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Markakis blasts Orioles past Rockies

Jun 9, 2007 - 3:31 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Nick Markakis brought his hot bat back to Camden Yards on Friday.

After Baltimore completed a grueling 10-game road trip, the slugger greeted the home faithful with a two-run home run in the fifth inning as the Orioles defeated the Colorado Rockies, 4-2.

Markakis, who has a hit in eight of his last nine games, deposited the offering by Rockies starter Jeff Francis over the right field fence.

"Physically and mentally I feel great," Markakis said. "Hopefully I can stay healthy, keep hitting and continue contributing to this team anyway I can."

Baltimore starter Steve Trachsel (5-4) allowed two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. The veteran righthander's effort was a far cry from his last outing, when he made it through only three innings in a 7-6 loss to the Angels on Saturday. Trachsel gave up five runs and five hits with four walks.

"I knew it after the game that I didn't have good stuff that last game," Trachsel said. "I had two real good bullpens in between and took it out there tonight. It was nothing I had corrected, I just had a bad game."

On Friday, four Orioles relievers did not allow a hit in the final three innings to preserve the victory. Chris Ray got the last four outs for his 13th save.

"Chris pitched well, Todd Williams was outstanding," Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo said. "I was sitting there and he (Williams) was down and locating. He has thrown pretty good the last couple of times out."

Baltimore got on the board first, courtesy of Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff, who ripped RBI singles with two outs in the first inning to stake the Orioles to a 2-0 lead.

Colorado's Yorvit Torrealba belted a solo home run to center in the fifth that cut the deficit in half.

After Markakis' blast gave the Orioles a 4-1 lead, Colorado scratched for a run in the sixth, but by unconventional means. With Rockies baserunner Todd Helton on third, Trachsel was called for a balk, thereby drawing the ire and subsequent ejection of Perlozzo by first base umpire Larry Vanover.

"I don't know," Trachsel said about his called balk. "The same thing I have been doing for 14 years. There is nothing on the replay and I can't imagine I was deceiving Todd Helton from trying an attempted steal at home so I don't know. Whatever I was doing to deceive whoever I don't know."

Perlozzo wasn't alone with an early departure. In the top of the eighth inning, Colorado manager Clint Hurdle was ejected by Vanover for arguing balls and strikes.

"When I went out there, he said, 'I warned you'" Hurdle said. "I said, 'From 150 feet, I'm sorry, I didn't hear the warning.' Then we kind of kicked it around a little bit after that. But yeah, I was tossed from the dugout. It could have been a checked swing."

Francis (5-5) pitched well, allowing four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. He hadn't lost a game since May 2 and has posted a 2.23 ERA in six May starts.

"I thought it was a gutsy performance," Hurdle said. "He seemed to be a bit out of sorts at first, and then he was just over aggressive. His fastball didn't have a lot of downward tilt. There wasn't a lot of spin to his ball. He pitched a good game. One walk that was in the first inning, no more walks for six innings, six punch-outs. I thought he did a good job."

Colorado's Willy Taveras extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the third inning. Matt Holliday, who went 0-for-4, saw his 15-game hitting streak come to an end.