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05-26-2003, 10:36 AM
I'm just so proud of my alien boys. :D
GO SPARKY! GO SPARKY! GO SPARKY!
GO MEL! GO MEL! GO MEL!
GO LUIS! GO LUIS! GO LUIS! :Party:
All I can say is, thank God for the offense, since Rock lost his control! :eek:
05/25/2003 6:14 PM ET
O's overcome Rangers to win
By Alan Eskew / Special to MLB.com
ARLINGTON -- Adding Brian Roberts and Luis Matos to the Orioles' lineup, along with Melvin Mora, has created an offensive juggernaunt.
The three combined to go 22-for-42, a .524 average, in the three games with the Rangers.
In a Sunday slugfest, Mora went 5-for-5 as the Orioles stroked a season-high 18 hits, nine for extra-bases, to outscore the Rangers 13-10 to take two of three in the weekend series. The Orioles won four of six on this trip to Anaheim and Arlington.
Mora, Roberts and Matos are a big reason why the Orioles' offense has been unstoppable lately. They have scored 54 runs and collected 94 hits in the last seven games.
Roberts is hitting .391 in five games since he was called up Wednesday from Class AAA Ottawa. Matos, who homered and doubled Sunday, is 7-for-14 with two home runs since his promotion Friday.(HELLO!!! I LOVE OUR OTTAWA BOYS!!!) :clap2:
Mora's career-high five-hit game raised his average to .346. He has an eight-game hitting streak and seven straight multi-hit games.
"I think we've got some new faces and a little more speed probably than before these guys came in," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said of the improved offense.
"Guys are swinging bat consistently. They are doing the little things they need to do offensively to score runs.
"The guys who are supposed to get on base are getting on base. We're getting good production right now from Matos. Melvin got hot really in Anaheim and it's kind of created a life of its own. It's nice to see."
He has been duly impressed with Roberts' efforts to work the count.
"Since Brian has been here, he's done a good job," Hargove said. "I think he's a prototypical leadoff hitter. He's well above-average runner. He's not afraid to work deep in the count. He understands how to get deep in count."
Roberts went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and walk Sunday. Matos hit a two-run homer in a five-run first and doubled and scored on an error in the fifth.
"Luis and I just try to bring the same thing we brought to the table when we were in Ottawa," Roberts said. "Louis was swinging well there and he's kept it up here.
"My job at the top of order is to get on base and provide the guys in the middle of the order a chance to drive in runs. The guys in the middle of the order right now are not missing those opportunities.
Cleanup hitter Jeff Conine drove in three runs with a double in the sixth and a groundout in the first to bring his RBI total to a team-leading 34.
Hargrove said Matos is a different hitter than he was last year.
"He has a lot shorter swing and has more of an idea what he wants to try to do with the ball," Hargrove said. "Before we saw a long swing, it looked like he was trying hit everything out of the ballpark and tried to pull everything. He's come away from that. He's a little more sure of himself and stronger."
The Orioles came into Texas hitting .260 and banged out 44 hits in the three games to hike their team average to .268. The Rangers could not find a way to slow down Mora, who had the 38th five-hit game in Orioles history.
"One of those lucky days that you have," Mora said. "Today was one of those days. I'm glad nobody caught my ball."
Mora has had a lot of "lucky" days recently, going 40-for-102, .391, in his past 26 games.
"I don't believe in luck," he said. "I believe in working very hard and that you get to show it on the field. I trust my hand, my body, my eyes. I trust everything I do at the plate. I feel great."
The Orioles led 5-0 and 13-7, but no lead is safe against the Rangers, who hit four home runs.
Rick Helling, making his first start against Texas where he spent the majority of his career, could not hold the early lead. He gave up seven runs in three innings on four hits, including a solo shot to Carl Everett and a grand slam to rookie Mark Teixeira after he walked the bases loaded in the third.
"Real bad command," Helling said. "I've been so good for the last three starts. With my mechanics, I'm usually locked in with location. Today I wasn't even close. I was unlocked and I couldn't find the key to lock it back up.
