathan Adcock’s delivery an estimated 431 feet.

Nine of Jones’s 12 homers this season have either tied the game or given the Orioles the lead.

 The Orioles came to Kauffman Stadium — having arrived to their hotels in Kansas City about 2 a.m. Baltimore time early Wednesday morning — boasting one of the best road records in baseball.

Trailing 3-1, the Orioles tied the game in the top of the ninth against Royals closer Jonathan Broxton. Wilson Betemit teed off on a 1-2 pitch from Broxton, sending it an estimated 409 feet just in front of the fountains in right-centerfield.

Chris Davis and Xavier Avery singled and J.J. Hardy hit a run-scoring single to center as Jarrod Dyson’s throw home was slightly off and pinch runner Ryan Flaherty just beat the sweeping tag of catcher Humberto Quintero.

Right-hander Tommy Hunter gave the Orioles a quality start, allowing just two runs over seven innings, his best start in nearly three weeks. It was also his first start in seven starts that he hasn’t allowed a homer.

The Orioles  managed just five hits off Paulino, who struck out nine Baltimore batters in his seven innings of work.

Hunter, who allowed the leadoff man on in four of his first five innings, yielded two runs in the fifth. Leadoff batter Jeff Francoeur doubled down the right-field line, and two batters later Hunter pegged shortstop Alcides Escobar with a pitch.

Chris Getz hit a sharp grounder to first that Chris Davis couldn’t scoop cleanly. He got the out at first, but might have been able to get the runner at second.

That play, which put runners at second and third, cost the Orioles when Quintero, the Royals No. 9 hitter, took a 1-2 Hunter delivery up the middle just past Hardy to score both runs.

Hunter was helped by three double plays early, each negating the leadoff runner in the first, third and fifth innings.

The Orioles rallied in the eighth, making the score 2-1 after back-to-back doubles by Hardy and Nick Markakis to lead off the inning.

But reliever Kevin Herrera struck out Jones swinging on a fastball that registered at 101 mph on the stadium radar gun. And Markakis was thrown out trying to steal third with catcher Matt Wieters hitting from the left side of the plate.

The  Royals (15-21) made it 3-1 on Alex Gordon’s double off Troy Patton in the eighth. Kansas City mounted a rally off Patton with two outs with a Billy Butler single and Gordon’s double.

— The Baltimore Sun

BALTIMORE — Adam Jones homered and J.J. Hardy drove in two runs to support another strong start from Wei-Yin Chin as the Baltimore Orioles scored a 5-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night. The victory before 24.055 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards gave Baltimore (23-14) a split of the two-game series with New York (20-16) and its first win over the Yankees at home this season. New York had taken the first four meetings in Baltimore. Jones gave the Orioles a lead with his second-inning solo homer, and Hardy got an RBI double in the fifth and a run-scoring infield single in the sixth. He didn’t get an RBI when his double-play grounder scored a run in the third. All of that was enough for Chen (4-0), a pleasant surprise for the Orioles in his rookie season. He lasted seven innings, giving up just a two-run homer to Curtis Granderson in the seventh that cut the Orioles’ lead to 4-2. Granderson may have gotten a break on that homer when a fan wearing a Yankees jacket reached out of the seats and appeared to either knock the ball away from left fielder Xavier Avery or possibly deflect it into the stands. The Orioles scratched out an insurance run in the bottom half of the seventh. Jones scored on catcher Chris Stewart’s second passed ball of the night. Chen allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four. He kept the Yankees off-balance by often speeds, especially using a good changeup as the game went on. Pedro Strop relieved Chen and escaped a jam in the eighth. Closer Jim Johnson finished it for his 12th save. He’s now converted 20 consecutive save opportunities dating back to last season. The Orioles beat CC Sabathia (5-1), who had a 16-2 record against them coming into the game. Baltimore took a 1-0 lead when Jones homered to lead off the bottom of the second. Jones sent a 1-0 pitch from Sabathia into the left field seats for his 11th homer this season. The Orioles added a run in the third but could have done more. Steve Tolleson doubled to start the inning and went to third on Avery’s bunt single. Sabathia plunked Robert Andino to load the bases with no outs. However, the New York starter got Hardy to ground into a double play. Tolleson scored, but the Orioles couldn’t do anything else in the inning and settled for a 2-0 lead. They made it 3-0 in the fifth when Hardy’s RBI double scored Avery, who had walked. NOTES: The Yankees received some bad news before the game when it was announced that closer David Robertson is going on the 15-day disabled list with a strained ribcage muscle. Robertson hasn’t pitched since Friday and felt pain since then. He underwent tests Tuesday, and the DL decision was made. New York called up Cody Eppley from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Rafael Soriano will be the new closer. He saved Monday’s 8-5 win over the Orioles. … Orioles left fielder Nolan Reimold, sidelined for two weeks due to a bulging neck disk, might need a second epidural injection. Reimold said he has been dealing with left thumb and forearm tingling and left shoulder soreness, and he doesn’t know whether to expect gradual or immediate improvement. … Baltimore reliever Matt Lindstrom was diagnosed with a partially torn ligament in his right middle finger, and he plans to see a specialist. He went on the disabled list Friday due to soreness in the finger. … Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova said his sprained right ankle felt better Tuesday, leaving him hopeful that he would be able to make his start Saturday against the Reds. Nova might push his bullpen session back from Wednesday to Thursday or skip it altogether, but it wouldn’t impact his ability to start Saturday.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BALTIMORE — After Colby Lewis had a performance he categorized quite accurately as “weird,” Josh Hamilton hit a drive that is becoming quite typical.

