Joseph sets Orioles catching record (O's win 10-3)

As a 28-year-old rookie, Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph can be viewed as a late bloomer. He's proving that it's never too late to climb into a team's record book. Joseph homered in his fifth consecutive game today to set the Orioles mark for catchers. The overall record of six is shared by Chris Davis (2012) and Reggie Jackson (1976). No wonder Jackson got the big payday from the Yankees. Joseph had been tied with Ramon Hernandez (2006) and Gus Triandos (1959). Joseph launched the first pitch from Cardinals starter John Lackey, a 92 mph fastball, over the left-center field fence for his eighth homer of the season to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead in the second inning. Joseph pumped his fist as he approached the dugout and was swarmed by teammates. According to the Orioles' PR staff, Joseph is the 15th major league catcher since 1914 to hit a home run in five consecutive games. The Reds' Devin Mesoraco accomplished the feat in June. The Orioles scored earlier in the inning on J.J. Hardy's infield hit and Delmon Young's double. Young is batting .355 against right-handers this season. Joseph followed with his first-pitch home run and a joyous trip around the bases. It's been an emotional couple of days for Joseph, who left the team briefly yesterday due to a family medical situation. He returned last night, catching Chris Tillman between innings while Nick Hundley put on his gear. Update: The Orioles keep adding to their major league lead in home runs. They're up to 146 after Nelson Cruz's two-run shot in the third inning. Cruz has 30 home runs for the second time in his career. He's the 19th player in Orioles history to hit 30. It's happened 34 times. Cruz's last home run before today came on July 25. Update II: The Orioles now lead the majors with 147 home runs, including three today and nine in the past two games. Young's two-run shot off Lackey in the fifth gave the Orioles an 8-3 lead. It was Young's fifth of the season and first since July 24. Cruz barely missed his second of the day, settling for a double to right, and he scored on Hardy's single. Cruz is the 18th player in Orioles history with a 30-homer, 20-double season. Eddie Murray had five of them. Update III: The Orioles added another run in the sixth and chased Lackey, who didn't record an out in the inning. Jonathan Schoop, Nick Markakis and Manny Machado strung together singles to increase the lead to 9-3 and give the Orioles 21 runs in their last two games. Ubaldo Jimenez turned in a quality start by definition. He allowed three runs and six hits in six innings, with three walks, five strikeouts, a home run and a wild pitch. He threw 93 pitches, 59 for strikes. Update IV: Game over. The Orioles defeat the Cardinals 10-3 before 40,894 at Camden Yards. The Orioles have scored 22 runs in the last two games and improve their series record to 22-10-7 - winning seven in a row. They're 67-49 overall and 32-25 at home. The Orioles now lead the Blue Jays and Yankees by six games in the American League East, their largest margin since 1997. Since June 30, the Orioles have posted the best record in baseball at 25-10. Jimenez improves to 1-5 in day games this season.