"I made a lot of bad pitches. I was wild. I walked a lot of guys, which for me I can't pitch that way. My strength usually is my command and today I didn't have any command at all. I feel I was a only pitch away from getting out of it and unfortunately I made not a very good pitch and that was the whole game up to the point, the grand slam. You can't expect to wriggle out of it every time."
The Orioles' offense reeled off seven more runs in innings four through seven, but the Rangers came back on Alex Rodriguez's and Rafael Palmeiro's back-to-back home runs in the seventh.
"You can't relax in this ballpark and with the offensive lineup the Rangers can put out there 1-thru-9," Hargrove said. "It is a very dangerous lineup and a very dangerous ball park to pitch against that lineup.
"We've pitched well this year. The strength of our club has been our pitching, coming into it and still is, especially our bullpen. For us to give up 10 runs is very unusual, not enjoyable at all. To score 13 sure beats the alternative."
These high-scoring games did have an impact on Hargrove.
"I'm going to start working tomorrow cause I've got to get my heart stronger because it just won't take it," he said. "Twenty years of not working out have come to an end."
Alan Eskew is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
BOX SCORE
Baltimore AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Roberts, B, 2B 4 2 3 1 1 0 1 .391
Mora, LF 5 2 5 2 1 0 0 .346
Segui, DH 5 2 1 1 0 1 6 .294
Conine, 1B 6 1 1 3 0 1 8 .278
Gibbons, RF 5 1 2 1 0 1 1 .270
Batista, 3B 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .265
Matos, CF 5 2 2 2 0 2 2 .500
Cruz, SS 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 .215
Fordyce, C 4 2 2 0 1 0 1 .231
Totals 43 13 18 12 3 7 20
BATTING
2B: Segui (5, Benoit), Mora 2 (12, Dickey, Van Poppel), Matos (1, Dickey), Conine (13, Shouse), Roberts, B (2, Fultz).
3B: Gibbons (1, Benoit), Roberts, B (1, Van Poppel).
HR: Matos (2, 1st inning off Benoit, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Roberts, B 6; Mora 7; Segui 2; Conine 2; Gibbons 4; Batista 2; Matos 6; Fordyce 2.
RBI: Segui (11), Conine 3 (34), Batista 2 (34), Matos 2 (3), Mora 2 (22), Gibbons (30), Roberts, B (6).
2-out RBI: Batista, Matos 2.
S: Roberts, B.
SF: Batista.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Conine 3, Matos.
Team LOB: 9.
BASERUNNING
CS: Batista (2, 2nd base by Fultz/Diaz).
FIELDING
E: Batista (5, fielding).
PB: Fordyce (2).
DP: (Roberts, B-Cruz-Conine).
Texas AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Everett, CF 4 1 2 1 1 1 3 .327
Blalock, 3B 2 2 1 0 3 0 1 .363
Rodriguez, SS 4 3 2 1 1 0 4 .306
Palmeiro, 1B 5 1 2 3 0 1 6 .282
Gonzalez, DH 5 1 1 0 0 0 4 .281
Sierra, LF 4 1 0 0 1 2 2 .252
Teixeira, RF 5 1 1 4 0 4 1 .239
Diaz, C 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .228
a-Greene, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227
Young, 2B 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .349
Totals 38 10 11 10 6 10 22
a-Grounded out for Diaz in the 9th.
BATTING
2B: Palmeiro (10, Helling), Everett (8, Driskill), Gonzalez (12, Driskill).
HR: Everett (14, 3rd inning off Helling, 0 on, 0 out), Teixeira (4, 3rd inning off Helling, 3 on, 2 out), Rodriguez (15, 7th inning off Driskill, 0 on, 0 out), Palmeiro (12, 7th inning off Driskill, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Everett 6; Blalock; Rodriguez 5; Palmeiro 6; Gonzalez 2; Teixeira 4; Young 2.
RBI: Palmeiro 3 (34), Everett (42), Teixeira 4 (21), Rodriguez (35), Young (22).
2-out RBI: Teixeira 3, Young.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Sierra, Palmeiro, Blalock, Diaz, Everett, Gonzalez.
GIDP: Palmeiro.