The result for the Texas Rangers was a split of their doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

In the opener, Lewis gave up a career-high five home runs — including one to each of the first three batters he faced — in a 6-5 defeat. Then Hamilton hit his major league-leading 15th homer, a long two-run shot that propelled Texas to a 7-3 victory.

Hamilton entered the doubleheader coming off a four-homer game Tuesday and had five home runs in his previous six at-bats. After going 1 for 4 with a single and two strikeouts in the first game, he resumed his assault on Baltimore pitching with a first-inning drive off former Rangers right-hander Tommy Hunter (2-2).

The ball travelled an estimated 442 feet and was the 60th in the 21-year history of Camden Yards to land on Eutaw Street, far beyond the right-field scoreboard.

Asked if Hamilton hit a good pitch, Hunter replied, “He hit a baseball. The dude’s on fire. What do you want me to say?”

Hamilton went 1 for 4 in the nightcap, dropping his batting average to .395 but increasing his major league-leading RBI total to 38. In the four-game series he went 8 for 18 with six homers and 12 RBIs.

“I was pretty happy I had a good series,” the slugger said.

“Any time Josh goes up to the plate, you can anticipate something good is going to happen,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. “He got us on the board right away in the first inning. They began to pitch him tough after that. He’s a big cog in our lineup and I’m very happy he swung the bat the way he did because we needed everything he gave us.”

After Hamilton put Texas in front, the Orioles took advantage of three Rangers errors to go up 3-2 in the second inning. But Texas regained the lead in the fifth when Nelson Cruz doubled, Mike Napoli tripled and Elvis Andrus delivered a two-out RBI single.

The Rangers pulled away with a three-run seventh, scoring twice on grounders after Hamilton received an intentional walk.

Derek Holland (3-2) allowed three runs, none earned, to earn his first win in four starts since April 18.

Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game, Hunter gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out seven.

The teams were rained out Wednesday night, setting up the twinbill. Texas has gone 13 straight doubleheaders since May 2007 without being swept.

In the first game, Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis opened the bottom of the first inning with homers to give Baltimore a lead it did not relinquish. The previous team to homer in its first three at-bats was the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 9, 2007. Hardy also was the middle man in that spree.

Milwaukee was the third major league team to accomplish the feat, all from the NL.

After the three consecutive home runs, Lewis retired his next 18 batters before Adam Jones homered leading off the seventh to make it 4-1. Lewis walked Matt Wieters, and Wilson Betemit hit a drive to right for a 6-1 lead.

The five home runs were the only hits Lewis (3-2) allowed over seven innings, and he also set a career high with 12 strikeouts. That made him the first pitcher since 1918 to give up five home runs and have at least 10 strikeouts in the same game.

“I can’t justify that game,” Lewis said. “It seemed like one of those days where you have really good stuff and then you miss your spot or something and it’s just not a hit, it’s a homer. You can’t really look at it any other way. It was just kind of a weird game.”

Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-0) gave up two runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings, striking out five and walking one. The 26-year-old Taiwan native has allowed two runs or fewer in five of six starts and has a 2.68 ERA in his rookie season.

