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Orioles use big 4th inning to rout Royals

May 26, 2011 - 3:46 AM Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Adam Jones singled in a pair to highlight an eight-run fourth inning, helping the Baltimore Orioles to a 9-2 rout of the Royals.

Jake Arrieta (6-2) allowed five hits and two runs while fanning seven over six innings to pick up the victory. He's had five starts this year against AL Central teams and has won each of those games.

Mark Reynolds tacked on an insurance homer in the eighth inning for the Orioles, who equaled their longest winning streak of the year at four games. They won their first four to begin the 2011 season.

Luke Hochevar (3-5) lasted seven innings, but was charged with eight hits and seven earned runs in defeat.

Melky Cabrera clubbed a two-run homer in the fifth inning for Kansas City, which has lost four in a row and nine of its last 11 games.

The Orioles, who won 5-3 Tuesday night thanks to Jones' two-run homer in the ninth, sent 13 men to the plate in the fourth on Wednesday. It started with a double from Jones and a single from Nick Markakis. Vladimir Guerrero's groundout plated the first run, and after a walk to Matt Wieters, Luke Scott roped an RBI double down the right field line.

Wieters scored on a wild pitch and Reynolds walked to set up J.J. Hardy's RBI single to center. After a walk to Ryan Adams, Felix Pie went the opposite way with a line RBI single to left. Jones grounded a base hit up the middle for a 7-0 cushion.

"That was a lot of good at-bats all through the order in that inning," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "They didn't have emotional at-bats. I knew the guy was struggling a bit with his command. Hopefully that bodes well when we get all our bullets."

After Markakis popped up, the Royals seemed to be finally out of the inning when Guerrero hit a grounder to shortstop, but Alcides Escobar's backhand flip went over the glove of Chris Getz at second to score Pie and account for an 8-0 lead.

"It was just really bad execution there in the fourth," Hochevar said. "Everywhere I wanted to throw the baseball I didn't throw it there. I'm a lot better than that."

Cabrera homered to right with Getz on base the next inning, but the Royals were turned away in the sixth and seventh despite having two men on each time.

Reynolds homered to left off Robinson Tejeda to complete the pounding.

Game Notes

Guerrero has a 10-game hitting streak...Paul Splittorff, who spent his entire 15-year major league career with the Kansas City Royals and became one of the team's broadcasters, died Wednesday due to complications from melanoma. He was 64...Hochevar fell to 0-4 with a 7.98 ERA in five career starts against the Orioles...The three-game series wraps up Thursday afternoon with Jeff Francis pitching for the Royals and Jeremy Guthrie for the Orioles.