O's use homer barrage to bash Archer and Rays 6-1

Last year, when he finished fifth in the American League Cy Young voting, Tampa Bay right-hander Chris Archer gave up three homers in a game just once in 34 starts. Tonight he gave up three homers in the fifth inning.

The O's bashed Archer for six runs on 10 hits with four total homers over five frames tonight in a 6-1 win over Tampa Bay. The Orioles improved to 4-0. Their best-ever start was 5-0 in 1970.

Chris Davis hit his second homer of the year in the second inning to tie this game 1-1 and the O's scratched out a run to lead 2-1 in the fourth. Davis walked with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came home on a Matt Wieters single. Wieters drove home his third run of the year on the 10th pitch of the at-bat.

The Davis homer was his 800th career hit. The Wieters single extended his hitting streak to a career-best 11 games dating back to last Sept. 23.

But the homer barrage came an inning later. Jonathan Schoop crushed an 86 mph slider over the center field wall on the inning's first pitch. Then, with two outs, Nolan Reimold and Manny Machado hit back-to-back homers for the 5-1 lead. Reimold hit No. 1 and Machado No. 2 as the O's hit three in a span of five at-bats off Archer.

They were not done at that point. Davis walked after the Machado blast, went to third on Mark Trumbo's single and scored when Wieters hit a shot back to the box that went off Archer for a hit and his second RBI of the night. The O's led 6-1 at the end of five. Archer now has a 5.03 career ERA against the Orioles.

Pitching on three day's rest, Chris Tillman settled in nicely after he gave up an Evan Longoria homer in the first. It was Longoria's seventh career homer in 50 at-bats off the O's right-hander, his most off any pitcher.

But Tillman went five innings and retired the last nine batters he faced and got the win. He allowed the one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches. He is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.29.

Through four games O's starting pitchers have an ERA of 1.42. In 19 innings, they have allowed 14 hits and four runs (three earned). O's pitching has allowed just seven runs in four games.

T.J. McFarland gave the Orioles a strong relief outing tonight with three scoreless innings. After he allowed a single to the first batter he faced in the sixth, he retired nine in a row. He got seven groundball outs and nine outs on 42 pitches. Brad Brach pitched the ninth.

The Orioles look to keep their unbeaten run going tomorrow night, weather permitting. Mike Wright is scheduled to pitch against left-hander Drew Smyly at 7:05 p.m.