After Chen left in the eighth, Adrian Beltre hit an RBI single to make it 6-2. Pinch-hitter David Murphy added a three-run homer in the ninth off Jim Johnson, who got three outs for his ninth save.

With Chen leading the way, the Orioles snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Rangers. Texas won the first two games of the series 14-3 and 10-3 and outscored Baltimore 70-18 during its seven-game run.

NOTES: The prior time Baltimore hit five homers in a game was June 30, 2010, against Oakland. … Andrus had hits in both games and has a 10-game run. He has reached base by hit or walk in 28 straight games. … Baltimore put OF Endy Chavez (oblique) on the 15-day disabled list to make room for Hunter. … Orioles C Luis Exposito got his first major league hit … The Rangers next face former teammate C.J. Wilson and the Angels on Friday.

After staging a dazzling long-ball performance in the opener of a doubleheader, the Baltimore Orioles were victimized in similar fashion by the hottest hitter in the game.

Josh Hamilton hit his major league-leading 15th homer, Derek Holland pitched six innings of four-hit ball, and the Texas Rangers beat Baltimore 7-3 on Thursday night for a doubleheader split.

In the first game, the Orioles set an AL record by hitting home runs in their first three at-bats and launched five in all against Colby Lewis in a 6-5 victory.

Hamilton entered the doubleheader coming off a four-homer game and had five home runs in his previous six at-bats. After going 1 for 4 with a single and two strikeouts in the first game, he resumed his assault on Baltimore pitching by hitting a two-run, first-inning shot off former Rangers right-hander Tommy Hunter (2-2).

The drive traveled an estimated 442 feet and was the 60th in the 21-year history of Camden Yards to land on Eutaw Street, far beyond the right-field scoreboard.

Asked if Hamilton hit a good pitch, Hunter replied, “He hit a baseball. The dude’s on fire. What do you want me to say?”

Hamilton went 1 for 4 in the nightcap, dropping his batting average to .395 but increasing his major league-leading RBI total to 38. In the four-game series he went 8 for 18 with six homers and 12 RBIs.

“I was pretty happy I had a good series,” the slugger said. “But the series is over with now and we have to go home and think about (facing Los Angeles). It feels like we’ve only been home 12 or 14 days since we started spring training.”

Texas went 5-5 on a 10-game swing through Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore.

The Orioles won’t see Hamilton again until August, but now they’ve got to face the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game set that begins Friday night.

“There’s good players coming in behind him,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Tampa’s a perennial playoff team. It’s playing at this level. There’s another challenge right behind it.”

After Hamilton put Texas in front, the Orioles took advantage of three Texas errors to go up 3-2 in the second inning. But the Rangers regained the lead in the fifth when Nelson Cruz doubled, Mike Napoli tripled and Elvis Andrus delivered a two-out RBI single.

Texas pulled away with a three-run seventh, scoring twice on grounders after Hamilton received an intentional walk.

Holland (3-2) allowed three runs, none earned, to earn his first win in four starts since April 18.

Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game, Hunter gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out seven.

The teams were rained out Wednesday night, setting up the twin bill. Texas has gone 13 straight doubleheaders since May 2007 without being swept.

In the first game, Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis opened the bottom of the first inning with homers to give Baltimore a lead it did not relinquish. The previous team to homer in its first three at-bats was the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 9, 2007. Hardy also was the middle man in that spree.

Milwaukee was the third major league team to accomplish the feat, all from the NL.

After the three consecutive home runs, Lewis retired his next 18 batters before Adam Jones homered leading off the seventh to make it 4-1. Lewis walked Matt Wieters, and Wilson Betemit hit a drive to right for a 6-1 lead.

The five home runs yielded by Lewis (3-2) were a career high. They also were the only hits he allowed over seven innings, and he also set a career high with 12 strikeouts. That made him the first pitcher since 1918 to give up five home runs and have at least 10 strikeouts in the same game.

“I can’t justify that game,” Lewis said. “It seemed like one of those days where you have really good stuff and then you miss your spot or something and it’s just not a hit, it’s a homer. You can’t really look at it any other way. It was just kind of weird game.”

Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-0) gave up two runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings, striking out five and walking one. The 26-year-old Taiwan native has allowed two runs or fewer in five of six starts and has a 2.68 ERA in his rookie season.

