O's hit 3 homers, sweep Houston, 7-5
This time the comeback came early. The Orioles trailed 2-0 in the second inning, moved into the lead by the fourth and beat Houston 7-5 tonight to complete a three-game sweep. The Orioles completed a 5-1 homestand and are 37-34 on the season.
Kevin Millar and Jay Payton had two RBI, while Ramon Hernandez, Alex Cintron and Aubrey Huff hit solo homers as the Orioles won for the 9th time in the last 13 games.
Houston scored twice in the 9th and had two men on when George Sherrill got Lance Berkman to pop out to end the game and pick up his 24th save.
The Orioles picked up their third solo homer of the night when Huff ripped a 394-foot shot to right center in the seventh. His 12th homer of the year gave the O's a 7-3 lead.
Houston cut the O's lead to 6-3 when Miguel Tejada led off the 6th with his 10th homer. It was his first hit of the series.
The Orioles scored three runs in the 5th to lead, 6-2. Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff led off the frame with singles. Millar knocked in a run with an RBI double. Two outs later, Jay Payton came up with a clutch two-run single to right for the 6-2 lead. The O's picked up three runs on four hits in the fifth.
The Orioles hit a pair of solo homers in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Hernandez hit his 5th of the season to make it 2-2. One out later, Cintron hit one out to right center, his first of the season, and the Orioles led, 3-2. It was the first homer for Hernandez since May 27th.
Brian Burres improved to 6-5 and took over the team lead in wins. He gave up three runs in 5 2/3. Losing pitcher Shawn Chacon, 2-3, gave up six runs in five innings.
Millar drew a bases-loaded walk in the third to cut Houston's lead to 2-1. Shawn Chacon walked three in the inning. Cintron, who led off the frame with a single, scored for the O's.
In the Astros second, Hunter Pence hit a long solo homer to left for a 2-0 lead. His 9th homer of the year went 415 feet into the left-field seats.
Houston took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Micheal Bourn led off the game with a bunt single and later stole second. He scored on a two-out, RBI single by Berkman.
The Orioles improved to 7-2 in interleague play and head to Milwaukee for a game Friday that begins a nine-game road trip.
Hous 5-9-0
Balt 7-11-1
Postgame Notes
Sherrill Saves Another
This save was far from easy. Sherrill entered with the bases loaded and one out. He allowed two inherited runners to score and then had to battle Lance Berkman at the end. Berkman batted with two on and the score 7-5. As he entered the box he was 6-11 with 2 RBI in this series. But Sherrill went right at him and got Berkman to fly to short left to end the drama and the game. It's his 24th save of the year and there's no more talk of any dead-arm issues.
Millar's Night
The Orioles are now 2-0 since Kevin Millar went to the blonde look. Tonight his bat overshadowed his hair as he went 2-3 with 2 RBI. Coming into tonight, Millar had just one hit his last three games, but that hit won the game last night. Millar now has 14 RBI his last 17 games.
Final Notes
The O's hit three homers tonight and have hit 11 the last 5 games and 24 over the last 15 contests...........This is the O's first three-game sweep of the season and first interleague series sweep since they took three from Houston at home in June, 2005......O's are now 11-6 in June and 22-12 at home.......The O's had five come-from-behind wins on the homestand and now have 22 on the year........Brian Roberts stole his 20th base of the season in the 6th and now has 20 or more steals in six consecutive seasons..........Sherrill needed just 8 pitches to get his 24th save.......Miguel Tejada went 2-12 in the series with a solo homer and RBI single in the 9th tonight........Houston has lost eight in a row, 12 of 14 and 17 of 20 games.
Key Quotes
Dave Trembley on the Win and Sweep
"We got some big hits. I thought Payton's hit was the biggest of the game.......Anytime you give a team more than three outs you're playing with fire, but we rebounded......I didn't want to bring Sherrill in........When you get a sweep I don't care if it's easy, hard or indifferent, we'll take it. Don't expect people to lay back; you got to go get it. That was the purpose tonight."
Houston Manager Cecil Cooper on the Orioles' Play
"They're playing pretty well and they have a lot of momentum. That team's hot and playing real well. No matter what you do sometimes, you can't stop it."
George Sherrill on the last out vs. Berkman
"Threw him a good slider to get ahead and went from there.......You have to be fearless on the mound and positive. It's a matter of staying positive and making pitches."
