"Maz might have been ready to shoot me," Roberts joked later. "But I knew what I was looking for. . . . I was going to swing."
A wayward slider near Roberts's feet made it 1-1.
Brian Roberts and the Orioles watch seven-game losing streak come to an end on grand slam. "One swing brought us back from the dead," Rafael Palmeiro said.
(David Zalubowski -- AP)
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The next pitch was similar to the first, except this time Roberts did not miss.
"We tried to come inside on him," said Rockies catcher Charles Johnson, "but the pitch was pretty much down the middle, and [Roberts] capitalized."
Roberts does not remember anything about the first half of his trip around the bases. But he remembers seeing the huge grin on the face of third base coach Tom Trebelhorn as he neared third, and the looks on the faces of Jerry Hairston, David Newhan and Lopez -- the three walkees -- as he turned for home.
"How huge," Hairston said, "was that?"
Asked to contemplate the plane ride home had the Orioles lost, Roberts said: "I know what the flight would have been like. We got a taste of it in the dugout the last three innings. There wouldn't have been a whole lot of laughing and good times."
Orioles Notes: One day after lefty Eric DuBose gave up seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, the team placed him on the disabled list with elbow soreness, which he acknowledged has been bothering him for weeks.
An MRI exam several weeks ago revealed bone chips and a bone spur. He will be examined by team doctor Charles Silberstein on Monday, and could have arthroscopic surgery.
"When you're hurt and you try to go out there, it's not going to help the team," Mazzilli said. "I had no recourse but to DL him. We need players."
The Orioles have until Saturday to decide who will take DuBose's spot. Right-handers Rodrigo Lopez and John Maine are candidates, but the team might also look outside the organization for help.
