Offense awakens and Orioles avoid sweep with 9-6 win

OAKLAND - A scoring drought that could have caused brush fires, a drought that turned a first-place lead to ashes, ended for the Orioles this afternoon.

When it rains runs, it pours.

The label of a team that only hits home runs was ripped away at the seams in the fourth inning, with the Orioles stringing together four consecutive hits in a three-run frame. But, the long ball would resurface later. May as well take all of the tools out of the box.

Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo singled with one out in the fourth, the latter breaking a scoreless tie, and Pedro Alvarez followed with a two-run double.

The Orioles hadn't scored in 17 consecutive innings. And they were just getting started.

Trumbo hit his third career grand slam with two outs in the fifth inning and Adam Jones added a solo shot in the seventh. Plenty of support for Chris Tillman, who won his 15th game on his fourth attempt in a 9-6 victory over the Athletics.

Zach Britton is 35-for-35 in save opportunities after retiring Danny Valencia on a ground ball and leaving the bases loaded.

Alvarez enjoyed a three-RBI day with a run-scoring single in the seventh that increased the lead to 9-2.

Ryon Healy lined a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fifth, the only hiccup from Tillman, who posted his 15th quality start in 25 outings. He allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, with no walks and four strikeouts.

The rotation has notched seven quality starts in a row.

Logan Ondrusek replaced Tillman in the eighth and was greeted by Max Muncy's home run, making left-handers 4-for-8 against him. Ondrusek also walked two batters in two-thirds of an inning and was charged with a second run after he left on Yonder Alonso's two-run double off Darren O'Day. Billy Butler followed with an RBI single as Britton began to warm.

The A's brought the winning run to the plate with two outs in the ninth after a walk, single and infield hit. Brett Eiber was called out trying to get back to third base to apparently end the game, but the call was overturned and Valencia batted.

Ondrusek's spot on the roster could be in jeopardy. He has a minor league option if the Orioles want to bring up another left-handed reliever.

Trumbo was 0-for-14 before lining his RBI single into center field. Alvarez found the gap in right-center and the Orioles held on to improve to 64-50 overall, 25-33 on the road and 11-19 versus the American League West.

The three-run fourth off former Orioles farmhand Andrew Triggs matched their output for the first three games of the series. Left-hander Daniel Coulombe replaced him in the fifth and felt more of the Orioles' frustration. They can get downright nasty.

Jones singled with one out and hustled to second base on Coco Crisp's error. Machado was walked intentionally with two outs, Davis walked to load the bases and Trumbo delivered his 32nd homer of the season.

Jones' home run in the seventh made him 8-for-16 with two homers in the series and 14-for-30 on the trip.

Davis singled twice and walked today, giving him four hits in the last two games.

The team's offensive woes were puzzling to players who scanned the lineups, saw the track records and expected runs to flow like a river. The drought made no sense.

"Yeah, as far as one through nine, we're really good hitters, but I think it's part of baseball," said Jonathan Schoop. "We go through it, but we've got to keep the mental part and stay strong and go out there and forget about yesterday."