Team LOB: 7.
FIELDING
E: Rodriguez (2, throw).
DP: (Diaz-Young).
Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Helling 3.0 4 7 7 4 2 2 6.36
Driskill (W, 1-1) 3.1 5 3 2 1 5 2 5.40
Ryan 0.2 1 0 0 0 2 0 5.28
Groom (H, 9) 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 6.46
Roberts, W (H, 1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.76
Julio (S, 13) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.35
Texas IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Benoit 3.0 5 6 6 3 2 1 6.08
Dickey (L, 3-2) 2.0 5 4 3 0 2 0 4.01
Shouse 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 4.05
Van Poppel 1.0 3 2 2 0 1 0 8.53
Fultz 2.0 3 0 0 0 2 0 1.91
Dickey pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.
WP: Driskill.
HBP: Segui (by Fultz).
Pitches-strikes: Helling 66-37, Driskill 64-39, Ryan 18-13, Groom 14-7, Roberts, W 5-2, Julio 12-7, Benoit 84-54, Dickey 40-28, Shouse 13-9, Van Poppel 28-19, Fultz 40-25.
Ground outs-fly outs: Helling 4-3, Driskill 1-4, Ryan 0-0, Groom 2-0, Roberts, W 1-0, Julio 2-0, Benoit 3-4, Dickey 1-3, Shouse 1-2, Van Poppel 1-1, Fultz 2-1.
Batters faced: Helling 17, Driskill 16, Ryan 4, Groom 3, Roberts, W 1, Julio 3, Benoit 17, Dickey 12, Shouse 5, Van Poppel 6, Fultz 9.
Inherited runners-scored: Ryan 1-1, Roberts, W 1-0, Shouse 2-2.
Ejections: Texas Rangers Third Base Coach Steve Smith by HP umpire Tim Tschida (8th).
Umpires: HP: Tim Tschida. 1B: Dan Iassogna. 2B: Alfonso Marquez. 3B: Rick Reed.
Weather: 73 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 7 mph, L to R.
T: 3:33.
Att: 30,016.
Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball and the Office of the Commissioner
GO SPARKY! GO SPARKY! GO SPARKY!
GO MEL! GO MEL! GO MEL!
GO LUIS! GO LUIS! GO LUIS! :Party:
All I can say is, thank God for the offense, since Rock lost his control! :eek:
05/25/2003 6:14 PM ET
O's overcome Rangers to win
By Alan Eskew / Special to MLB.com
ARLINGTON -- Adding Brian Roberts and Luis Matos to the Orioles' lineup, along with Melvin Mora, has created an offensive juggernaunt.
The three combined to go 22-for-42, a .524 average, in the three games with the Rangers.
In a Sunday slugfest, Mora went 5-for-5 as the Orioles stroked a season-high 18 hits, nine for extra-bases, to outscore the Rangers 13-10 to take two of three in the weekend series. The Orioles won four of six on this trip to Anaheim and Arlington.
Mora, Roberts and Matos are a big reason why the Orioles' offense has been unstoppable lately. They have scored 54 runs and collected 94 hits in the last seven games.
Roberts is hitting .391 in five games since he was called up Wednesday from Class AAA Ottawa. Matos, who homered and doubled Sunday, is 7-for-14 with two home runs since his promotion Friday.(HELLO!!! I LOVE OUR OTTAWA BOYS!!!) :clap2:
Mora's career-high five-hit game raised his average to .346. He has an eight-game hitting streak and seven straight multi-hit games.
"I think we've got some new faces and a little more speed probably than before these guys came in," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said of the improved offense.
"Guys are swinging bat consistently. They are doing the little things they need to do offensively to score runs.
"The guys who are supposed to get on base are getting on base. We're getting good production right now from Matos. Melvin got hot really in Anaheim and it's kind of created a life of its own. It's nice to see."
He has been duly impressed with Roberts' efforts to work the count.
"Since Brian has been here, he's done a good job," Hargove said. "I think he's a prototypical leadoff hitter. He's well above-average runner. He's not afraid to work deep in the count. He understands how to get deep in count."
