The high-flying Baltimore Orioles took three of four from the struggling Philadelphia Phillies highlighted by a record-setting game two at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The teams played the first two games in Baltimore (34-32) and the last two games in Philadelphia (23-45).
Baltimore won game one, an eight inning, nine strikeout, 4-0 shutout hurled by starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-4, 2.89 ERA) that was energized by the offense of Orioles’s catcher Matt Wieters who launched a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
The second game of the series saw the Orioles put on their own version of the Homerun Derby as they hit a franchise-record eight home runs on their way to a 19-3 plastering of the hapless Phillies.
They scored a season-tying six runs in the first inning and scored in seven of eight innings. Slugger Chris Davis just missed hitting the Warehouse with his mammoth blast.
The 19 runs were a season high. The Birds scored 18 runs in a game earlier in the season against the Boston Red Sox. It got so bad that the Phillies had a position player, Jeff Francoeur make his major league pitching debut in the seventh inning. He did not embarrass himself, although he did give up the record eighth homer to Ryan Flaherty in the eighth inning.
The home run parade included Manny Machado with two, Jimmy Paredes, David Lough, along with Davis and Flaherty who had one each. Chris Parmelee, who was just added to the big league roster, went 4-6 with two homers and two singles for a career-high four hit game.
The Birds scored three runs in the second, third and sixth innings and racked up 17 hits against the defenseless Phillies pitching staff. Machado, Lough and Flaherty each drove in three runs and Travis Snider, Parmelee and Paredes had two RBIs apiece.
Meanwhile, Orioles starter Chris Tillman (5-7, 5.58 ERA) won his third straight game. He allowed four hits and three runs while walking and striking out three Phillies batters in six innings of work. The bullpen threw three shutout innings to secure the record-breaking win. In this game Oriole batters hit more home runs than in any game since the team moved to Baltimore. The previous record was seven.
The 19 runs were the most scored by the Birds in a game since they scored 23 against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 28, 2000.
Game three of the series, which was played up north at Citizens Bank Park was just a ho-hum 6-4 Baltimore victory. The Birds did continue their home run barrage by catapulting two bombs, one each by the hot-hitting Parmelee and Snider. Baltimore’s four-run fourth was just a bit better than Philadelphia’s three-run seventh as the Birds beat the Phillies for the third straight time and now have won 11 of their last 13 games.
The final game of the series, a 2-1 Phillies victory, broke their nine-game losing streak and was powered by a two-run homer from slugger Ryan Howard in the sixth inning. The O’s could only manage Machado’s 14th homer of the year. They wasted a good pitching performance from starter Bud Norris (2-5, 7.57 ERA) who surrendered five hits, two runs and two walks, while striking out two in six innings of work.
