Orioles Soar To Victory

By Benjamin Barker — 3/9/2011
The Orioles didn’t waste any time showing off their new offense. The Baltimore Orioles got to Minnesota ace Francisco Liriano early, tagging the lefty for 6 runs in just an inning and two thirds.
The first four runs came in the first inning. The bases were loaded with one out when Mark Reynolds plated two runs on a long double to left-center field. Luke Scott and Nolan Reimold would add RBIs later in the inning.
In the second inning, the Twins got on the board on Luke Hughes’ solo homerun. The solo shot came off Baltimore starter Jake Arrieta. Last season, Hughes made his major league debut with the Twins, hitting a homerun in his first at bat.
Today’s homerun was the only blemish for Arrieta. He went three innings for the Orioles giving up just one run on three hits.
Baltimore continued their offensive clinic in the bottom of the fifth. Vladimir Guerrero smacked a leadoff homerun over the left field wall to give the Orioles a 7-1 lead.
The power didn’t stop there. In the 6th inning Adam Jones hit the 3rd homerun of the day. This time it came off Twins reliever Jim Hoey. The two run shot extended Baltimore’s lead to 10-1.
The Orioles would add one more run in the 8th inning. Ryan Adams took a Chuck James fastball over the left field wall. The solo shot was Baltimore’s 11th run of the afternoon and the final score was 11-2 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida.
Tomorrow afternoon, the Orioles play the Pirates at McKechnie Field.