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Diamondbacks hand Orioles seventh straight loss

Jun 17, 2007 - 4:09 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- After a come-from-behind victory on Friday, the Arizona Diamondbacks avoided a come-from-behind loss on Saturday.

Edgar Gonzalez pitched five solid innings and the Diamondbacks hit three home runs en route to an 8-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the second of a three-game interleague series on Saturday.

Gonzalez (3-2), who was starting because Randy Johnson headed back to the disabled list, yielded just one run and two hits with two walks and two strikeouts in his sixth start of the season. The 24-year-old was removed after throwing just 63 pitches.

"I feel good that they give me a chance to start a game," Gonzalez said. "I told him (Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin) I will be ready. I did my job."

"For a guy that's kind of got the short end of the stick as far as the role he's been used in, he's been there for us every time, no matter what role he's been in," Diamondback manager Bob Melvin said.

After Gonzalez left with a 5-1 lead, Baltimore, which has lost seven straight games, cut the deficit to 5-4 before Arizona tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth.

The sixth inning saw Corey Patterson take a home run away from the Diamondbacks and Chris Young assist an Orioles' homer.

Patterson saved two runs by making an incredible leaping catch to rob Scott Hairston of his second home run of the game.

"It's frustrating as a hitter, but it's the big leagues and players can make catches like that," Hairston said.

Melvin Mora hit a two-run homer off Jose Cruz in the bottom half of the inning that bounced off the glove of Young. The center fielder sprinted to right to make a play on the long fly ball and deflected it over the wall, cutting the Diamondbacks' advantage to 5-3.

"It's one of those you see on one of those blooper shows," Young said.

Arizona reliever Brandon Lyon entered with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, allowing a sacrifice fly by Mora and getting Nick Markakis to foul out to end the inning. Lyon then pitched a scoreless eighth and Tony Pena finished up in the ninth in a non-save situation.

The Diamondbacks started the scoring in the second inning when Hairston blasted a two-run shot over the left field wall. One batter later, Young added to the lead with his ninth home run of the season to give the Diamondbacks a 3-0 advantage.

"It was just concentrating on hitting the ball hard," Hairston said. "I'm happy that it went out."

Arizona extended its lead to 5-0 on a two-run homer by Chad Tracy off Baltimore's Daniel Cabrera (5-8) in the third inning.

"He got behind hitters in those two innings," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "When he needed to make a good pitch, he elevated it and they took advantage of it."

After giving up the homer, Cabrera settled down to get 17 of the next 18 batters out. The righthander pitched eight innings, surrendering five runs and six hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

"After the third, he came back in and I talked to him again and told him we needed him and all of a sudden he settled down and pitched great," Perlozzo said.