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Sunday, Apr. 16 2:05pm ET
Ponson tosses four-hitter for O's | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- While Cal Ripken took a much-deserved rest Sunday, his teammates kept the hit parade going and Sidney Ponson took care of the rest. A day after Ripken got his 3,000th hit, Brady Anderson and Jeff Conine homered in a five-run first inning as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins 5-0. "It's a hard concept for me to grasp at times," said Ripken, who rarely sits out when healthy. "Hopefully things will go back to normal now." The chances of that happening are slim, as Ripken and the Orioles head home to to face Tampa Bay on Monday night. It will be the first time Ripken returns to Camden Yards as a member of the 3,000-hit club. Ponson made sure Baltimore is going home a winner. Ponson (1-0) pitched a four-hitter in his first career shutout and seventh complete game. His previous low-hit game was six, which he did three times. "The players won the game not me," Ponson said. "They fielded the ball didn't they?" Ponson struck out five, walked two and retired 10 straight batters at one point. Twelve of Minnesota's first 18 outs were groundouts to first-baseman Will Clark or second-baseman Jesus Garcia. "Those guys behind me were amazing," Ponson said. Albert Belle had three hits and two RBI for Baltimore, which won its second straight following a four-game losing streak. "Happy, happy, joy, joy, we're going home with a couple Ws," said Mike Bordick, who has hit safely in all 12 games. "This capped off what started out as a very ugly roadtrip," added manager Mike Hargrove. Joe Mays (0-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in eight innings for the Twins, who have lost nine of 11. He struck out seven and walked none. "We had a game plan. I don't know if they had a microphone in here or not," Mays said. "We were trying to be aggressive and throw the ball inside. Somehow they knew. They were swinging the bats." Baltimore scored five runs in the first on five hits. Anderson homered leading off a game for the 37th time in his career. "The barn door was already open and shut," Twins manager Tom Kelly said. After Bordick singled and B.J. Surhoff doubled, Belle hit a two-run single up the middle. One out later, Conine hit a shot to left to make it 5-0. Mays settled down after Conine's homer, retiring 14 of the next 15 batters. "We swung the bat well," Anderson said. "But, after the first inning he shut us down." "You learn a little bit -- how to cope with adversity after getting a shellacking," said Mays. Game notesPonson hit Torii Hunter in the left hand in the second inning and the two exchanged words as Hunter walked to first, but nothing came of it. Ponson said afterwards: "I'm not going to hit a guy in the hand on purpose. I'll hit a guy in the back if I have to. I just wanted to pitch him in and out. It was bad luck he dove in on the two-seamer." ... Ponson improved to 4-0 in five career games against Minnesota, with a 0.92 ERA. He was tied for second in the American League last season with six complete games. ... The Orioles last complete game shutout was by Scott Erickson last Sept. 7 against Minnesota and Mays. ... Anderson ranks second behind Rickey Henderson (75) for most leadoff homers. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Baltimore Clubhouse Minnesota Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 5 Oakland 4
Baltimore 5
Colorado 14
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