After Chen left in the eighth, Adrian Beltre hit an RBI single to make it 6-2. Pinch-hitter David Murphy added a three-run homer in the ninth off Jim Johnson, who got three outs for his ninth save.

With Chen leading the way, the Orioles snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Rangers. Texas won the first two games of the series 14-3 and 10-3 and outscored Baltimore 70-18 during its seven-game run.

NOTES: The prior time Baltimore hit five homers in a game was June 30, 2010, against Oakland. … Andrus had hits in both games and has a 10-game run. He has reached base by hit or walk in 28 straight games. … Baltimore put OF Endy Chavez (oblique) on the 15-day disabled list to make room for Hunter. … Orioles C Luis Exposito got his first major league hit … The Rangers next face former teammate C.J. Wilson and the Angels at home Friday.

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles began their game against the Texas Rangers unlike any AL team in major league history, hitting three homers in their first three at-bats.

That might have been good enough to beat most clubs. As it turned out, the Orioles needed two other long balls to mount enough of a cushion to squeeze out a 6-5 victory in a doubleheader opener Thursday.

Ryan Flaherty , J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis opened the bottom of the first inning with homers off Colby Lewis to give Baltimore a lead it did not relinquish. The previous team to homer in its first three at-bats was the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 9, 2007. Hardy was also the middle man in that barrage.

Milwaukee was the third major league team to accomplish the feat, all from the NL.

After the three consecutive home runs, Lewis retired his next 18 batters before Adam Jones homered leading off the seventh to make it 4-1. Lewis walked Matt Wieters , and Wilson Betemit hit a drive to right for a 6-1 lead.

“I’ve known Colby for a long time. I knew it was only a matter of time before he settled in,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “We were fortunate to take advantage of it early. We didn’t mount much after that. … I thought the tack-on runs after the home runs were even bigger.”

The five home runs yielded by Lewis (3-2) were a career high. They also were the only hits he allowed over seven innings, and he also set a career high with 12 strikeouts. That made him the first pitcher since 1918 to give up five home runs and have at least 10 strikeouts in the same game.

“I can’t justify that game,” Lewis said. “It seemed like one of those days where you have really good stuff and then you miss your spot or something and it’s just not a hit, it’s a homer. You can’t really look at it any other way. It was just kind of weird game.”

Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-0) gave up two runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings, striking out five and walking one. The 26-year-old Taiwan native has allowed two runs or fewer in five of six starts and has a 2.68 ERA in his rookie season.

“Definitely, this is my best outing this year,” the left-hander said through a translator.

“Wei-Yin was a difference-maker today, to get that deep in the game, and against obviously a good lineup,” Showalter said. “He was outstanding. He was sharp with his breaking ball, the extra days’ rest. It seems like he had a little bit more finish on his fastball. He was a difference-maker for us today and it won’t be forgotten.”

Coming off a four-homer game Tuesday, Texas slugger Josh Hamilton went 1 for 4 with a single and two strikeouts. He came in with five home runs and a double in his previous six at-bats.

The teams were rained out Wednesday night, setting up the doubleheader.

After Chen left in the eighth, Adrian Beltre hit an RBI single to make it 6-2. Pinch-hitter David Murphy added a three-run homer in the ninth off Jim Johnson , who got three outs for his ninth save.

With Chen leading the way, the Orioles snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Rangers. Texas won the first two games of the series 14-3 and 10-3 and outscored Baltimore 70-18 during its seven-game run.

After Texas went down in order in the first, Flaherty hit his first major league homer, driving a 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall to give Baltimore its first lead in the series. Three pitches later, Hardy homered to left, and Markakis followed with his fifth home run on an 0-2 pitch.

It was the first time since June 1999 that Baltimore hit three homers in the first inning.

Lewis then retired Jones on a fly ball, struck out the next six batters and did not allow a runner to reach until Jones homered.

“It was one of the unfortunate things,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said of Lewis’ performance. “They put three runs on the board and they just happened to be homers. He kept us in the ballgame. After that first inning, you didn’t know what to expect. But he settled down and gave us a chance.”

After Hamilton flied out to left with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, the Rangers closed to 3-1 in the fourth. Michael Young doubled with one out and scored on a two-out single by Yorvit Torrealba .

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles began their game against the Texas Rangers unlike any AL team in major league history, hitting three homers in their first three at-bats.

