Melvin Mora with 4 RBI as O's romp over Detroit, 11-2
The Orioles continued their torrid hitting Friday night at Detroit in an 11-2 win over the Tigers. Melvin Mora had a single, triple, homer and 4 RBI as the O's had 14 hits in winning their third in a row.
The Orioles scored 11 runs for the second night in a row. They have scored 41 runs in the five games of this road trip and have scored 66 the last eight games.
It was a game in which the O's never trailed. They led 4-0 after three innings and batted around scoring six runs in the top of the ninth.
In that inning they took advantage of four hits and two key Detroit errors. Aubrey Huff had two singles and an RBI in the ninth inning.
Lance Cormier pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Chris Waters to get the win. Waters allowed two runs and eight hits in 4 2/3.
The O's lead grew to 5-2 in the sixth. Juan Castro hit his second double of the game and later scored on Mora's sac fly.
Placido Polanco's two-run homer in the fifth cut the O's lead to 4-2. It was his 7th of the year and scored Curtis Granderson, who had singled.
Mora led off the O's third with a solo homer as the Orioles took a 4-0 lead. It's Mora's 7th homer since the All-Star break and his 18th of the year.
The O's scored twice in the second for a 3-0 lead. After a Luke Scott double and walk to Castro, Brian Roberts singled in one run for a 2-0 lead. On the throw home the ball got away from catcher Brandon Inge and Castro came in to score for a 3-0 edge.
The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the first. With two outs, Mora tripled to right center and then scored on an Aubrey Huff single. It's his 81st RBI.
Balt 11-14-1
Det 2-11-3
Postgame Notes
Mora's Tear
Melvin Mora came up a double short of the cycle in this game, going 3-4 with a triple, homer and single and 4 RBI. Mora is 11-23 with 7 RBI on this road trip and has 15 RBI over his last seven games. Mora has 19 RBI the last 13 games and, since the All-Star break, is batting .404-6-37.
Final Notes
Luke Scott had a double and two walks. He is now batting .478 (11-23) during an 8-game hitting streak........The O's have scored 22 runs on 31 hits the past two games......They have scored 28 runs in winning the last three games.......The Orioles are batting .357 and have scored 66 runs the last 8 games.....The Birds are batting .309 since the All-Star break and averaging 6.1 runs per game in that time.
Aubrey Huff was 3-6 with 2 RBI.....He has at least one RBI in six straight games.....Over his last 57 games, Huff is batting .368-16-51........Juan Castro went 2-4 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored and an RBI...Castro has 8 hits his last 22 at bats.
The Birds are now 3-2 on this road trip, 14-14 since the break and 28-38 on the road......The Tigers were three games over .500 on July 30th, but are 4-11 since....The O's now have a better record then Detroit with the O's at 59-62 and Detroit at 59-63.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
LOB Column
O's have a 5-2 lead in the 7th but have left ten men on base tonight. Hope those runs they didn't get don't come back to haunt them. They have left at least one runner on base in every inning tonight. O's are 2-11 tonight with runners in scoring position.
Quick Hook
I was disappointed that Chris Waters didn't get a chance to finish the fifth. He took a shutout into the inning but was taken out after giving up two runs as the O's lead shrunk from 4-0 to 4-2. Don't the O's need to see how a pitcher like Waters fares in a jam like the one he was in? Lance Cormier did get the third out, but I would have liked to see if Waters could have gotten out of it. He finished one out short of qualifying for a win.
The Bats......Still Hot
The Orioles hot-hitting continues tonight in Detroit. They lead 4-0 after four at bats and already have seven hits, five for extra-bases with three doubles, a triple and a homer. So they've already hit for the cycle tonight. Melvin Mora already has a triple, homer and walk. He is batting .455 over his last 13 games. Luke Scott's double in the second extended his current hitting streak to eight games. He is 11-23 during the streak. The early runs had to help relax Chris Waters as well.
Minor League Moves
Delmarva's closer, submarine pitcher Mick Mattaliano has been promoted to Frederick. With the Shorebirds, Mattaliano went 2-2, 1.24 with 27 saves. Frederick sends RHP Fredy Deza to Triple-A. Meanwhile, OF Arthur Bonevacia goes from Bluefield to Aberdeen and the IronBirds send RHP Joe Esposito to Delmarva.
