Millar three-run HR, Jones and Mora RBI give O's 6-5 win in KC
Kevin Millar had three hits, including a three-run homer for the Birds as they beat KC, 6-5. He hit his blast in the first inning and it was soon followed by a rain delay of an hour and 52 minutes. The O's have now won 12 in a row vs. KC and improve to 19-18.
Melvin Mora had two hits and an RBI and Adam Jones ripped an RBI-triple in the 6th.
Lefty Garrett Olson gave up three runs and eight hits in 5.1 ip in picking up his 2nd Orioles win.
Brian Burres (3-3 3.19) pitches Sunday at 2:10p in the finale of this series and ten-game road trip.
MILLAR LEADS O'S PAST KC, 6-5
Kevin Millar had three hits, including a three-run homer in the first inning as the Orioles beat KC, 6-5 Saturday. The Birds are 3-0 in this series and have won 12 in a row vs. Kansas City.
Millar's first-inning blast came two outs after back to back singles by Brian Roberts and Melvin Mora. It was Millar's 5th homer and the Birds third, three-run HR in three games.
Mora added two hits and an RBI and Adam Jones had an RBI triple and scored in the 6th.
The O's had a 6-1 lead after five and a half, until KC rallied for two in the 6th and one in the 7th and 9th.
George Sherrill gave up an RBI double to Billy Butler in the 9th to bring KC within one, but then he got Mark Grudzielanek to ground out to end the game.
Jim Johnson came on with runners on first and third and none out in the 7th and got two strikeouts and a ground out to keep the Birds ahead by two.
Winning pitcher Garrett Olson (2-0) gave up three runs and eight hits over 5.1 ip.
The game was delayed an hour and 52 minutes by rain after the top of the first. The rest of the night was played in sometimes rainy, but often windy conditions.
The O's are now 4-5 on this road trip and 19-18 overall. KC has lost five of six and is 1-5 on their 10-game homestand.
Balt 6-11-0
KC 5-13-0
POST-GAME NOTES
The O's improve to 9-5 in one-run games.......They are 4-5 on the road trip that ends Sunday and 9-12 in road games on the season.......The Birds remain in third place, 4 games back of division-leading Boston.
Garrett Olson improves to 2-0 with an ERA of 2.95 in three starts. In 18.1 ip he has allowed 16 hits and just one walk each in his last two starts.
The Royals fall to 15-21 and are 1-5 on their ten-game homestand. Since starting the season at 8-5, they are 7-16.
After going 6-12 his previous three games, Nick Markakis went 0-4 with two K's and hit into one double play. Millar's first-inning homer ended a 12-game run where he didn't have a single extra-base hit.
In his past 5 games, Millar is 8-19 with 5 RBI. Aubrey Huff had a double in four at bats and is now batting .315 (17-54) over his last 14 games.
The O's are 9-2 when they get ten hits or more and have now done that four times in the past seven games.
Steve Melewski's live GameBlog
JJ TO THE RESCUE
O's 6 KC 4..........end of seven
Jim Johnson just bailed out the O's big time as they preserve a 6-4 lead after seven.
Jamie Walker started the 7th and gave up three hits to three batters to make it 6-4. Johnson came on with first and third and no one out and KC putting on a big rally.
He promptly fanned clean up hitter Billy Butler on three pitches, then struck out Grudzielanek. Jose Guillen hit a grounder to second and Luis Hernandez made a nice sliding stop for the final out. One heckuva relief job.
OLSON NOW KO'D
O's 6 KC 3........end of six
The Royals come up with two runs on four hits in the 6th to make it 6-3 and knock Olson out. Guillen and Gathright came up with RBI's.
Olson tonight: 5.1ip, 8h, 3r-er, 1b, 2k..........88 pitches.
He is in line to pick up his second win and his ERA thru three starts, is 2.95.
KO OF TOMKO
O's 6 KC 1........middle of 6th
The O's knocked Tomko out in the 6th. Millar led off with a single, and, one out later, scored on an Adam Jones triple to center. It's his 11th RBI. Jones then scored on a suicide squeeze bunt by Guillermo Quiroz for a 6-1 lead.
The O's have hit for the cycle tonight with a Huff 2B, Jones 3B and Millar HR.
They have now scored 17 runs in this series.
OLSON A SOLID FIVE
Garrett Olson, in the windy, rainy conditions in KC tonight, is having another solid start.
Olson so far: 5ip, 5h, 1r-er, 1b, 1k........68 pitches.
All five hits against him are singles, two of them bunt singles.
O'S ADD ONE MORE
O's 4 KC 1.......middle of 5th
Melvin Mora comes up with an RBI single in the 5th, scoring Bynum, who singled, for a 4-1 lead. Mora has 7 RBI on this road trip and 21 on the season.
