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  Wednesday, Jun. 7 7:10pm ET
Peeved O's to fly out, fly in for finale
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

NEW YORK (AP) -- If getting blown out weren't bad enough, the Orioles had a round-trip flight between Baltimore and New York to look forward to before the series finale against the Mets.

Edgardo Alfonzo homered, tripled and drove in two runs to lead the New York Mets to an 11-3 victory over the steamed Orioles on Wednesday night.

Edgardo Alfonzo
Things were looking up for the Mets' Edgardo Alfonzo, who homered and tripled against the Orioles.

Already on their longest road trip of the season, the Orioles found out before the game that they would have to fly home Wednesday night before returning for Thursday's makeup game.

"The travel puts us at a distinct disadvantage," Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove said. "As a competitor, I don't like that."

The series was extended one day by Tuesday's rainout, but there were no hotels available in the New York City area, necessitating the long commute.

Baltimore's fifth loss in six games didn't do much to lift the team's spirits, but Mets manager Bobby Valentine wasn't feeling overly sympathetic.

"I don't think all those guys are going back and forth," he said. "A lot of those guys have the wherewithal to get themselves a room on their own."

For 5½ innings, the hotel arrangements didn't bother the Orioles. Scott Erickson (2-3) overcame a shaky first when he allowed solo homers to Alfonzo and Mike Piazza, and Baltimore led 3-2. But New York scored nine runs over the next two innings, spoiling Baltimore's day.

Most of the Orioles quickly ate their postgame meal and weren't in any mood to discuss the game or the trip. Erickson, who won't be making the return trip to New York, thought he pitched well until New York's four-run sixth inning.

"I made good pitches and they hit them," he said. "They might have been a little up but there were good pitches. Those guys are good hitters."

Kurt Abbott led off the sixth with a triple and scored on Jason Tyner's sacrifice fly to tie the game. Derek Bell, in a 3-for-47 slump, hit a broken-bat single that took a bad hop off shortstop Mike Bordick's chest. Alfonzo followed with a triple in the right-field corner to score the go-ahead run.

After a pair of walks, Todd Zeile hit an RBI single and Jay Payton had a sacrifice fly off Al Reyes to make it 6-3.

The Mets broke the game open with five runs in the seventh on Robin Ventura's bases-loaded walk and two-run singles by Zeile and pinch-hitter Benny Agbayani.

Pat Mahomes (2-1) pitched one scoreless inning in relief of Rick Reed for the win. Reed, making his first start since May 27 because of an injured rib cage muscle, allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings.

"I was glad I was able to keep us in the game long enough to give our hitters a chance to put some runs on the board," Reed said. "My main concern was staying pain free and I did."

Tyner had an adventurous night in left field in his second major league game. He dropped Cal Ripken's fly ball in the fourth inning, allowing a run to score. But he made up for the miscue when he threw out B.J. Surhoff at the plate later that inning trying to score on a flyout. Tyner made a strong throw on the fly and Piazza blocked home plate.

In the seventh inning, Tyner went over to the left-field stands to catch Bordick's foul pop, but a fan reached his hands into Tyner's glove and caught the ball. Bordick was ruled out on fan interference.

The back-to-back homers by Alfonzo and Piazza in the first marked the eighth time the Mets hit consecutive homers this season. Piazza's drive went 448 feet and landed in the parking lot beyond the left-field bullpen.

"I don't know how they measure it," Piazza said. "To me they all count the same. Getting it over the fence is the most important thing."

Ripken homered in the second, and the Orioles tied the game on Tyner's error in the fourth. Baltimore went ahead in the fifth when Erickson got his first career hit and scored on Delino DeShields' double. Erickson had been 0-for-11.

Game notes
Erickson allowed six runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. ... The Mets entered with six triples before getting two in the sixth. That marked their first two-triple inning since Rich Becker and Rey Ordonez did it on May 19, 1998, against Cincinnati. ... The Orioles expected to return home by 1 a.m. and planned to leave Baltimore at 2:30 p.m. Thursday for the 7:10 p.m. start.

 


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