Play Ball
Tonight's game is underway at Detroit. Let's see if the O's can make it three in a row. Check back here often tonight for news and updates.
Starting Lineups
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
3B Melvin Mora
DH Aubrey Huff
C Ramon Hernandez
1B Kevin Millar
LF Luke Scott
CF Lou Montanez
SS Juan Castro
P Chris Waters
Tigers
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Placido Polanco
RF Magglio Ordonez
1B Miguel Cabrera
DH Gary Sheffield
LF Marcus Thames
SS Edgar Renteria
C Brandon Inge
3B Ryan Rayburn
P Nate Robertson
Game Preview
Orioles (58-62) at Detroit (59-62)
After winning the last two games at Cleveland to split that four-game series, the Orioles take a modest winning streak and some momentum into Detroit, where they begin a three-game series tonight.
The O's used Jeremy Guthrie's pitching to win Wednesday and an 8-run 8th to top Cleveland yesterday. The Birds' 17 hits matched their season high as did the 8-run inning. In the breakout 8th, Kevin Millar and Lou Montanez each had two hits and 2 RBI. Millar drove in three for the game.
The red-hot O's offense is now scoring 6 runs per game since the All-Star break and has produced 55 runs the last seven games.
Detroit beat Toronto 5-1 Thursday scoring all its runs in the last of the 8th. They needed that win to avoid a four-game sweep by Toronto. The Tigers are in third in the AL Central, 9 ½ games behind Chicago.
Detroit was three games over .500 on July 30th, but is just 4-10 since then. Detroit is 32-26 at home and the Tigers are 6-51 on the season when scoring four runs or less in a game.
Pitching Match-Up
LHP Chris Waters (1-0, 4.50) tonight will make his 3rd Major League start of this season and his first vs. the Detroit Tigers.
Waters made his Major League debut August 5th vs. the Angels and pitched 8 shutout innings of one-hit ball vs. the club with the best record in the Majors. Last Sunday, against Texas, he allowed six runs and seven hits in four innings.
In those two starts, left-handed batters have gone 3-5 vs. Waters, but right-handed hitters are batting just .132 against him. The O's are 1-1 in his starts.
The 27-year-old Waters, in his second season in the O's organization, began this season at Double-A Bowie and was 5-0, 1.69 in six starts. He was then promoted to Triple-A Norfolk and made 18 appearances, 16 as a starter with the Tides, going 3-6, 5.70. He pitched to an ERA of 3.60 in six July starts at Triple-A.
With Norfolk, Waters allowed 97 hits and 43 walks in 90 innings. He gave up a batting average of .210 vs. left-handed hitters, .317 vs. right-handed batters and .363 when pitching with runners in scoring position.
Waters was originally drafted in round five by Atlanta in 2000. His best year in the Minors was 2002 at Myrtle Beach when he went 13-7, 2.76.
In his career in the minors he has pitched in 185 games, 179 as a starter, with a record of 58-60 and 4.06 ERA in 1,040 innings.
LHP Nate Robertson (7-8, 5.84) tonight will make his 25th start of 2008, his 12th at home and his second this year vs. Baltimore.
Robertson had an excellent outing and won Sunday vs. Oakland. He gave up just one run and five hits in 7 2/3. In his two outings before that one, he had given up 12 ER over just 8 innings. In five second-half starts, Robertson is 1-0, 8.62.
The 30-year-old has given up 179 hits and 19 homers this season in 140 innings. The Tigers are 11-13 when he takes the mound.
Right-handed batters hit .313 off Robertson while lefties bat .314. In 11 home starts, he is 4-3, 4.09.
Robertson vs. the Orioles:
2008: 0-1, 27.00, one start (July 19 allows 7ER, 8H in 2 1/3 IP)
2007: 2-0, 1.29, two starts
Career: 4-1, 4.24 in 8 starts over 46 2/3
Orioles Hitters - Cleveland Series
Castro: 2-11, 2 RBI
Cintron: 2-5, 2B
Hernandez: 5-14, 2 RBI
Huff: 4-17, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Markakis: 9-17, 4 2B, 5 runs, 8 RBI
Millar: 4-17, 3 RBI
Mora: 8-19, 3 RBI
Montanez: 4-9, 2 RBI
Payton: 3-15, RBI
Roberts: 4-18, 3 RBI
Scott: 3-8, 2B
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