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GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles are finally getting their
money's worth from Albert Belle.
|  | | Player of the week? Probably. Albert Belle has five home runs and 14 RBI in his past three games. |
Belle homered twice for the second straight night and drove in four runs as the Orioles extended their winning streak to six by beating the Anaheim Angels 4-3 Friday.
Belle, who hit grand slams on successive nights against Texas on
Wednesday and Thursday, has five home runs and 14 RBI in his last
three games and nine homers in his last 13 games.
"Albert is one of the few guys in the team who can carry a team
on his back," Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove said. "He's done it
before for the Indians and White Sox, and hopefully he'll do it
here."
The Orioles made Belle the highest-paid player in the game in
December 1998 when they gave him a five-year, $65 million contract.
He did well enough last year, but Baltimore finished below .500.
His hot streak has given the resurgent Orioles hope of climbing
back into contention.
"He's seeing the ball pretty good right now. It's June, the
weather's warmed up a little bit and he's warmed up a little bit,"
starter Mike Mussina said. "Hopefully it'll stay warm the whole
way till October 1 and he'll keep going the way he's going."
Belle hit a three-run homer to put the Orioles up 3-0 in the
first inning and added a solo shot in the third to make it 4-1.
That gave him three homers in three at-bats, including his final
trip to the plate Thursday.
He was walked intentionally in the fifth and popped out in the
seventh.
"Albert's a very special hitter when he's on his game, and
right now he's on it," Hargrove said.
Mussina (5-6) allowed two runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings
to win his fourth straight decision. He struck out six and walked
two in improving to 12-4 against the Angels.
"I think in a couple circumstances I made it tough on myself,"
Mussina said. "But offensively, thank goodness Albert's on the
roll he's on. He's carried us for a couple nights here. Tonight he
was exclusively the offense."
Mike Timlin, the fourth Baltimore pitcher, gave up a run-scoring
groundout to Darin Erstad before retiring Kevin Stocker on a
groundout with the potential tying run on third for his seventh
save.
Brady Anderson had a single and three walks for the Orioles,
whose six-game winning streak matched their longest this season.
Orlando Palmeiro had two hits and an RBI for the Angels, who
have lost three straight for the first time this season. Starter
Scott Schoeneweis (5-5), who gave up both of Belle's homers, left
in the fourth inning with a strained right ribcage.
The Angels will put him on the 15-day disabled list and activate
right-hander Tim Belcher, who will make his first start of the season Saturday.
"Coming out of his last start, the next day (Schoeneweis) felt
a little stiffness. It wasn't just one pitch or anything," Angels
manager Mike Scioscia said.
The injury left the Angels with a makeshift rotation.
"Everyone from our opening day rotation is gone," Scioscia
said. "It's a little out of the ordinary, but this club is gonna
be there, we're going to get it done."
Anderson led off the first inning with a walk and B.J. Surhoff
hit a one-out single before Belle sent a drive to left that eluded
the glove of a leaping Palmeiro and landed in the hands of a fan in
the front row of seats.
Adam Kennedy doubled and scored on a two-out single by Palmeiro
in the second.
Belle hit his 15th homer in the third on a 2-0 count. He has hit
in 16 of his last 17 games, going 28-for-64 (.438) with 10 homers
and 25 RBI.
Anaheim made it 4-2 and chased Mussina in the seventh. Bengie
Molina singled, took third on a double by Palmeiro and scored on a
groundout by Erstad.
Game notes
Belle has seven homers and 20 RBIs in seven games during
the homestand. ... Mo Vaughn, who came in with a .339 average
against Mussina, went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and a walk. ...
Mussina is 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA in June. ... The Angels lost two in
a row 11 times this season before finally losing a third straight.
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