By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 26 1998; Page D01
© The Washington Post

Cal Ripken today reached another milestone in his illustrious career and received a standing ovation from the crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Then baseball's all-time iron man brought the crowd to its feet again, delivering a two-run single to break a scoreless tie in the sixth inning and help the Baltimore Orioles defeat the Oakland Athletics, 8-2, before 46,026.

Ripken, playing in his 2,500th consecutive game, added an RBI single in a five-run seventh inning as the Orioles (13-9) cemented just their third victory in 10 games.

"The opportunities were presented and I feel good that I was able to get the runs in," Ripken said. "It feels good to win."

Although Ripken's streak received much of the spotlight today (with highlights from his career periodically replayed on the scoreboard), the Orioles received strong performances from several other players as well. Jimmy Key threw seven scoreless innings to help a struggling pitching staff. Left fielder B.J. Surhoff took a home run away from Rickey Henderson with a leaping backhanded catch, then drove in a pair of runs. Shortstop Mike Bordick made a diving backhanded stab to start a spectacular double play in the fifth inning. Eric Davis had a pinch-hit, two-run single.

"I thought last year we won with our pitching and our defense, and we scored runs when we had to," said Key (3-1), who struck out five and walked one. "Today was a perfect example of that. I pitched all right, our defense made great plays . . . and we ended up scoring runs late."

Jimmy Haynes (1-1), who was traded by the Orioles to the Athletics last summer, also pitched well early. He didn't allow a runner past second base in the first five innings. After he struck out Surhoff to end the fifth inning and make the game official, the crowd gave Ripken a lengthy ovation when the Orioles took the field.

"I had two different feelings while it was all going on," said Ripken, who twice acknowledged the applause by doffing his cap. "On one side, I was a little bit embarrassed by all the attention. The other feeling is . . . that it takes you back to the celebration in 1995 [when Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games], which was so special."

Said Orioles Manager Ray Miller, noting that the Baseball Hall of Fame had asked for his lineup card from the game: "I stood up and applauded, too. I marvel at it. It's just mind-boggling to me. . . . I looked at the other dugout -- they've got a lot of young guys over there who just stood there with their mouths open."

Ripken homered in the 1995 games in which he tied and then broke Gehrig's record. This afternoon, his hits were not quite as solid, but they were effective nonetheless.

After Key quickly set the Athletics down in order in the sixth, Haynes got into trouble in the bottom of the inning against the struggling Orioles offense (two runs in their previous 20 innings). Joe Carter singled and Rafael Palmeiro doubled. Then Ripken came to the plate and, on a 1-1 fastball, fisted a blooper over second baseman Rafael Bournigal into shallow right-center field. Carter and Palmeiro scored easily for a 2-0 lead; the crowd gave Ripken another standing ovation.

The Orioles then broke the game open in the seventh inning. Surhoff's sacrifice fly made it 3-0, then Carter doubled to score Bordick. An intentional walk to Palmeiro loaded the bases and Jim Dougherty relieved Haynes. Ripken hit a sharp grounder into the hole; shortstop Kurt Abbott dived and fielded the ball but had no play as Roberto Alomar scored. Davis followed with a two-run single off Mike Mohler for a 7-0 cushion.

Orioles Notes: The Orioles used a hidden ball trick to turn an unusual double play in the third inning. Following a fly out with Henderson on first base, Bordick cut off the throw from center fielder Jeffrey Hammonds and quickly flipped the ball to first baseman Palmeiro. Palmeiro, with his large mitt slightly hidden behind his back, walked over to first base and tagged Henderson. . . .

Miller said he is uncertain which pitcher will start Tuesday against Anaheim. Doug Johns and Sidney Ponson had lengthy relief outings in Friday's 10-1 loss to Oakland, but Miller said he expects both to pitch Tuesday. However, he was uncertain which one would start.

Miller added that Scott Kamieniecki will start Wednesday at Chicago against the White Sox and that Kamieniecki will also start May 4 when the Orioles play a collection of their top minor league players at Prince George's Stadium. Miller wants his starters to get into a regular pitching pattern.