O's losing streak ends as they rout Oakland 12-4

Before tonight's game the Orioles' Trey Mancini said a four-game losing streak would provide a test for him and his young teammates. Tonight, they passed it.

They got some stellar infield defense, three triples, two homers, some clutch outs late and just enough starting pitching to beat the Oakland A's 12-4 in the opener of a four-game series.

The Orioles are 5-5 at the 10-game mark, 1-3 at home and 2-2 in series openers.

O's first baseman Chris Davis lined out his first three times to bat tonight, was called out on strikes in the seventh and struck out swinging in the eighth. He is now 0-for-49 dating to last year. That breaks the major league record of 46 straight hitless at-bats, set by the Dodgers' Eugenio Vélez in 2010-2011. Davis is 0-for-28 this season. He's hitless in his last 56 plate appearances, which is one off Tony Bernazard's MLB record set in 1984.

Mancini's bat stayed hot tonight as he went 3-for-3 with two walks and is batting .385. His solo homer to right in the first provided a 1-0 lead. That lead grew to 4-0 in the second when Cedric Mullins tripled down the first-base line to score two. The throw to third hit him for an E4 and Mullins scored the fourth run on the play.

Two innings later, Mullins tripled again and scored ahead of Jonathan Villar's two-run homer to center, No. 3 for Villar. Mullins had no triples before tonight. He became the first Oriole ever to record his first two triples in the same game. Al Bumbry is the only Oriole ever with three triples in one game. He did that once, on Sept. 22, 1973 against Milwaukee.

The Orioles infield defense was outstanding behind starter Andrew Cashner, a groundball pitcher. There were diving plays from Davis at first, Villar at second and a couple at third base from Hanser Alberto, one to end the top of the first with two men on.

Cashner improved to 2-1 with a 5.28 ERA. Over 5 1/3 he gave up nine hits and four runs (three earned) with one walk, one strikeout and two homers allowed. He threw 90 pitches, 55 for strikes. Losing pitcher Marco Estrada allowed six runs and nine hits over four innings and 96 pitches.

In the O's sixth, Richie Martin tripled and then scored on a Mullins' sac fly. That was Martin's first career triple and a career-high three RBIs for Mullins. The O's team record for triples in a game is five on July 27, 1958 versus Kansas City.

Leading 7-4, the O's used a five-run eighth to put this game away, getting a two-run single from Villar for a four-RBI day, Mancini's RBI single for two RBIs and Alberto's two-run single. This followed the top of the eighth when Mychal Givens came on with the bases loaded and one out and pitched out of that with a strikeout and groundout. The A's had the potential tie run on first base against Givens.

After their previous four wins came by six total runs, they won by eight tonight. So the O's get their first home win and begin to erase the sting of Sunday's blowout loss and a series sweep to the Yankees.