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Tejada carries Orioles to 11-5 win over Marlins

Jun 25, 2010 - 3:46 AM BALTIMORE(AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles enjoyed a rare victory - not only because they've had so few this season, but how it was accomplished.

Miguel Tejada had a season-high four hits, ended a long home run drought and drove in four runs to lead the Orioles past the Florida Marlins 11-5 Thursday night.

It was only the 20th win of the season for Baltimore and the fifth in 26 games. The last-place Orioles reached double figures in runs for just the second time, tied their season high in hits (17) and experienced the unusual sensation of being on the positive side of a blowout.

"You hope we get more like this so we can relax a little bit, but you're not going to see these kind of games every day," interim manager Juan Samuel said.

To say the least. Tejada started the night with one RBI over his previous 99 at-bats and had gone a career-high 205 at-bats without a home run before hitting a three-run drive in the seventh inning.

He also singled in a run and scored in the third inning, singled in the fourth, and singled and scored in the sixth.

"It feels great just because I think tonight was a night that we're all waiting for," Tejada said. "We just haven't been hitting the way we are supposed to be hitting, but tonight we all contributed."

Adam Jones had three hits and a homer, backup catcher Craig Tatum had a career-high three hits and Luke Scott drove in two runs to propel Baltimore to its second win over the Marlins in 12 games since 2000.

Florida's three-game winning streak ended with a lopsided defeat against the worst team in the majors.

"A lot of people have been getting on them," losing pitcher Nate Robertson said. "It's not like they don't have professionals over there. They're just inconsistent."

The Marlins are 1-1 under interim manager Edwin Rodriguez, who took over when Fredi Gonzalez was fired Wednesday.

Dan Uggla had four hits and three RBIs for Florida, denied its first interleague sweep since taking three games from Baltimore at home last year.

"It's disheartening when you have a sweep on the line and you've got a 3-0 lead against (Kevin) Millwood," Robertson said.

Millwood (2-8) won his second straight start despite throwing 116 pitches in only five innings. The right-hander allowed four runs and eight hits in earning his first home win since joining Baltimore in a trade with Texas last offseason.

Unlike the beginning of the season, the Orioles gave him plenty of run support.

"Even if we only get six runs today, where it was when I finished, we should win that game," Millwood said.

Millwood fell into a familiar pattern by giving up two first-inning runs. Chris Coghlan hit a leadoff double and scored on a single by Hanley Ramirez, who stole second and came home on a two-out single by Uggla.

After blanking the opposition in the first inning of his initial nine starts, Millwood has yielded 20 first-inning runs in his last seven appearances.

The second inning went only slightly better for Millwood: Doubles by Ronny Paulino and Gaby Sanchez made it 3-0.

But the Orioles took the lead for good in the third, sending 10 batters to the plate and getting six straight hits for the first time since Sept. 24, 2008, against Tampa Bay. After Julio Lugo, Tejada and Ty Wigginton delivered RBI singles, Scott hit a sacrifice fly and Jones doubled in a run.

Robertson (5-6) gave up five runs and seven hits in 2 1-3 innings, his shortest outing since July 19, 2008, when he got only seven outs against the Orioles.

Uggla hit an RBI single in the fifth, but Jones homered off rookie Alex Sanabia in the bottom half. Scott added an RBI double in the sixth, and Tejada connected off James Houser in the seventh to make it 10-4.

"Thank God, I got that out of the way," Tejada said of his long-awaited fourth homer of the season.

NOTES: The 16 hits allowed by Florida were a season high. ... Jones tied his season high with three hits. ... Florida RHP Clay Hensley, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained neck, will start a rehab assignment Monday, Rodriguez said. ... Rodriguez was trying to become the third Marlins manager to win his first two games.