O’s cruise past Tribe; Wieters drives in four

BALTIMORE (AP) — Rookie Matt Wieters had three hits and a career-high four RBIs, Nick Markakis and Felix Pie homered, and the Baltimore Orioles cruised past the Cleveland Indians 13-4 on Friday night.

Luke Scott scored three runs for the Orioles, who improved to 13-28 since the All-Star break. Baltimore trailed 2-0 in the second before scoring six runs over a four-inning stretch against Fausto Carmona (3-9).

Jason Berken (4-11) won his second straight start, allowing two runs, five hits and three walks in five innings. The rookie twice worked out of bases-loaded jams by retiring Luis Valbuena on fly balls.

After the second one, a sizzling liner to right on the right-hander’s 97th and final pitch, Berken looked skyward with relief as he headed toward the dugout.

Matt LaPorta homered for the Indians, who stranded 13 and went 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position.

The Orioles used a three-run fourth to go up 5-2. Successive doubles by Scott and Wieters produced a run before Brian Roberts hit an RBI grounder and Pie doubled in a run.

Ty Wigginton chased Carmona with an RBI single in the fifth, and after LaPorta homered in the sixth, Pie connected off Jensen Lewis in the bottom half. Lewis then walked the bases loaded before Wieters hit a two-run single.

Wieters, a former first-round draft pick, went 3 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. The switch-hitting catcher did not have more than two RBIs in his first 63 games in the majors — all this season — and it was only the third time he got more than two hits.

Pie hit an RBI single in the seventh, but hurt his leg running to first base and was removed from the game. Later in the inning, Markakis added a three-run homer off Jess Todd.

The 13 runs were the second-most scored by Baltimore this season, behind a 16-run outburst two weeks ago against the Los Angeles Angels.