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| Sunday, Apr. 22 1:15pm ET Baltimore wins despite blowing some big leads | |||||||||||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles made it tough on themselves. Delino DeShields hit an run-scoring single in the 11th inning as the Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10-8 Sunday. The Orioles won despite blowing a three-run lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Baltimore also led 5-0 in the third. "Sometimes you've got to keep going to the well," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. "To their credit and ours, we didn't give up. It would have been very easy to take time to regroup and recover." Melvin Mora reached first to open the 11th against Esteban Yan (1-1) when shortstop Felix Martinez misplayed his grounder. Mora advanced to second on Brady Anderson's sacrifice bunt and moved to third on Mike Bordick's single. After DeShields' hit scored Mora, Jerry Hairston Jr. followed with a run-scoring single. Chad Poronto (1-0) worked two scoreless innings for his first major league victory. Tampa Bay has committed 22 errors and allowed 27 unearned runs in 19 games. The Devil Rays were down to their final out in the ninth when Russ Johnson and Greg Vaughn hit back-to-back homers off closer Ryan Kohlmeier. It was Kohlmeier's first blown save in four opportunities. "It was a tremendous inning," Devil Rays manager Hal McRae said. "That's a strong sign that the players are determined and they're not going to quit." Johnson's two-run homer made it 8-7. "It's a still learning process, but we were excited about the comeback," Johnson said. "But, it's still a loss." Vaughn's solo shot, his fourth homer off Baltimore pitching this season, forced extra innings. Vaughn has eight of his 10 RBI against the Orioles. "It's hard when it doesn't work out," Kohlmeier said. "But it's good to see a team not lose heart and bounce back." Anderson hit a three-run homer and Chris Richard added a two-run shot for the Orioles. Anderson hit his first homer of the season in the second inning and Richard went deep one inning later, putting the Orioles up 5-0. Baltimore's Jose Mercedes, who was looking for his first victory after three consecutive defeats, gave up four runs and six hits in seven innings. The right-hander, who entered with a 9.77 ERA, struck out a career-high eight and walked two. "We got the win anyway," Mercedes said. "When we fly to Detroit, everybody will go happy. So, I'll wait for the next time." The Devil Rays had four consecutive hits, including a two-run double by Martinez and Gerald Williams' run-scoring single, to make it 5-3 in the bottom of the third. Rookie Jay Gibbons put the Orioles up 6-3 with his fifth RBI of the series, coming on a fifth-inning run-scoring single. Right fielder Jose Guillen threw out DeShields at the plate as he tried to score from second base on Gibbons' hit. Steve Cox got the Devil Rays back to two runs down with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the inning. Cal Ripken Jr. had a run-scoring single in the eighth to give Baltimore a 7-4 advantage. Ripken has driven in 1,633 runs, three behind former Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks, who is 19th on the career list. Guillen again made it a two-run game with a run-scoring single in the eighth. David Segui added a run-scoring single in the ninth for Baltimore. He left the game after his left hand was spiked sliding into second base. Hargrove said Segui has a contusion bruise and that he is listed as day-to-day. Tampa Bay's Mike Judd allowed five runs and six hits over 3 2/3 innings in his first start since last July 18 with Los Angeles. The right-hander had made three relief appearances before becoming the Devil Rays' fifth starter. Game notesTampa Bay is 1-4 under McRae. "I can't get frustrated at this point," he said. "It's too early to start kicking cans." ... The Orioles have hit six of their eight homers against Tampa Bay ... Judd, who threw 84 pitches, has allowed 25 runs and eight homers over 31 innings in his six career starts. ... Mercedes had an American League-best 11 victories after the All-Star break last season.  Send this story to a friend
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RECAPS Cleveland 11 Detroit 3
Baltimore 10
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