Roberts went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and walk Sunday. Matos hit a two-run homer in a five-run first and doubled and scored on an error in the fifth.
"Luis and I just try to bring the same thing we brought to the table when we were in Ottawa," Roberts said. "Louis was swinging well there and he's kept it up here.
"My job at the top of order is to get on base and provide the guys in the middle of the order a chance to drive in runs. The guys in the middle of the order right now are not missing those opportunities.
Cleanup hitter Jeff Conine drove in three runs with a double in the sixth and a groundout in the first to bring his RBI total to a team-leading 34.
Hargrove said Matos is a different hitter than he was last year.
"He has a lot shorter swing and has more of an idea what he wants to try to do with the ball," Hargrove said. "Before we saw a long swing, it looked like he was trying hit everything out of the ballpark and tried to pull everything. He's come away from that. He's a little more sure of himself and stronger."
The Orioles came into Texas hitting .260 and banged out 44 hits in the three games to hike their team average to .268. The Rangers could not find a way to slow down Mora, who had the 38th five-hit game in Orioles history.
"One of those lucky days that you have," Mora said. "Today was one of those days. I'm glad nobody caught my ball."
Mora has had a lot of "lucky" days recently, going 40-for-102, .391, in his past 26 games.
"I don't believe in luck," he said. "I believe in working very hard and that you get to show it on the field. I trust my hand, my body, my eyes. I trust everything I do at the plate. I feel great."
The Orioles led 5-0 and 13-7, but no lead is safe against the Rangers, who hit four home runs.
Rick Helling, making his first start against Texas where he spent the majority of his career, could not hold the early lead. He gave up seven runs in three innings on four hits, including a solo shot to Carl Everett and a grand slam to rookie Mark Teixeira after he walked the bases loaded in the third.
"Real bad command," Helling said. "I've been so good for the last three starts. With my mechanics, I'm usually locked in with location. Today I wasn't even close. I was unlocked and I couldn't find the key to lock it back up.
"I made a lot of bad pitches. I was wild. I walked a lot of guys, which for me I can't pitch that way. My strength usually is my command and today I didn't have any command at all. I feel I was a only pitch away from getting out of it and unfortunately I made not a very good pitch and that was the whole game up to the point, the grand slam. You can't expect to wriggle out of it every time."
The Orioles' offense reeled off seven more runs in innings four through seven, but the Rangers came back on Alex Rodriguez's and Rafael Palmeiro's back-to-back home runs in the seventh.
"You can't relax in this ballpark and with the offensive lineup the Rangers can put out there 1-thru-9," Hargrove said. "It is a very dangerous lineup and a very dangerous ball park to pitch against that lineup.
"We've pitched well this year. The strength of our club has been our pitching, coming into it and still is, especially our bullpen. For us to give up 10 runs is very unusual, not enjoyable at all. To score 13 sure beats the alternative."
These high-scoring games did have an impact on Hargrove.
"I'm going to start working tomorrow cause I've got to get my heart stronger because it just won't take it," he said. "Twenty years of not working out have come to an end."
Alan Eskew is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
BOX SCORE
Baltimore AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Roberts, B, 2B 4 2 3 1 1 0 1 .391
Mora, LF 5 2 5 2 1 0 0 .346
Segui, DH 5 2 1 1 0 1 6 .294
Conine, 1B 6 1 1 3 0 1 8 .278
Gibbons, RF 5 1 2 1 0 1 1 .270
Batista, 3B 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .265
Matos, CF 5 2 2 2 0 2 2 .500
Cruz, SS 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 .215
Fordyce, C 4 2 2 0 1 0 1 .231
Totals 43 13 18 12 3 7 20
BATTING
2B: Segui (5, Benoit), Mora 2 (12, Dickey, Van Poppel), Matos (1, Dickey), Conine (13, Shouse), Roberts, B (2, Fultz).
3B: Gibbons (1, Benoit), Roberts, B (1, Van Poppel).
HR: Matos (2, 1st inning off Benoit, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Roberts, B 6; Mora 7; Segui 2; Conine 2; Gibbons 4; Batista 2; Matos 6; Fordyce 2.
