This game was in the books after just two innings as the Orioles lineup hit home runs galore early on off of Andy Sonnanstine. With Jeremy Guthrie pitching perfectly through six Rays batters, the Birds took an early 6-0 lead. Jump-started by a 2-RBI shot from Nick Markakis in the first, he was followed by solo shots from Vladimir Guerrero, Adam Jones, and Jake Fox. To cap off the batting practice session, Markakis blasted his second homer of the day.
The next three pitchers to appear for the O’s were Rick VandenHurk, Mark Hendrickson, David Riske, Alberto Castillo, and Jason Berken. They combined for 5 IP and 6 ER. Castillo, the only one in that group to not allow a run, was brought in with two outs in the 6th after Riske had allowed back to back homeruns from Manny Ramirez and B.J. Upton. Though the rest of the Rays scoring were on base hits and a sacrifice fly, the Orioles pitching staff definitely found some bumps in the road on the way to this 12-6 victory.
Even with those 6 earned runs in the middle 4 innings of the game, the Orioles lineup showed up in the bottom of the 4th for four more RBIs on five straight hits and a sacrifice fly.
Other notes:
- Raul Rivero and Armando Gabino combined to pitch the final two innings of the game, allowing no hits or walks.
- Mark Reynolds was 0-3 on the day with two strikeouts.
- The team was 4-8 on the day with runners in scoring position.
- Even with the five home runs, the Orioles also hit three doubles in the game, with an overall team average of .338 (13-36).