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog From Camden Yards
Bottom Of The Order Comes Through
Hitters 7-8-9 tonight have done the job for the O's. Ramon Hernandez, batting 7th, has a solo homer. Batting eighth, Jay Payton has a two-run single, and Alex Cintron, batting ninth, has two hits, including a solo homer. The trio has combined for four hits, three runs, two homers and 4 RBI.
Tonight's Attendance
Is 31,480. The three-game series with Houston drew 74,127.
The Starters Are Out
Tim Byrdak comes on for Chacon to start the last of the 6th. Matt Albers came on for Burres and got the last out of the top of the sixth.
Burres' line: 5 2/3IP, 7H, 3R-ER, 2BB, 3K, 2 HR............87 pitches.
Chacon's line: 5IP, 8H, 6R-ER, 4BB, 0K.....................96 pitches.
With Burres' outing tonight, the O's now have just 3 quality starts over the past 15 games.
Doctor Longball Pays A Visit
Lately the Orioles haven't gotten many homers from Ramon Hernandez and Alex Cintron. Tonight that pair homered in the same inning as the O's took a 3-2 lead in the fourth. Hernandez had gone 16 games without a homer until his 375-foot blast to left. He had just one homer in his previous 35 games. Cintron's last homer came 9-7-07.
The Orioles have now hit 10 homers over their last 5 games and 23 in the last 15.
Burres Needs to do Better
After giving up two runs over the first two innings, Brian Burres needs to start putting up some zeros. Burres has allowed 24 earned runs over his last 18 innings in four starts. Maybe the biggest reason there hasn't been speculaton about Burres possibly losing his rotation spot is because there really isn't anyone ready right now at Triple-A, and the O's candidates on the roster are guys they'd like to keep in the bullpen if they can. Guys like Matt Albers and Jim Johnson have been so helpful in the pen, Dave Trembley would probably prefer to leave them there.
As I finish typing, Burres has put together back to back shutout innings thru four, so maybe he has settled down in this game.
Game Three Is Underway
We are underway in the final game of this series and homestand. Tonight, with a win, the O's would pick up their first three-game sweep of the season. The O's are 6-2 in interleague play while Houston is 1-7.
Tonight's first pitch was at 7:05 p.m. and it's 77 degrees at gametime.
Starting Lineups
Astros
CF Micheal Bourn
2B Kaz Matsui
SS Miguel Tejada
DH Lance Berkman
LF Carlos Lee
RF Hunter Pence
3B Ty Wiggington
1B Mark Loretta
C Brad Ausmus
P Shawn Chacon
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
3B Melvin Mora
1B Aubrey Huff
DH Kevin Millar
LF Luke Scott
C Ramon Hernandez
CF Jay Payton
SS Alex Cintron
P Brian Burres
No problem with Adam Jones, he's just getting the night off, at least at the start.
Bynum Enjoying His Shot
Since early May, Freddie Bynum has been the Orioles starting shortstop. He's enjoying getting significant playing time for the first time in his career. Bynum has been inconsistent at the plate, and is hitting .204-0-5 in 32 games. The 28-year-old was a second-round draft pick of Oakland in 2000. I talked to Bynum before the game about him getting his chance at short, playing alongside Brian Roberts and the O's recent winning ways.
Trembley's Talk
Dave Trembley talked with reporters before the game about the O's chance to get the sweep tonight. Five times the O's have taken the first two games of a three-game series but lost that third game and failed to get the sweep.
"I think we are at a stage now where we need to take the next step (and sweep). We have the opportunity to sweep, we've been close before but I think they've all come on Sunday afternoons. I was talking with Huff last night and he said 'Yeah, we need to score a lot of runs and make a statement early in this game.' I think that's great for our club. In the past there's been a sense of contentment around here. This group has grown and wants to take it one step further."
After Brardford pitched two innings last night, Trembley said he would not use Chad Bradford in tonight's game.
Trembley said he had "some decisions" to make before tomorrow's game in Milwaukee but he was not more specific.
Trembley was asked about his pitchers hitting during the upcoming nine-game road trip to three National League cities.
"I've told our pitchers I don't want anyone sliding head first. That's number one. We've spent two and half weeks with them mostly bunting. I wouldn't expect a pitcher to score from first on an extra-base hit. I don't think I would squeeze with a guy at third with a pitcher."
Trembley said Jeremy Guthrie can handle the bat and he said "Burres tells me he can. He's good in BP, but I've seen a lot of five o'clock hitters. He's a piece of work."
