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Walker keys Pittsburgh's rout of Orioles

Jun 22, 2011 - 4:06 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Neil Walker went 2-for-4 with three RBI as the Pittsburgh Pirates took a 9-3 win over Baltimore Orioles in the second of a three-game series.

Jose Tabata had a 2-for-5 night with two runs scored and two driven in while Garrett Jones and Xavier Paul each knocked in two runs for the Pirates, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

"We strung together good at-bats. Outside of just hitting the ball hard, we hit it hard the other way," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "We had some two-strike hits, we had some two-out hits. We made some good outs, a couple sacrifice flies, a couple fielder's choice for RBIs. We did a number of things well at the plate tonight."

James McDonald started on the mound, but did not factor in the decision as he lasted just 4 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits and walked four. Chris Resop (3-2) got the win for pitching 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Adam Jones hit a two-run home run while J.J. Hardy added a solo blast for the Orioles, who had won their previous two. Jeremy Guthrie (2-9) dropped his third straight decision as he was tagged for six runs -- five earned -- on 11 hits over 6 1/3 innings.

"I'm proud of the way he gave us some innings," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He hung in there. He's capable of being better, but all indications are that he felt okay."

Baltimore scored eight runs in the first three innings to get the jump on Pittsburgh in Monday's win, but Tuesday's game saw the opposite.

After Baltimore went down in order in the first, Tabata started the home half with a single, Josh Harrison followed with another single and Jones doubled both of them home. Jones moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt from Andrew McCutchen and Walker followed with a sacrifice fly to right for a 3-0 lead.

The Orioles stranded two on base in the second and the Pirates got another run in the bottom of the inning when Ronny Cedeno singled and later scored on a double to center from Tabata.

Paul's sacrifice fly in the third scored McCutchen, who walked and moved to third on a Walker single, for a 5-0 lead.

Baltimore had stranded six runners through the first four innings, but got in the game in the fifth. Hardy led off the frame with a blast to left that Tabata appeared to have a beat on. He leaped at the wall, but the ball fell into the glove of a fan before Tabata could grab it and Hardy had his ninth home run of the season. Nick Markakis followed with a single and Jones' 11th homer of the season made it a 5-3 game.

The Pirates, though, padded their lead in the seventh on an RBI single from Paul that scored Harrison for a 6-3 advantage.

The eighth inning saw the Pirates make it a six-run game. Michael McKenry led off with a double, moved to third on a Matt Diaz pinch-hit single and crossed the plate when Tabata grounded out. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Walker doubled home two more runs to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Guthrie hasn't won a game since May 21 against Washington, a span of six starts...These clubs are playing a series for the first time since 2008 when the Orioles took two of three in Baltimore...Baltimore went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10.