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Tejada, Mora and Markakis go deep as Orioles take series

May 27, 2007 - 9:30 PM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Miguel Tejada started off the power splurge and Nick Markakis completed it as the Baltimore Orioles blasted past the Oakland Athletics, 8-4, in the rubber game of a three-game series on Sunday.

Melvin Mora also went deep for the Orioles, who completed a 3-3 homestand before embarking on a 10-game road trip to Kansas City, Anaheim and Seattle.

Tejada opened the scoring with a two-run homer off Oakland starter Joe Blanton in the second inning. It was his fifth of the season and third in four games, as Tejada completed the homestand 9-for-22 with three homers and eight RBI while snapping a 100 at-bat homerless drought - the longest of his career.

"I'm working hard and feeling comfortable at the plate," Tejada said. "Also, I'm being more aggressive on inside pitches."

Markakis provided some breathing room with a three-run blast to right-center - his seventh of the season - off a 1-1 offering from Blanton in the sixth that provided an 8-4 lead.

Markakis entered 0-for-8 in the series but finished 3-for-4 Sunday.

"We are definitely starting to swing the bats as a team," Markakis said. "It's a good feeling to go out and help the pitcher."

In between, Baltimore extended the advantage to 5-1 in the third on Mora's sixth blast of the season - a two-run shot - that snapped a 2-for-16 skid over his previous four games. Corey Patterson followed with a double, stole third and scored on a base hit to right by Brian Roberts.

"It was one of those days when everybody is hitting," Mora said.

That support was enough to make a winner of Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera (4-5), who entered having lost both career starts to Oakland, being tagged for 10 runs in six innings. The 6-7 righthander surrendered four runs and five hits in six innings. He walked four and struck out five.

"I'd say he was part good and part fair," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "Obviously, when he was staying ahead, he was getting people out. He had some bouts of wildness and couldn't find the zone and consequently got in trouble and paid for it."

Oakland scored its first run in the second on an RBI double by Dan Johnson and drew within 5-4 on Nick Swisher's ninth homer and third in three games - a three-run shot off Cabrera.

"He (Swisher) always seems to come up when we don't want to see him, Perlozzo said. "Maybe he's batting out of order."

Blanton (4-3), who was coming off his worst outing of the season Monday at the Chicago White Sox, was charged with eight runs and 10 hits in six innings. He allowed six runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 against the White Sox after ripping off five consecutive starts of at least seven frames.

"Today it just seemed like if he made a mistake, they capitalized on it," A's manager Bob Geren said. Today just wasn't his day."