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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- It's been a difficult rookie season for Jay
Gibbons, who has been forced to deal with being a part-time player
for the first time in his professional career.
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What happened Thursday night, however, made it all worth it.
Gibbons snapped a 1-for-19 skid with a three-run homer to back a
fine pitching performance by Jason Johnson as the Baltimore Orioles
beat the Anaheim Angels 6-4.
Gibbons, taken in December's major league draft, never before
played above the Double-A level before this season. He started only
twice since May 9 before manager Mike Hargrove played a hunch and
put Gibbons in left field.
The 24-year-old responded with his second career homer, a shot
off Ramon Ortiz (3-4) that put Baltimore up 3-1 in the second
inning. The 411-foot drive snapped an 0-for-11 funk that had
dropped his batting average to .210.
"I've been struggling, and you want to produce. You don't want
to be useless," Gibbons said. "I'm just happy to help. It's great
to get in there. It's fun to watch a game, but it's a lot better to
play."
Gibbons, a first baseman by trade, also made a nice running
catch in left field on a liner by Scott Spiezio.
"I've only played a couple of games in the outfield my whole
life," Gibbons said. "I'm happy they trusted me there."
Cal Ripken had two hits and an RBI for the Orioles, who swept
the two-game series. Baltimore has won three straight and seven of
nine.
Johnson (4-2) allowed three runs and eight hits, striking out
five and walking none. He's 4-0 with a 1.73 ERA in six starts at
home.
Buddy Groom worked a perfect eighth and Mike Trombley gave up a
ninth-inning RBI single to David Eckstein before B.J. Ryan got the
final out for his second save.
Troy Glaus hit his second homer in two nights for the Angels,
who yielded 18 runs and 25 hits in the two games.
Plate umpire Bill Welke ejected Anaheim hitting coach Mickey
Hatcher in the first inning for arguing a called third strike on
Wally Joyner, who was thrown out of the game by Welke in the third
inning after looking at a called strike.
"There's a lot of the frustration with the parameters of the
new strike zone," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "It's
certainly a work in progress, and it's taking some time. It's
frustrating because we're not seeing the progress with the
consistent zone the way I'm sure that all of baseball would hope."
It's not just the Angels. Welke tossed Brady Anderson in the
eighth after the Orioles' right fielder slammed his bat on the
plate following a called third strike.
A run-scoring groundout by Shawn Wooten put the Angels up 1-0 in
the second. Gibbons answered in the Orioles' half with a drive that
followed a walk to David Segui and a double by Ripken.
Glaus' 12th homer, a two-run shot in the third, made it 3-3.
"The next inning, all of a sudden my curveball was there and my
changeup was there," Johnson said. "The first couple innings they
were kind of erratic, going into the ground and stuff. Then I
started throwing them for strikes, and that's what bailed me out."
Singles by Jeff Conine, Segui and Ripken in the bottom half put
Baltimore in front for good.
Jerry Hairston tripled in a run in the Orioles' sixth and scored
on a groundout by Chris Richard.
Ortiz, winless in four starts in May, gave up six runs and 10
hits in six innings.
"His inconsistency hurt him. The game came down to a couple of
mistakes," Scioscia said. "He settled down and had some good
middle innings, but a lot of the damage was already done."
Game notes
It was the Orioles' first sweep of the season. ... The game
was a makeup of Tuesday's rainout. ... Glaus, who also doubled, has
nine multihit games in his last 14 starts. ... Ripken went 2-for-4,
his fifth multihit game of the season and first since May 9. ...
Conine extended his hitting streak to nine games. ... Anaheim's Tim
Salmon went 0-for-3, extending his skid to 4-for-44. ... Hairston's
triple was Baltimore's first since April 26.
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RECAPS
NY Yankees 2
Boston 1
Baltimore 6
Anaheim 4
Cleveland 8
Detroit 5
Chi. White Sox 3
Toronto 1
Texas 9
Tampa Bay 3
St. Louis 7
Milwaukee 4
Chicago Cubs 3
Cincinnati 0
San Diego 3
Arizona 1
Philadelphia 6
Pittsburgh 5
NY Mets 11
Florida 3
San Francisco 5
Colorado 1
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