That might have been good enough to beat most clubs. As it turned out, the Orioles needed two other long balls to mount enough of a cushion to squeeze out a 6-5 victory in a doubleheader opener Thursday.

Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis opened the bottom of the first inning with homers off Colby Lewis to give Baltimore a lead it did not relinquish. The previous team to homer in its first three at-bats was the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 9, 2007. Hardy was also the middle man in that barrage.

Milwaukee was the third major league team to accomplish the feat, all from the NL.

After the three consecutive home runs, Lewis retired his next 18 batters before Adam Jones homered leading off the seventh to make it 4-1. Lewis walked Matt Wieters, and Wilson Betemit hit a drive to right for a 6-1 lead.

“I’ve known Colby for a long time. I knew it was only a matter of time before he settled in,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “We were fortunate to take advantage of it early. We didn’t mount much after that. … I thought the tack-on runs after the home runs were even bigger.”

The five home runs yielded by Lewis (3-2) were a career high. They also were the only hits he allowed over seven innings, and he also set a career high with 12 strikeouts. That made him the first pitcher since 1918 to give up five home runs and have at least 10 strikeouts in the same game.

“I can’t justify that game,” Lewis said. “It seemed like one of those days where you have really good stuff and then you miss your spot or something and it’s just not a hit, it’s a homer. You can’t really look at it any other way. It was just kind of weird game.”

Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-0) gave up two runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings, striking out five and walking one. The 26-year-old Taiwan native has allowed two runs or fewer in five of six starts and has a 2.68 ERA in his rookie season.

“Definitely, this is my best outing this year,” the left-hander said through a translator.

“Wei-Yin was a difference-maker today, to get that deep in the game, and against obviously a good lineup,” Showalter said. “He was outstanding. He was sharp with his breaking ball, the extra days’ rest. It seems like he had a little bit more finish on his fastball. He was a difference-maker for us today and it won’t be forgotten.”

Coming off a four-homer game Tuesday, Texas slugger Josh Hamilton went 1 for 4 with a single and two strikeouts. He came in with five home runs and a double in his previous six at-bats.

The teams were rained out Wednesday night, setting up the doubleheader.

After Chen left in the eighth, Adrian Beltre hit an RBI single to make it 6-2. Pinch-hitter David Murphy added a three-run homer in the ninth off Jim Johnson, who got three outs for his ninth save.

With Chen leading the way, the Orioles snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Rangers. Texas won the first two games of the series 14-3 and 10-3 and outscored Baltimore 70-18 during its seven-game run.

After Texas went down in order in the first, Flaherty hit his first major league homer, driving a 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall to give Baltimore its first lead in the series. Three pitches later, Hardy homered to left, and Markakis followed with his fifth home run on an 0-2 pitch.

It was the first time since June 1999 that Baltimore hit three homers in the first inning.

Lewis then retired Jones on a fly ball, struck out the next six batters and did not allow a runner to reach until Jones homered.

“It was one of the unfortunate things,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said of Lewis’ performance. “They put three runs on the board and they just happened to be homers. He kept us in the ballgame. After that first inning, you didn’t know what to expect. But he settled down and gave us a chance.”

After Hamilton flied out to left with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, the Rangers closed to 3-1 in the fourth. Michael Young doubled with one out and scored on a two-out single by Yorvit Torrealba.

NOTES: The prior time Baltimore hit five homers in a game was on June 30, 2010, against Oakland. … Derek Holland was slated to pitch the second game for the Rangers, who were 6-0-5 in doubleheaders since dropping a pair to the Yankees in May 2007. … Texas SS Elvis Andrus extended his hitting streak to nine games. He has reached base by hit or walk in 27 straight games. … Baltimore put OF Endy Chavez (oblique) on the 15-day disabled list to make room for second-game starter Tommy Hunter.

In Thursday’s first game, the Orioles hit home runs in their first three at-bats of the game — getting back-to-back-to-back solo shots from Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis in the first inning — part of a five-homer game for Baltimore in its 6-5 win.

Another home run by Josh Hamilton, who hit four on Tuesday, helped Texas post a 7-3 victory in the nightcap. Despite dropping three of four to Texas here, the Orioles (20-12) still ended the night tied for first in the AL East with the Rays, who arrive in Baltimore for a three-game series this weekend.

