|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Thursday, Apr. 6 7:05pm ET
Baltimore catcher belts third homer in two days | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Three games into the season, and already the Baltimore Orioles have outdone last year's team. Charles Johnson hit his third homer in two days, a three-run shot in the sixth inning that snapped a tie and lifted the Orioles past the Cleveland Indians 6-2 on Thursday night. Mike Bordick also homered for the Orioles, who took two of three from the defending AL Central champions. Baltimore went 1-9 last year against the Indians. That's not all. The Orioles didn't win a series last year until May, and they never topped .500 after the first game of the season. "Anytime you beat Cleveland two out of three, especially with the track record this series has had, it gives you a lot of confidence," said manager Mike Hargrove, who was on the other side of the rivalry last year as manager of the Indians. "This reinforces the idea that we've got a good ballclub and can compete with people. There are still 159 games left, but this beats the alternative." With the score 2-2, Johnson connected off Charles Nagy (0-1) after Cal Ripken and Will Clark hit one-out singles. Bordick followed with his first home run of the season to chase Nagy, who allowed nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Johnson's 401-foot drive gave him eight RBIs and three homers in the series. Last April, he had one home run and one RBI in 51 at-bats. Nagy struck him out twice earlier, but Johnson slammed a split-finger fastball with the game hanging in the balance. "I threw him some good pitches, then I just made a bad pitch," Nagy said. "I left it a little over the plate and he crushed it." Ripken's hit left him seven short of 3,000. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and scored twice. Hargrove's replacement in Cleveland, Charlie Manuel, was ejected for the second straight game for arguing with the home plate umpire about the strike zone. "I managed 9½ years in the minors and I've always been able to ask umpires where a ball's at," Manuel said. "I had to say something. I just couldn't go without saying anything." Three games, two ejections and two losses. Manuel probably expected a better start in his first year as a major league manager. "He's pulling for everybody in this room," Nagy said. "But we've got 159 games left and I hope he doesn't get thrown out of all of them. That would be kind of expensive." Pat Rapp (1-0) won his debut with Baltimore, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings. He received hitting support from Clark, who had three hits and went 6-for-9 in the series. Buddy Groom, another newcomer to the Orioles, pitched the final three innings to earn his first save since 1997. The Orioles went up 1-0 in the first when Delino DeShields tagged up and scored after second baseman Roberto Alomar caught Albert Belle's popup in short right field. Cleveland took the lead in the second, getting RBI singles from Travis Fryman and Sandy Alomar after Rapp walked two straight batters. Baltimore pulled even in its half on a run-scoring grounder by Bordick. Rapp got out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the fifth by striking out Roberto Alomar and getting Manny Ramirez to hit into a double play. After the 1-2-3 double play, Rapp charged into the dugout, yelling every step of the way. "I'm a pretty laid-back guy, but if you are ever going to show any emotion that is the time," he said. "I hardly every get fired up, but this time I did." Game notesThe Orioles are leaning toward putting closer Mike Timlin (torn muscle in his side) on the 15-day disabled list. ... Belle got his first assist by throwing out Fryman trying to stretch a single. Belle had 17 assists last year, tied for AL best among OFs. ... Cleveland's Richie Sexson went 0-for-3 and is 0-for-10 with five strikeouts. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Cleveland Clubhouse Baltimore Clubhouse Orioles put off placing closer Timlin on 15-day DL
RECAPS Kansas City 9 Toronto 3
Baltimore 6
  | |||||