KC ON THE BOARD
O's 3 KC 1.........end of 3rd
Gathright and DeJesus had singles and later went to 2nd and 3rd on a double steal. With one out, Esteban German hit a pop into short left center. Freddie Bynum caught the ball then slipped, as Gathright scored on about a 140-foot sac fly. Olson got Gordon to ground out to end the threat.
Jay Payton has just been ejected after he struck out in the 4th. Luke Scott will have to come in and play left.
FINALLY PLAYING AGAIN IN KC
The Royals are finally batting in the bottom of the first after a nearly two-hour delay. It was officially a delay of one hour and 52 minutes.
Brian Roberts, who singled in the top of the first and scored, is not at second base now. Luis Hernandez is at second and the report is Roberts has a sore foot.
O'S STRIKE FIRST
O's 3 KC 0.......middle of first
The O's pick up their third three-run homer in three games as Kevin Millar's blast gives the O's a 3-0 lead after the top of the first in KC.
Brian Roberts led off with a single and Mora then singled to left. After Tomko got the next two outs, he was almost out of the woods. But then Millar got a pitch up and in for his 5th homer of the year.
O'S GO FOR ANOTHER WIN VS. KC
The O's are underway in KC in game three of the series. They have won 11 straight vs. the Royals and are 3-5 on this road trip which ends Sunday.
PRE-GAME NOTES
The O's seem to own KC. In addition to winning 11 in a row over the Royals they have won 14 of the last 15 between the clubs and are 24-6 vs. KC since 2004.
During the 11 wins, they have outscored the Royals by a 58-23 margin. KC's last win over the O's came on July 25, 2006.
The Orioles, who are 3-5 on this road trip, moved into third in the division with Friday's win and are 4 games back of Boston.
The offense is getting better, producing 16 runs in the last three games after scoring 16 in the previous seven contests.
MOUND MATTERS
Lefty Garrett Olson tonight makes his 3rd start of the season and the 10th of his Orioles career. Olson began this year at AAA Norfolk and has put together back to back strong starts for the O's.
He picked up the win April 29 vs. Tampa, allowing just two runs in 6.2 ip. He followed that up last Monday with a stellar outing at Oakland. He pitched 6.1 ip and gave up just one run on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. He left in a 0-0 game, but a run scored after he left the game was charged to his record.
Olson, the 48th pick in the 2005 draft, made five starts this season at AAA and, for Norfolk, went 1-1 1.85 in 24.1 ip.
The 24-year-old has a career O's record of 2-3 6.15. He has never pitched against KC.
His mound opponent tonight is 35-year-old righty Brett Tomko (1-3 4.98). He has made 6 starts this season.
His last time out he did not allow a run in 7 innings vs. the Angels. In that start Monday he gave up just two hits, but left in a 0-0 game that LA eventually won, 4-0.
Tomko has pitched for seven teams in his career that began in 1997.
Last season, he went a combined 4-12, with an ERA of 5.55 with the Dodgers and Padres.
Tonight Tomko makes his 354th career appearance and his 257th start.
In two career outings vs. the Orioles he is 0-0 7.11. His only start vs. Baltimore came when he with St. Louis on June 6, 2003. He allowed 5 runs and 9 hits in 5.1 ip.
THE OFFENSE SHOWING SIGNS OF LIFE
Bynum: 4-8 his first two games
RHernandez: 3-gm hit streak, 5-12
Huff: batting .313 (10-32) on road trip, hit safely in 12 of 13 games
Markakis: 6-12 the last three games, raising ave. from .256 to .279
Millar: batting .333 (5-15) the last four games
Mora: hitting .333 (10-30), 2 HR, 6 rbi on road trip
NOT NEARLY A RECORD
While the O's 11 wins in a row over KC is quite impressive, it is not close to a record. The major league mark for consecutive wins over one team is held by the Orioles and it is against KC.
The O's lost their first-ever game with the Royals in 1969, then won a record 23 straight. The streak began May 10,1969 and ran until August 2, 1970.
THE WINS AND LOSSES
In their 18 wins this year the O's have scored 106 runs (5.9 per gm). In their 18 losses they have scored 44 runs (2.4 per gm).
LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday, at 2:10, in the finale of this series and ten-game road trip, Brian Burres (3-3 3.19) faces RHP Brian Bannister (3-4 4.46)
The O's begin a five-game homestand Tuesday vs. first-place Boston. Starting Tuesday they will play 15 of the next 18 vs. the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays.
Thanks for doing this blog. I can't watch the game and was wondering what happened to Roberts.