The early barrage in the opener marked the first time in American League history that a team opened with three consecutive homers and the fourth time overall, the last time coming when the Brewers did it on Sept. 9, 2007. Ironically, Hardy hit the middle home run on that day as well. The 2003 Braves and 1987 Padres also opened games with three consecutive homers.

“Nothing surprises me when you’re dealing with this level of skill,” Orioles Manager Buck Showalter said. “These are the best players in the world, but they’re also human beings who are susceptible to things and capable of doing great things. It’s always an honor to sit there and watch them. There’s not a day that goes by that something doesn’t happen.”

Adam Jones also hit his team-high ninth homer in the seventh, followed by Wilson Betemit’s two-run shot later that inning, capping the Orioles’ first five-homer game since June 30, 2010 against Oakland.

Baltimore would need every run, as the Rangers received a three-run, pinch-hit homer from David Murphy in the ninth inning off of closer Jim Johnson, who struggled to his ninth save.

Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen gave the Orioles the best start of his brief major league career, shutting down a Texas offense that scored 24 combined runs in the first two games of the series.

Chen, the 26-year-old Taiwan native signed this offseason after four seasons pitching in Japan, held the Rangers to two runs on six hits over a career-high 7²/
₃ innings, the Orioles’ best start in six games. It was his third quality start in his last four outings.

After allowing the trio of homers in the first, Texas starter Colby Lewis went on to retire 18 straight Baltimore batters — 11 of them via a strikeout — before Jones led off the seventh with a mammoth shot to left.

In the second game, the Rangers took the lead for good on a two-out RBI single by Elvis Andrus in the fifth inning, overcoming Baltimore’s three-run second inning that resulted from three Texas errors.

— Baltimore Sun

BOSTON — 

If it’s not one thing, it’s another for the faltering Red Sox.

They lost to the Orioles in 13 innings last night, 6-4, not scoring a run after the fifth inning. Boston has dropped three straight games at Fenway and has fallen to 11-14. The Sox are already seven games out of first in the AL East.

It is the third straight season the Red Sox have begun the season at 11-14, the worst string of slow starts in 40 years. Boston was 9-16 in 1972, 11-14 in ’73 and 10-15 in 1974.

When Boston has had good pitching, it fails to hit. And sometimes when it hits a lot, its pitchers cannot take advantage. Right now, the Sox are faltering at home after a fine road trip.

“We’re playing the same kind of ball,” manager Bobby Valentine said, “but we’re not getting the big hit, and that’s because we’re not getting the pitches to do it with.”

Franklin Morales gave up two runs in the 14th and took the loss. That nullified a very strong effort by some other Sox relievers, one of them being Alfredo Aceves. He went 2-2/3 innings and struck out six.

Jon Lester failed to even his record at 2-2 despite leaving the game with the lead after six innings. The no-decision maintained his career record versus Baltimore at 14-0.

Valentine said that it looked as though Lester was “fighting the umpire” early, the plate ump being Jim Reynolds.

“I think everything I throw is a strike,” Lester said. “I went back and looked at the tape, and they were balls. I’ve got to do a better job of controlling my emotions out there.”

Vicente Padilla blew the save in the seventh. It was the fourth blown save by the Red Sox bullpen this season, although two came in the same loss.

Lester’s struggles to return to All-Star form continued as he gave up three runs in six innings. In his last six starts of 2011, Lester was 1-4 and allowed 19 earned runs in 31-2/3 innings. In his first six starts of 2012, he is 1-2 and has allowed 19 earned runs in 33 innings.

That adds up to a 2-6 record and 5.29 ERA over his last 12 starts.

“Other than the home run (by Mark Reynolds) in the third,” Lester said, “I thought the early innings were pretty good. Things kind of got away from me in the fourth a little bit.”

Boston led after two, 1-0. Lester gave the lead right back, though, when he served up a fat pitch to Reynolds in the top of the third. Batting .136 at the time, Reynolds drove it well over the Monster seats for his first home run of 2012.

The Red Sox then rallied in the fourth to give Lester another lead, this time scoring twice. Lester, however, immediately coughed up the lead again.

He walked Adam Jones leading off the fourth, then gave up an extremely short triple to Matt Wieters. He poked a little fly ball down the right field line, and it landed just fair before the foul pole, then rolled past Cody Ross to make it a 3-2 game.

