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Orioles win again, top White Sox 2-1 in 10 innings

Aug 7, 2010 - 3:21 AM By DAVID GINSBURG AP Sports Writer

BALTIMORE(AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles keep doing the improbable under Buck Showalter.

Adam Jones singled in the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning, and the resurgent Orioles walked off with a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

Baltimore improved to 4-0 since Showalter took over as manager earlier this week. The four-game run matches its longest winning streak of the season and represents one-eighth of the total victories the team had before Showalter arrived.

Not only that, but Friday's win gave the Orioles a 4-54 record when scoring fewer than four runs.

Is Showalter really the difference? If nothing else, his reputation for not tolerating mistakes has gotten the attention of his players.

"People are on their P's and Q's and playing the game," Jones said. "We're just playing the game smarter, not really giving them too many outs. We're making all the double plays, the small things that we weren't doing. Just playing the game smarter, I would say."

The victory was the 836th of Showalter's career, moving him past Don Zimmer into sole possession of 64th place on the career list. He took none of the credit for the last four.

"So far, so good," Showalter said. "The guys are playing hard and getting a return on it. I'm happy for them."

Nick Markakis had a season-high four hits for the Orioles, who earned their second straight walkoff victory.

It was the third loss in 12 games for the first-place White Sox, whose lone run came on a homer by Gordon Beckham.

"We fell short offensively tonight. It was a well-played, well-pitched game," Chicago's Mark Kotsay said. "We were on the losing end, which we have to deal with."

Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen hadn't faced Baltimore before this series, so he was reluctant to say whether Showalter has helped improve the team with the worst record in the major leagues.

"The manager (doesn't) make baseball teams; they make them play better," Guillen said. "I think when you pitch the way they pitched against us, and we know what kind of offense they have, you win games."

Markakis started the game-winning uprising with a one-out single off Tony Pena (3-2). After Ty Wigginton flied out, Markakis took third on a single by Luke Scott. Jones then bounced a single into left field to win it.

Fireworks exploded as the Orioles celebrated behind first base, many of them repeatedly pounding Jones on the back.

Two innings earlier, Jones popped out against Pena with the bases loaded.

"Redemption. That's what I based the at-bat on," Jones said. "He got away with one, be he didn't get away with it twice."

Alfredo Simon (3-2) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory.

Baltimore missed a chance to take the lead in the eighth inning after Chris Sale, the 13th overall pick in the 2010 draft, launched his major league career by walking Brian Roberts and giving up a single to Markakis. Pena ended the threat by striking out pinch-hitter Corey Patterson on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded and two outs.

Orioles starter Brad Bergesen allowed one run, five hits and a walk in seven innings but failed to secure his first win since May 12. The right-hander is 0-7 in his last 12 starts.

Chicago's John Danks gave up three hits and a run before getting an out but finished strong, allowing one run and six hits in seven innings.

"It was fun," Danks said. "We obviously would have liked to have been on the other side of this, but it was one of those games where we felt like any mistake could be the ball game."

Baltimore went up 1-0 in the first on singles by Roberts, Markakis and Wigginton.

Beckham tied it in the third with his sixth homer, four of which have come in his last 23 games.

After that, the pitchers took control.

Bergesen retired 11 of 13 batters after Beckham's drive, a streak that ended with a one-out triple by Kotsay in the seventh. Alexei Ramirez followed with a dribbler down the first base line that Wigginton picked up barehanded before throwing out Kotsay at the plate.

"That was a big play by Wiggy," Showalter said.

Ramirez then stole second, and A.J. Pierzynski hit a drive that Markakis snared at the warning track in right. Pierzynski reacted by angrily throwing down his batting helmet after rounding first base.

Showalter drew cheers in the bottom half when he came out to argue with first base umpire Jerry Crawford, who ruled that right fielder Carlos Quentin caught a sinking liner off the bat of Felix Pie. Showalter contended that the ball was trapped, and although the call wasn't overturned, replays backed Showalter's assessment.

NOTES: Chicago OF Alex Rios sat out the game with a finger injury. He was 4 for 34 in his previous eight games. ... Orioles SS Cesar Izturis also got the day off, delaying his quest for career hit 1,000 (he has 999).