O's Weather Royals' Rally, Conditions

On a Rainy Night, Baltimore Prevails: Orioles 6, Royals 5

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 10 -- Despite a bench depleted by injuries and weather conditions that turned routine fly balls into mini-adventures, the Baltimore Orioles continued their recent dominance of the Kansas City Royals, holding on for a 6-5 victory on a dreary Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium.

The victory gave Baltimore 12 straight against the Royals, dating from last year's sweep of the seven-game season series. The Orioles hold the major league record for dominance against another team, beating the Royals 23 consecutive times from May 1969 to August 1970. But in a more immediate sense, Baltimore's thirdstraight win pushed the Orioles above .500 after a season-long five-game skid that briefly pulled them beneath the break-even mark.

After the Orioles waited 35 games this season for a batter to hit a home run with more than one runner on base, Kevin Millar gave them a three-run homer for the third night in a row. The Orioles pushed their lead to five runs in the sixth inning, though the Royals kept chipping away.

Baltimore reliever Jamie Walker entered the game in the seventh with a three-run lead. When he left after facing three batters, he had surrendered a run on a triple and a pair of singles, allowing the Royals to send the potential go-ahead run to the plate with nobody out. But reliever Jim Johnson retired the next three hitters in order.

"The way the wind was blowing," Johnson said, "I think it actually gave us a little bit of an advantage because wind coming across, and getting pelted on the side of the face with rain trying to hit a baseball coming at you at 90-something mph is what we needed."

Orioles closer George Sherrill allowed a run but converted his 13th save of the season, preserving a victory for left-hander Garrett Olson, who allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings.

After the teams played the top of the first inning, a storm front moved in delaying the start of the bottom of the first for 1 hour 52 minutes.

Winds turned water from the stadium's cascading fountains into a mist that covered the outfield for most of the game. Debris swirled around the playing field, including an umbrella that flew from the stands in the seventh inning, courtesy of a particularly strong gust.

"It's tough to play like that, but we made it," Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora said. "No doubleheader tomorrow."

Considering the hazardous conditions, the Orioles, who found themselves out of healthy bodies midway through the game, were fortunate that nobody else got hurt.

Manager Dave Trembley has kept an extra pitcher on the roster to protect arms in the bullpen, even though it has cost him an extra position player. But on Saturday, he came dangerously close to paying a major price for the luxury of another arm.

When the Orioles re-took the field after the rain delay, the conditions compelled Trembley to hold out second baseman Brian Roberts, who had suffered a bruise on the bottom of his left foot during Friday's game. With Roberts listed as day-to-day, Luis Hernández stepped into the lineup.

The bench got even thinner in the fourth inning when outfielder Jay Payton struck out while trying to check his swing against Royals starter Brett Tomko. After he turned to complain at home plate, umpire Tim Tschida ejected Payton, forcing Trembley to use Luke Scott.

That left only catcher Ramon Hernández, who was scratched from the original lineup before the game with left wrist soreness that also has him listed as day-to-day.

"We had to play it pitch-by-pitch," Trembley said. "The conditions obviously were less than desirable, and I thought they got worse as the game went on. But our guys really hung in there."