Wilson Betemit followed with a single to center, and it was 3-3.

Boston scored in the fifth, the Orioles in the seventh, and nobody scored again until Chris Davis singled in what proved to be the winning run in the 13th.

BOSTON (AP) The Baltimore Orioles patiently came back from three different deficits then took their first lead when it mattered most.

The Orioles scored twice in the top of the 13th inning to outlast the Boston Red Sox 6-4 on Friday night.

Chris Davis drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the 13th, Mark Reynolds added a sacrifice fly and Jim Johnson put Boston down in order to end the game after 4 hours and 37 minutes.

Five Baltimore relievers combined to shut out the Red Sox once the bullpen took over for starter Wei-Yin Chen, who was pulled after reaching 100 pitches in just five innings.

”Everybody’s contributing,” said Reynolds, who hit his first homer of the season in the third. ”It’s just fun to play behind these guys. They throw strikes and keep us in games. That’s all you can ask for.”

The Orioles overcame three errors and a passed ball in the first two innings to win for the ninth time in 11 games.

Troy Patton (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings and Johnson picked up his eighth save.

Baltimore’s five relievers allowed a total of three hits.

”As a defense that’s all you ask for. It’s a pitching staff that’s going to go after the hitters and let us work,” center fielder Adam Jones said. ”The starting pitching has been outstanding. The bullpen, if there’s a word better than outstanding, that’s what they’ve been.”

Franklin Morales (0-1) allowed two hits in 2-3 of an inning in Boston’s eighth loss in its last nine home games.

”Everyone wants to play well at home, but we haven’t. We’ve got to figure out how to do that,” said Dustin Pedroia, who was 2 for 5 and scored a run for Boston. ”We just couldn’t find a way to score a run there when we needed to. It’s tough.”

Matt Wieters hit a one-out single off Morales in the top of the 13th and Wilson Betemit walked before Davis singled to right. Boston manager Bobby Valentine then brought in reliever Scott Atchison, who allowed Reynolds’ sac fly to center.

Adrian Gonzalez had three hits for the Red Sox, who took three different leads but couldn’t hang on to any of them.

The Red Sox had a chance to pull ahead in the bottom of the eighth when David Ortiz led off with a walk, but he got caught going too far on a line drive by Cody Ross. Shortstop J.J. Hardy made a diving grab then from his knees threw a strike to first in time to double up Ortiz.

”That’s first and second with no outs. I would say that was a very big play in the game,” Boston manager Bobby Valentine said. ”That looked like it was by him when he caught it, David was kind of holding up.”

Boston’s Jon Lester lasted only slightly longer than Chen, going six innings before Vicente Padilla started the seventh with the Red Sox holding a 4-3 lead. That ended quickly when Baltimore loaded the bases with nobody out. Hardy grounded into a double play, allowing Reynolds to score – snapping a streak of 11 straight scoreless innings by Boston relievers over the last three games.

Will Middlebrooks, playing in just his second major league game, hustled for a double to lead off the fifth and scored on Pedroia’s single for a 4-3 Boston lead.

”I just think everybody knows when it’s their turn,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. ”So far we’re going to be able to pass the load around, and when it’s their time to contribute, it bodes well for their health and the rest factor.”

The Orioles had three errors before the second inning was over, then a passed ball by catcher Ronny Paulino allowed Ross to score and put Boston up 1-0.

Reynolds snapped an 0-for-13 skid with a leadoff homer over the Green Monster in the third to tie it 1-all, then Boston took the lead right back with a pair of runs in the third.

NOTES: RHP Aaron Cook, signed by Boston as a free agent in January, is scheduled to make his Red Sox debut Saturday after going 3-0 for Triple-A Pawtucket. Cook will start in place of Josh Beckett, who has had some stiffness after his last two starts. … Reynolds’ homer in the third was his first of the season. He went without a home run in April for the first time in his career. … Ross lost his grip while striking out in the fifth and the bat sailed high over Baltimore’s dugout and – fortunately – landed in an aisle without hitting anybody. … Lester was 14-0 with a 2.36 ERA in 18 career starts against Baltimore entering the game. … Boston RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka was scheduled to make his third rehab start Friday night for Triple-A Pawtucket, but has a problem with his neck. He is tentatively scheduled to start Monday against Rochester. … The Orioles placed OF Nolan Reimold on the 15-day disabled list with a herniated disc and recalled C Luis Exposito from Triple-A Norfolk. … Joe Torre, MLB’s executive vice president for baseball operations, changed an official scorer’s decision and gave Nick Johnson an additional double in Tuesday night’s game against the Yankees. Torre took an error away from left fielder Eduardo Nunez, who allowed the ball to fall. That made both runs earned off Boone Logan.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tampa Bay leadoff hitter Desmond Jennings provided Baltimore Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen with a valuable lesson: The lineups in the AL East can be treacherous from top to bottom.

