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Wieters leads Orioles past A's

Sep 17, 2012 - 1:34 AM Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Matt Wieters clubbed two solo home runs and scored three times as the Baltimore Orioles knocked off the Oakland Athletics, 9-5, in the finale of a three-game series at the Coliseum on Sunday.

Endy Chavez went 4-for-4 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored, and Manny Machado had an RBI double for the Orioles, who snapped a brief two-game skid and remain one game behind the New York Yankees, who topped the Tampa Bay Rays earlier on Sunday, for the top spot in the AL East.

"Every game right now is a must-win," Wieters said. "This is a tough place to play. To be able to get one, we'll take it."

Brian Matusz (6-10) got the win with two scoreless inning of relief behind starter Randy Wolf, who allowed two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks over four innings.

Josh Reddick smoked a two-run home run and finished with three RBI, while Stephen Drew also ripped a two-run shot for the A's, who took two of three in this series.

Dan Straily (2-1) was tagged with the loss after yielding four runs on five hits and five walks over 4 2/3 innings.

"I thought his stuff at times was good...but when he was in the middle of the plate they hit him," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said of his starter.

Oakland got on the board first in its first at-bat as Collin Cowgill doubled to start the inning and Reddick slammed a two-run shot over the wall in right.

The Orioles got a run back in the second inning when Wieters hammered a slider from Straily over the wall in right field, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

Chavez began the Baltimore third with a base hit to left field and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Robert Andino. J.J. Hardy laced an infield single to third two batters later, allowing Chavez to score and tying the game at two.

Wieters led off the O's fourth with a towering shot over the right-field wall to give Baltimore the lead for the first time, 3-2.

Chris Davis and Wieters walked around a double by Adam Jones to load the bases with two outs in the fifth and Mark Reynolds drew a free pass to force home Davis, giving the O's a 4-2 lead.

Baltimore gave itself some breathing room in the seventh, putting up three more runs. Wieters and Reynolds began the inning with walks and Machado ripped a double to left to score Wieters. Chavez then singled home Reynolds and Machado for a five-run edge.

Drew hammered a long home run over the wall in deep center in the eighth to make it 7-4, but the O's got both runs back in the ninth on an RBI double by Andino and a run-scoring single off the bat of Davis.

Brandon Moss ripped a pinch-hit single in the home ninth and scored on a base knock by Reddick, but Jim Johnson got the final out with runners on first and second to notch his 43rd save of the season.

Game Notes

Despite the loss, the A's won the season series, 5-4 ... Baltimore improved to 28-14 in day games this season ... Oakland hitters struck out 12 times on the day ... Baltimore is 26-21 in series finales this season ... It was Wieters' third multi-homer game this season ... Oakland went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base.