Trembley said he likes playing without the designated hitter.
"That's real baseball. I really like it. The best times I had managing in the minors was when there was no DH. You had to utilize your bench, you had to really do your homework on matchups and your starting pitcher got the message real clear. If they give up three or four, they aren't staying out there. National League style, that's real baseball. I'm sorry to those that like the DH, which is great for the game. But there's more strategy with no DH."
Game Preview
Houston (33-39) at Orioles (36-34)
The Orioles look to wrap up another successful homestand with a three-game sweep of Houston tonight. The Orioles are 4-1 on the homestand and are 21-12 at home on the season.
The Birds have won 4 of 5, 8 of 12 and 10 of their last 15 games. At 36-34, they are two games over .500 for the first time since May 22nd.
The Orioles have trailed in all four wins on the homestand and went into the last of the 7th Wednesday behind 1-0. But Luke Scott's homer on a 3-0 pitch tied the game in the seventh and the O's won 2-1 on Kevin Millar's RBI single in the 10th.
The Orioles have played four straight one-run games, winning three of them.
Now, they get yet another chance at a three-game sweep. Five times this season they have won the first two games of a three-game series, but failed to get the sweep. They swept a two-game series this year vs. Boston and a four-game set vs. Seattle, but tonight can pick up their first three-game sweep of this season.
Houston is just looking for a win, any win right now. The Astros have lost seven in a row, 11 of 13 and 16 of 19 games. They are just 1-7 in interleague play this season.
Pitching Match-Up
LHP Brian Burres (5-5, 5.28) is set to make his 14th start of the season, his 7th at home and the first of his career vs. Houston.
Even though he got a win last Friday vs. Pittsburgh, Burres has really struggled over his last four starts. In that time he is 1-1, 12.00, allowing 35 hits and 24 earned runs in 18 innings. He has given up 7 homers over that span.
Burres was 4-4 with an ERA of 3.16 over his first nine starts, but his recent tough stretch has raised his ERA over two runs per game. His last quality start was May 22nd vs. the Yankees.
Friday he picked up a 9-6 win over the Pirates, giving up six runs and eight hits in six innings. In six home starts, Burres is 3-2, 7.09. His ERA is 3.86 in road outings.
Burres seems to struggle early in games and opponents bat .377 against him over the second and third innings of his starts.
In five career interleague games, four starts, he is 2-0, 5.33.
RHP Shawn Chacon (2-2, 4.69) tonight makes his 15th start of the season, his 9th on the road and the 134th start of his career.
The 30-year-old Chacon pitched to an ERA of 3.32 in April and 4.75 in May. But his ERA is up to 8.76 over three June starts.
He set a unique Major League record, beginning this season with nine consecutive no decisions as a starter. It broke the old mark of eight to start a season, set by Dick Stigman back in 1965.
Chacon, who has pitched in the Majors for Colorado, the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh and Houston, has recorded a quality start in 9 of 14 starts and has pitched six innings or more ten times.
In his last start, last Friday vs. the Yankees, he gave up just one run over 6 1/3 innings but picked up his 10th no decision of the season.
In eight road starts in 2008, Chacon is 1-1, 4.36. The Astros are 6-8 when he starts.
In four careers games, two starts, vs. the Orioles, he is 2-1, 4.02. In his two starts only, his ERA is 1.32 vs. Baltimore (2ER - 13 2/3IP).
Orioles Hitters on the Current Homestand
Bynum: 1-10, RBI
Cintron: 1-4, 2 RBI
Hernandez: 6-14, 2 2B, 2 RBI
Huff: 6-21, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Jones: 8-21, 2 2B, 4 runs
Markakis: 6-23, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Millar: 3-19, 3 RBI
Mora: 5-16, 2 2B, 3 RBI
Payton: 3-8
Quiroz: 1-3, HR, RBI
Roberts: 8-21, 3 2B, HR, 5 RBI
Salazar: 1-7, HR, RBI
Scott: 5-15, 2 HR, 2 RBI
Random Notes
Orioles pitching had allowed five runs or more in ten straight games until giving up just 1 run Wednesday.......Adam Jones does not have an RBI over his last ten games.........Luke Scott has hit 5 homers his last 8 games.......the team average is .297 on this homestand........the Orioles have made just 5 errors the last 16 games.......the O's are 21-4 when they get ten hits or more in a game..............the O's have won all three of their interleague series this year...........Brian Roberts needs nine hits for 1,000 in his career.
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