| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Having finally finished reshaping the roster,
the Baltimore Orioles showed off their new youthful lineup in the
hours after the trading deadline.
The performance earned mixed reviews from manager Mike Hargrove.
| |  | |
| Belle |
Albert Belle ended the longest homerless drought of his career
and the Orioles survived two ninth-inning errors in a shaky 6-5
victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.
Catcher Brook Fordyce, obtained in a trade with the Chicago
White Sox on Saturday, threw a ball into center on a steal before
third baseman Ryan Minor botched a grounder to allow a run to
score.
Mike Trombley then issued a walk before getting three straight
outs for his third save.
"Those things are going to happen," Hargrove said of the
hectic ninth. "You might as well get used to it. Young players are
going to make mistakes."
Sidney Ponson pitched seven strong innings and Carlos Casimiro
doubled in two runs in his first major league at-bat for the
Orioles, whose new-look lineup has produced three straight wins.
Before the game, Baltimore capped a four-day flurry of trades by
sending left fielder B.J. Surhoff to the Atlanta Braves and dealing
first baseman Will Clark to St. Louis.
Casimiro's hit put Baltimore up 4-1 in the third, and newcomer
Melvin Mora scored two runs and stole a base. Chris Richard went
1-for-4 in his debut with the Orioles, and Luis Matos got his fifth
steal in two games.
But three of the few remaining Oriole veterans contributed the
most to the victory.
Belle's two-run homer in the first inning put Baltimore ahead to
stay. It was his 19th of the season and first since June 29, ending
a string of 27 games and 109 at-bats without a home run.
Delino DeShields had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run.
Ponson (6-7) allowed four runs and seven hits in seven-plus
innings, striking out four and walking one, to snap a three-game
skid. He's 5-0 with a 1.73 ERA lifetime against the Twins.
Minnesota's Juan Romero (0-1), making his first major league
start and sixth appearance, allowed five runs and six hits in 4 2/3
innings.
"I didn't throw everything perfect, but I was happy with how I
threw," Romero said. "For the most part, I got beat with the
fastball up in the strike zone."
Ron Coomer homered and David Ortiz had three hits for the Twins,
who are 6-28 against Baltimore over the past four seasons.
Minnesota made two errors and allowed one unearned run.
""We gave too much away and we can't afford to give too much
away," manager Tom Kelly said. "As you can see, we need to nickel
and dime them to score."
Belle's shot to right after a single by DeShields made it 2-0.
Coomer homered in the second inning.
Casimiro followed singles by Mora and DeShields with a double
into the gap in right-center in the third.
Minnesota got an RBI grounder from Jacque Jones in the fifth,
but Baltimore scored in its half when Mora walked, stole second,
took third on an error and came home on a wild pitch.
The Twins closed to 5-3 in the seventh when Ortiz doubled and
scored on a single by Corey Koskie. DeShields hit a sacrifice fly
in the Orioles' half.
Coomer singled in a run in the eighth.
Game notes
The Twins' Matt Lawton left the game early with a sprained
right toe, an injury that occurred while he attempted to catch
Belle's homer. ... Casimiro was recalled from Double-A Bowie before
game. He replaced Jeff Conine, who left the game in the third
inning because of family reasons. ... Lesli Brea, acquired from the
Mets in the trade for Mike Bordick, allowed two runs and four hits
in six innings in his debut Monday with Bowie. ... Ortiz is on a
24-for-45 streak.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Baltimore Clubhouse
RECAPS
Baltimore 6
Minnesota 5
Anaheim 5
Detroit 4
Oakland 6
Toronto 1
Boston 8
Seattle 5
Houston 4
Florida 2
St. Louis 4
Montreal 0
Los Angeles 0
Pittsburgh 0
Cincinnati 6
NY Mets 0
Chicago Cubs 2
Colorado 0
San Francisco 4
Milwaukee 3
San Diego 4
Philadelphia 1
|
