Davis puts name in record book, O's beat Twins 9-5

Different town, almost the same result for Chris Davis. The red-hot Oriole brought his act to Camden Yards today and didn't disappoint. After driving in four runs each of the last two games and 11 in the season's first three games, he knocked in five today as the Orioles beat Minnesota 9-5 in front of a sellout crowd of 46,653. Yes, this is unbelievable. Davis hit a grand slam in the last of the eighth to become the first Oriole to ever homer in the season's first four games and just the fourth in major league history. He joins Wilie Mays in 1971, Mark McGwire in 1998 and Nelson Cruz in 2011. On a day when the Orioles entered the eighth down 5-4 and were just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position to that point, they scored five times that inning. An Adam Jones bases-loaded RBI single made it a 5-5 tie and brought Davis to the plate. Yes, the tension and drama was pretty thick at that point, as Davis unloaded with a blast to left for the lead. On the year, Davis is now 9-for-15 with four homers and 16 RBIs. His 16 RBIs easily tops the major league record of 12 for the season's first four games set earlier by the Orioles' Charles Johnson in 2000, by Mark McGwire of St. Louis in 1998 and by Dolph Camilli of Philadelphia in 1935. After pitching three scoreless innings against Minnesota to start his day, Jake Arrieta gave up four runs and four hits in the fourth as Minnesota took a 4-1 lead. Brian Dozier's two-run triple was the big hit in the inning. Arrieta pitched five innings plus two batters, allowing seven hits and five runs (all earned), with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 93 pitches. O's starters had pitched to an ERA of 3.50 with two quality starts in the series against Tampa Bay. After falling behind by three, the O's tied it at 4-4, scoring once in the fourth on a J.J. Hardy fielder's choice grounder, and twice in the fifth on Jones' RBI double and Davis' sac fly, producing his 12th RBI of the year. The O's had taken a 1-0 lead when Manny Machado drove in his first run of the year in the third with a single. But the fans went home happy in the end as Davis put his name in the record books and continued an amazing stretch of hitting that has seen him hit 11 homers over his past 11 regular season games.