Jennings hadn’t homered in 42 spring at-bats before facing Chen, but he collected a solo shot and grand slam in his first two trips to the plate and added a solo shot off reliever Kevin Gregg in the seventh to carry the Rays to an 8-5victory over the Orioles on Sunday.

Jennings, who began the day with one RBI, had six against the Orioles.

“I felt good from the first at-bat,” Jennings said. “I felt like I was seeing the ball good and I was swinging at good pitches today. … I was swinging at pitches in the zone and hitting them on the barrel and I was getting to pitches inside. That’s a good sign for me. So hopefully I can keep that up.”

Signed as a free agent after a successful career in Japan, Chen previously started against the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox this spring. Orioles manager Buck Showalter hasn’t hid him against division opponents, and Chen had no place to hide on Sunday.

Evan Longoria also homered leading off the fifth, his second in two days. Chen allowed seven runs, three earned, and six hits in five innings. All four runs on the grand slam were unearned after shortstop J.J. Hardy’s error with one out.

Chen walked two batters and struck out none. He threw 82 pitches, 54 for strikes.

“They’re a great team,” Chen said through his interpreter. “They have great hitters and they hit me well on my fastball.”

Jennings belted a tape-measure shot off Chen in the third inning to give the Rays a 2-1 lead, and he wasn’t cheated on his next blast, either. He launched a shot to left with two outs in the fourth after the Rays loaded the bases on Jose Molina’s double, a walk to Matt Joyce and Hardy’s error.

Reid Brignac popped up before Jennings worked the count full and unloaded on Chen.

Hardy hit a bases-empty homer off Rays starter James Shields in the bottom of the first to tie the score after the Rays took an early lead with back-to-back two-out doubles by Longoria and Jeff Keppinger.

Later in the game, Hardy, Nick Johnson and Nick Markakis hit solo homers off reliever Matt Torra.

Shields, the Rays’ opening day starter, allowed one run and two hits in four innings, with one walk and six strikeouts.

Shields had allowed only one run and seven hits in his first three starts spanning 12 innings before allowing three earned runs (five total) and 10 hits over 5 2-3 innings against the Pirates on March 22.

Showalter still hasn’t selected an opening day starter. The candidates are believed to be Jake Arrieta and Tommy Hunter. Arrieta started against the Pirates on Saturday and allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings. Hunter threw 90 pitches Sunday in a minor league game.

Chen could be slotted as the No. 2 or No. 3 starter in his first season pitching in the U.S. He’s definitely in the rotation. It’s just a question of where he fits into it.

Chen made his fifth Grapefruit League appearance on Sunday. In his previous start, he faced 26 batters and gave up three earned runs in a minor league game.

Chen’s actually had been better against major league hitters. He held the Minnesota Twins to one run over five innings on March 22, and was 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA, two walks and nine strikeouts in 15 exhibition innings.

Sunday’s game didn’t offer the same encouragement, but Chen noted that he’s doing some experimenting with pitching coach Rick Adair.

“I’m working on my off-speed pitch, my changeup a lot and also my timing is important for me right now, so I’m still working on my timing and delivery,” he said.

“This is still spring training and I felt good today actually. This is just part of the game. I felt good, really good.”

NOTES: Orioles reliever Matt Lindstrom started a Triple-A game at the minor league complex Sunday morning and retired all four batters he faced in the first inning. Lindstrom said he didn’t feel any discomfort in his right leg. He’s been dealing with a sore hamstring. … Orioles LHP Brian Matusz will start Wednesday’s exhibition game against Triple-A Norfolk. He’s scheduled to go five innings. … Before Sunday’s game, the Rays had scored only 94 runs, second-fewest in the majors behind the Marlins (75). … The Rays assigned infielder Tim Beckham, the first-overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, to Triple-A Durham.