Orioles tie team record for hits in a game, pound Oakland 18-2

This time, no late-game heroics were necessary. Instead, an early-game barrage against the Oakland starting pitcher got it going. Then the O's offense kept it going.

Leading 6-2 in the last of the fifth, the Orioles added to their lead, producing their biggest inning of the year in a 18-2 romp over the Oakland A's this afternoon at Camden Yards. The Orioles had 26 hits to tie their team record set on Aug. 28, 1980 at Memorial Stadium against the California Angels.

The Orioles scored nine runs on 10 hits in the last of the fifth. Their previous biggest inning of the year was seven runs and the 10 hits is one off the team record for most in an inning. That was 11 during a team-record 12-run sixth inning on April 11, 2002 versus Tampa Bay.

With the win, the Orioles improve to 60-56 and tie the Angels for the second AL wild card spot, pending their game tonight. The Orioles are four games back of first-place New York and have won 14 of 21 games.

Some other highlights on the day:

* Gerardo Parra went 5-for-6 to tie his career high for hits in a game. He is 9-for-15 in the first three games of this series, raising his O's average from .196 to .323. He also homered for the second straight day. He had nine hits his first 11 games with the Orioles and matched that total the last three days.

* Adam Jones had a two-homer game with a solo shot and two-run blast. He now has 22 homers.

* Caleb Joseph went 3-for-4 with a two-run double, two-run homer and a career-high four RBIs. Joseph has 21 RBIs over his last 19 games and seven multi-RBI games in that stretch.

* The Orioles led 15-2 at the end of the fifth inning. At that point they were 18-for-31 at bat with five doubles and three homers, and were 9-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

* Steve Clevenger went 4-for-6 and that is a career high in hits for the Baltimore native.

* Five Orioles had multi-RBI games as Henry Urrutia, Jones, Parra and Manny Machado had three-RBI days and Joseph added four.

* Position player Ike Davis pitched the last of the eighth for the A's. He pitched a scoreless inning. But starter Kendall Graveman allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings and Dan Otero gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings.

* The 18 runs was one off the Orioles' season high of 19 on June 16 against Philadelphia.

Wei-Yin Chen got the benefit of all the offense to get the win. Over six innings and 117 pitches, he allowed eight hits and two runs. Chen is 7-6 with an ERA of 3.20.

Tomorrow night, the Orioles can sweep this four-game series when Chris Tillman (8-7, 4.66 ERA) faces right-hander Sonny Gray (12-4, 2.06 ERA), the American League ERA leader.

The Orioles have never recorded a four-game sweep at home against Oakland.