Orioles cruise past Bucs for sweep

Associated Press

baltimore

The Baltimore Orioles have been smacking the baseball all over the park lately, and the best part about their offensive barrage is there’s no telling who the star will be in any particular game.

Steve Pearce became the latest role player to make an impression, hitting his first homer of the season and driving in a career-high five runs, and the Orioles cruised past the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-6 Thursday night for a three-game sweep.

Matt Wieters had four hits and five RBIs, and Mark Reynolds contributed four hits and a home run to help Baltimore win its fifth straight. The only other time the Orioles had two players with at least five RBIs was on June 13, 1999, when Cal Ripken had six and Will Clark tallied five in a 22-1 rout of Atlanta.

Pearce was toiling in the New York Yankees farm system earlier this month before Baltimore got him for cash. On this night, he was worth his weight in gold.

“Taking advantage of the opportunity, providing some versatility, putting some good at-bats together in a very short look so far,” manager Buck Showalter said of the newcomer.

The same can be said for Steve Tolleson, whose homer off Cliff Lee last weekend sparked a comeback win over Philadelphia.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who can do that. It really gives us versatility in the lineup,” said Chris Davis, who scored three runs.

Said Showalter: “You’re going to have some situations where in order to remain consistent as a club you’re going to have to have some of your depth come up and make a contribution. That’s been the case so far.”

With Pearce and Wieters leading the way, Baltimore built a 10-0 lead. Much of the damage came against former Oriole Erik Bedard, who yielded seven runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.

The 12 runs and 16 hits were season highs for Baltimore. The Orioles hit eight doubles, their most since amassing nine against the Angels on Aug. 14, 2009.

“Early on we were pitching really well, winning a lot of close games,” Davis said. “Now we’re scoring a lot of runs. As of late the bats have started to heat up and the pitching has still been there. It’s kind of the offense’s turn to pull their weight.”