More notes and quotes from the 9-6 win over Oakland
Checking in with more notes and quotes after the Orioles latest comeback win, 9-6 on Wednesday night over Oakland.
Nice change: The Orioles had lost 16 of the last 19 games with the A's before rallying to win the second game of the series. After falling behind 6-4 after four, they scored the game's final five runs.
Kevin Millwood, who gave up 5 ER over five innings, talked about Oakland's 6-run 4th, which featured two O's errors.
"It was strange. I had some chances to get out of it, but wasn't able to make the pitches. I felt like I located the ball pretty well tonight and felt like my stuff was good. They kind of hit it where we weren't."
Millwood, making his 400th career appearance, had allowed at least two runs in the first inning of his last seven starts (20 runs total), after pitching a scoreless first in his first nine starts of 2010. The streak ended when he put up a zero in the opening frame vs. the A's.
"It was big to get through the first inning. I've struggled in the first the last four or five outings. That was a big key for this game. Felt like I settled in and threw well, but that one inning (the fourth) killed us."
Adam Jones went 3 for 5 with a double, homer and 3 RBI. Jones has hit safely in nine of his last ten games and is batting .415-5-12 over that stretch.
"We haven't had the greatest season thus far. That's evident. But we play hard," Jones said. "This homestand our bats have been a lot better. We've made some comebacks. It's the first time over four games in a row a team has come back by more than three in 110 years. That's a pretty good feat."
Elias Sports, did in fact point out that the Orioles, during the four straight wins that ended Tuesday, became the first team since the Detroit Tigers in 1901 to win four in a row while coming from three or more runs down in each of the games.
Over his last 22 games, Jones is batting .345-7-20. Jones has hit four homers over his past seven games and five over the last 10 contests.
"It was good to see Wiggy hit one. I couldn't remember the last time he hit one. It's good to finally get a homer from a first baseman," Jones said.
When Ty Wigginton hit a two-run homer to tie the game in the seventh, it was his first homer since May 22 vs. Washington. He had gone 30 games without one.
It was also the first homer all year by an Orioles first baseman. The O's went the first 76 games without one, the longest drought to start a season in franchise history.
It was the fourth longest drought in baseball history:
103 games - 1979 Royals
102 games - 1984 Giants
97 games - 1981 White Sox
76 games - 2010 Orioles
Wigginton joked that the Orioles were cursed by the lack of homers from a first sacker.
"I hope it's broken. There definitely was a little curse there. I think the first baseman thing was bigger than the personal (homer) slump.
"Who cares about the (five) home runs. It's nice that we found a way to get back into the game. You are starting to see a lot of character on this team.
"Yeah, I think everybody believes. I thought we were in the game the whole time. When they were up by three, whatever the score was, it doesn't matter. Right now there is that feeling that we'll get back in this thing."
*The O's hit five homers in the game, that ties for most in a game this year. They also hit five on May 1st vs. Boston.
*The O's bullpen has pitched to an ERA of 0.77 over the last six games, allowing just 2 ER on 14 hits over 23 1/3 innings and pitched four shutout frames in this win.
*Over the eight games of this homestand, the O's have scored 48 runs with 19 doubles and 12 homers and team batting average of .316.
*Over his past eight games, Miguel Tejada is batting .405-2-9 after going 2 for 5 with a two-run homer. Tejada has 9 RBI over his last six games after going 23 games with just one RBI.
*Cesar Izturis is 8 for 23 with three doubles during a six-game batting streak. Corey Patterson is 10 for 20 during a five-game streak. Matt Wieters is 9 for 23 with a homer and 8 RBI during a seven-game batting streak.
*Over a three-game stretch, Luke Scott is 4 for 8 with three doubles, a homer and 2 RBI. He has knocked in seven runs over his past ten games.
*The Orioles are now 16-24 at home, 19-4 when leading after eight innings, 19-9 when they outhit their opponent, 22-12 when scoring four or more runs and 5-12 vs. the AL West. They are 5-3 on the homestand that ends tonight.
"We haven't had the greatest season thus far. That's evident. But we play hard," Jones said. "This homestand our bats have been a lot better. We've made some comebacks. It's the first time over four games in a row a team has come back by more than three in 110 years. That's a pretty good feat."
Elias Sports, did in fact point out that the Orioles, during the four straight wins that ended Tuesday, became the first team since the Detroit Tigers in 1901 to win four in a row while coming from three or more runs down in each of the games.
Over his last 22 games, Jones is batting .345-7-20. Jones has hit four homers over his past seven games and five over the last 10 contests.
"It was good to see Wiggy hit one. I couldn't remember the last time he hit one. It's good to finally get a homer from a first baseman," Jones said.
When Ty Wigginton hit a two-run homer to tie the game in the seventh, it was his first homer since May 22 vs. Washington. He had gone 30 games without one.
It was also the first homer all year by an Orioles first baseman. The O's went the first 76 games without one, the longest drought to start a season in franchise history.
It was the fourth longest drought in baseball history:
103 games - 1979 Royals
102 games - 1984 Giants
97 games - 1981 White Sox
76 games - 2010 Orioles
Wigginton joked that the Orioles were cursed by the lack of homers from a first sacker.
"I hope it's broken. There definitely was a little curse there. I think the first baseman thing was bigger than the personal (homer) slump.
"Who cares about the (five) home runs. It's nice that we found a way to get back into the game. You are starting to see a lot of character on this team.
"Yeah, I think everybody believes. I thought we were in the game the whole time. When they were up by three, whatever the score was, it doesn't matter. Right now there is that feeling that we'll get back in this thing."
*The O's hit five homers in the game, that ties for most in a game this year. They also hit five on May 1st vs. Boston.
*The O's bullpen has pitched to an ERA of 0.77 over the last six games, allowing just 2 ER on 14 hits over 23 1/3 innings and pitched four shutout frames in this win.
*Over the eight games of this homestand, the O's have scored 48 runs with 19 doubles and 12 homers and team batting average of .316.
*Over his past eight games, Miguel Tejada is batting .405-2-9 after going 2 for 5 with a two-run homer. Tejada has 9 RBI over his last six games after going 23 games with just one RBI.
*Cesar Izturis is 8 for 23 with three doubles during a six-game batting streak. Corey Patterson is 10 for 20 during a five-game streak. Matt Wieters is 9 for 23 with a homer and 8 RBI during a seven-game batting streak.
*Over a three-game stretch, Luke Scott is 4 for 8 with three doubles, a homer and 2 RBI. He has knocked in seven runs over his past ten games.
*The Orioles are now 16-24 at home, 19-4 when leading after eight innings, 19-9 when they outhit their opponent, 22-12 when scoring four or more runs and 5-12 vs. the AL West. They are 5-3 on the homestand that ends tonight.
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