RBI: Segui (11), Conine 3 (34), Batista 2 (34), Matos 2 (3), Mora 2 (22), Gibbons (30), Roberts, B (6).
2-out RBI: Batista, Matos 2.
S: Roberts, B.
SF: Batista.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Conine 3, Matos.
Team LOB: 9.
BASERUNNING
CS: Batista (2, 2nd base by Fultz/Diaz).
FIELDING
E: Batista (5, fielding).
PB: Fordyce (2).
DP: (Roberts, B-Cruz-Conine).
Texas AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Everett, CF 4 1 2 1 1 1 3 .327
Blalock, 3B 2 2 1 0 3 0 1 .363
Rodriguez, SS 4 3 2 1 1 0 4 .306
Palmeiro, 1B 5 1 2 3 0 1 6 .282
Gonzalez, DH 5 1 1 0 0 0 4 .281
Sierra, LF 4 1 0 0 1 2 2 .252
Teixeira, RF 5 1 1 4 0 4 1 .239
Diaz, C 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .228
a-Greene, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227
Young, 2B 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .349
Totals 38 10 11 10 6 10 22
a-Grounded out for Diaz in the 9th.
BATTING
2B: Palmeiro (10, Helling), Everett (8, Driskill), Gonzalez (12, Driskill).
HR: Everett (14, 3rd inning off Helling, 0 on, 0 out), Teixeira (4, 3rd inning off Helling, 3 on, 2 out), Rodriguez (15, 7th inning off Driskill, 0 on, 0 out), Palmeiro (12, 7th inning off Driskill, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Everett 6; Blalock; Rodriguez 5; Palmeiro 6; Gonzalez 2; Teixeira 4; Young 2.
RBI: Palmeiro 3 (34), Everett (42), Teixeira 4 (21), Rodriguez (35), Young (22).
2-out RBI: Teixeira 3, Young.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Sierra, Palmeiro, Blalock, Diaz, Everett, Gonzalez.
GIDP: Palmeiro.
Team LOB: 7.
FIELDING
E: Rodriguez (2, throw).
DP: (Diaz-Young).
Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Helling 3.0 4 7 7 4 2 2 6.36
Driskill (W, 1-1) 3.1 5 3 2 1 5 2 5.40
Ryan 0.2 1 0 0 0 2 0 5.28
Groom (H, 9) 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 6.46
Roberts, W (H, 1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.76
Julio (S, 13) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.35
Texas IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Benoit 3.0 5 6 6 3 2 1 6.08
Dickey (L, 3-2) 2.0 5 4 3 0 2 0 4.01
Shouse 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 4.05
Van Poppel 1.0 3 2 2 0 1 0 8.53
Fultz 2.0 3 0 0 0 2 0 1.91
Dickey pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.
WP: Driskill.
HBP: Segui (by Fultz).
Pitches-strikes: Helling 66-37, Driskill 64-39, Ryan 18-13, Groom 14-7, Roberts, W 5-2, Julio 12-7, Benoit 84-54, Dickey 40-28, Shouse 13-9, Van Poppel 28-19, Fultz 40-25.
Ground outs-fly outs: Helling 4-3, Driskill 1-4, Ryan 0-0, Groom 2-0, Roberts, W 1-0, Julio 2-0, Benoit 3-4, Dickey 1-3, Shouse 1-2, Van Poppel 1-1, Fultz 2-1.
Batters faced: Helling 17, Driskill 16, Ryan 4, Groom 3, Roberts, W 1, Julio 3, Benoit 17, Dickey 12, Shouse 5, Van Poppel 6, Fultz 9.
Inherited runners-scored: Ryan 1-1, Roberts, W 1-0, Shouse 2-2.
Ejections: Texas Rangers Third Base Coach Steve Smith by HP umpire Tim Tschida (8th).
Umpires: HP: Tim Tschida. 1B: Dan Iassogna. 2B: Alfonso Marquez. 3B: Rick Reed.
Weather: 73 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 7 mph, L to R.
T: 3:33.
Att: 30,016.
Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball and the Office of the Commissioner