The Baltimore Orioles, powered by the long ball, took two out of three from the red-hot Houston Astros at Orioles Park at Camden Yards.
After splitting the first two games of the series with Houston, one of the hottest teams in baseball with a record of (30-18) the Birds rode the bat of slugger Chris Davis who belted two home runs, one in the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie and propel the Orioles (21-23) to a 5-4 series-clinching win.
Davis went 2-4 in the game with three RBIs. He now leads the team with 10 homers and a team-best 26 runs batted in.
Steve Pearce also hit a solo shot as he and Davis were the first Orioles hitters to go back-to-back this season in a four-run fourth inning that also featured a steal of home by Jimmy Paredes for the first time since August 28, 2014. Pearce, who is finally finding his stroke at the plate, now has six homers for the season.
Meanwhile, starter Ubaldo Jimenez (3-3) struck out five, surrendered four runs and walked one in seven innings of work. He now has a 3.14 ERA. Closer Zach Britton came on to notch his 12th save of the year.
The first game of the series, a 4-3 Baltimore Memorial Day victory, also featured the long ball, as Pearce and catcher Caleb Joseph each blasted two-run homers.
Starter Wei-Yin Chen (1-3) only lasted five innings. He struck out six, while giving up three runs and walking one Houston batter. He now has a 3.13 ERA.
The bullpen picked up the slack, and threw three scoreless innings. Closer Britton struck out one while picking up his 11th save of the season. He now has a 2.60 ERA.
The middle game of the three-game series saw the Birds waste a stellar pitching performance from hard-luck starter Chris Tillman in a 4-1 Astros win.
Tillman struck out five, walked three and gave up two runs in seven innings of work. He now has a record of (2-6) and a 5.59 ERA.
The Orioles were held to five hits, three by designated hitter Paredes who is one of the hottest hitters in the league with a .353 average.
