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Friday, Apr. 21 10:05pm ET
Timlin earns 100th save of career | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Saves have been tough to come by for Baltimore's bullpen. Friday night was no different. After Baltimore nearly blew an eight-run lead, Mike Timlin had to pitch his way out of a bases-loaded ninth-inning jam to preserve the Orioles' 11-9 win over the Oakland Athletics. "It was extremely important for me to get out of that jam, not only because I put myself there but to pick up the guys in the bullpen," said Timlin, who picked up his first save of the season, the 100th of his career. Cal Ripken Jr. drove in four runs with a homer and a single to help Baltimore win its fifth straight, and Orioles No. 9 hitter Mike Bordick had two RBI to take over the league lead with 22. Sidney Ponson (2-0), who had a four-hit shutout at Minnesota in his previous outing, followed up with a solid 5 2-3 innings. Ponson allowed three runs and six hits, including Matt Stairs' two-run homer. The scoreless ninth by Timlin, making his second appearance since he was activated from the disabled list Monday, marked just the second save for Baltimore's bullpen in its last five chances. "We talked to Timlin before the game and we wanted to get him the next save opportunity," Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove said. "It wasn't a pretty save, but it was a save. There would have been nothing positive out of this if we lost, but we won and that's the bottom line." After consecutive one-out walks to Ramon Hernandez and Eric Chavez, Timlin hit pinch-hitter John Jaha with a pitch, loading the bases. Timlin, who led the AL with nine blown saves last year, then got Rich Becker to pop out and Miguel Tejada to line out. "My concentration was somewhere else," Timlin said. "I was thinking about results instead of what I needed to do. I have to get back into a mental routine of doing the same things day in and day out to get back to the results I want. But it's always nice to get the first one. It was not a perfect step in the right direction but it was a step forward." Baltimore had an 11-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth and withstood a six-run burst by Oakland. The A's got RBI singles from Chavez, Frank Menechino and Tejada, an RBI double from Becker and consecutive runs on a passed ball by Charles Johnson and wild pitch by Mike Trombley. Buddy Groom got the Orioles out of the inning when he induced a groundout from Stairs. "What was nice is we battled back," Stairs said. "We were down 11-3. I think a game like this will give us confidence knowing we can battle back against one of the best teams in the league. I think we just ran out of at bats." Omar Olivares had another tough outing, giving up six runs, nine hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Olivares has given up at least four runs in each of his last three outings and hasn't been able to get out of the sixth inning in two of four starts." Bordick's RBI total is one more than Oakland's Jason Giambi, who had an RBI single in the first. Leading 3-1, the Orioles scored three times in the sixth, getting RBI singles from Ripken and Bordick, whose two-out hit chased Olivares. The inning's third run scored when Tejada, trying to complete a double play, threw wildly from shortstop to first for an error. Stairs brought the A's back, homering for a third straight game when he drove a 2-0 offering from Ponson into the right field bleachers to make it 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth. But Baltimore struck for five more runs in the seventh. Delino DeShields beat out an infield single, B.J. Surhoff walked and Albert Belle followed with an RBI single. Harold Baines added a run-scoring single before Ripken connected off Doug Jones for his fourth home run of the season. Ripken has 1,583 RBI, tying Al Kaline for 29th on the career list. The Orioles pulled away from a 1-1 tie with two runs in the fifth. Will Clark drew a leadoff walk, Johnson doubled and Bordick's groundout scored Clark before DeShields had a run-scoring single. Surhoff also singled in the first to score the game's first run. Game notesThe Orioles, who had 15 hits, have reached double figures in hits in nine of their 15 games. ... Before the game, the A's signed Tejada to an $11 million, four-year contract. ... The A's, who fell to 7-10, haven't had a winning record in April since 1996 (13-12). ... The Orioles (10-5) already have surpassed their victory total from last April, when they went 6-16. ... Baltimore RHP Scott Erickson, who had surgery in early March to remove bone chips from his right elbow, is being sent out on a rehab assignment. He is scheduled to report to Single A Frederick on Tuesday in his first outing since arthroscopic surgery. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Baltimore Clubhouse Oakland Clubhouse RECAPS Toronto 8 NY Yankees 3
Baltimore 11
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