The Fox and the Home Run

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

May 14, 2011, 1:46pm

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Jake Fox has taken his share of heat, but he's catching a shutout and padding a lead today. Fox is giving the signs to Brad Bergesen, who's blanking the Rays on four hits over six innings. And he gave the Orioles a 4-0 lead with a two-run homer in the sixth that drove Rays starter Wade Davis from the game. Fox won a 10-pitch battle with Davis by launching his first home run since April 16 in Cleveland. It was a no-doubter. Davis had allowed two homers in seven career starts against the Orioles. They hit two today, including Mark Reynolds' opposite-field shot in the fifth. Juan Cruz entered the game after Fox's blast, and Reynolds hit a pop up in front of the Oriole's dugout that never landed. We're told the ball struck the B Ring in foul territory, approximately 150 feet above the playing surface. I don't recall Brooks Robinson having that issue when he played third base for the Orioles. As The Sun's Dan Connolly just tweeted, Reynolds in this series has a 150-foot foul that never landed and one that broke a computer last night. This guy hits most exciting fouls in baseball. Bergesen has retired 11 in a row as we head to the top of the seventh.