Rafael Palmeiro is this hot.

On a night where he carried more errors than hits into a tied ninth inning, the first baseman thought home run, looked home run and hit home run to lift the Orioles to a sudden 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics last night before 40,840 at Camden Yards.

"I don't do it often. But tonight was one of those times," he said. "It was a tie game and two outs. That's what the situation asks for."

His home run made a winner of fourth reliever Armando Benitez (( (3-2), a loser of A's reliever Mike Fetters (1-4) and more believers among a grouchy constituency hard-boiled by a bummer first half.

Not only did Palmeiro push the Orioles to 12-1 since the All-Star break, he pulled them within eight games of the wild card-leading Boston Red Sox, who lost to Cleveland.

For those seeking a positive sign beyond the last two weeks, the Orioles now stand 50-51, their same record after 101 games in 1996, their other wild-card season.

"I have a good feeling about this. I've always felt that way," said Palmeiro, adding, "before we were out of games early. Now we're playing ahead. We're staying in every game with a chance to break things late."

Of Palmeiro's 31 home runs, three have ended games. More importantly, last night's heroics allowed the Orioles to avoid what otherwise might have been a nagging loss including three blown leads and nine stranded runners.

It also capped a game in which seldom-seen second baseman Jeff Reboulet and Chris Hoiles contributed bases-empty home runs and Eric Davis and Cal Ripken added run-scoring doubles. Rookie Sidney Ponson handed off after 16 outs and the bullpen controlled the last four innings. Palmeiro entered the ninth with an error and an 0-for-3 that included a rally-killing third-inning double play and a strikeout. He emerged as hero.

"Hey, man, what are we waiting for? Let's sign the guy. What more does he have to show? Is it about money? The guys making $9 million-plus aren't more productive than he is. So what is it? This guy has carried us," said one teammate who had trouble envisioning a replacement for Palmeiro's offensive presence.

Since the pending free agent vowed last January that he "won't do a Brady" Anderson and return to Baltimore for below-market value, the Orioles have frosted him. Orioles majority owner Peter Angelos is said to be close to initiating talks, but team policy insists no player be paid in the $10 million neighborhood. However, Palmeiro insisted he wanted five years at Mo Vaughn money. Vaughn earlier this month rejected the Red Sox's four-year, $38 million proposal.

Moments after his game-winning blast, Palmeiro watched a clubhouse TV as Vaughn ended the Red Sox's one-run loss with a strikeout.

"He's a great player and a great guy," Palmeiro said of Vaughn. "I want him to do well."

But right now Palmeiro revels in doing better.

"The pitch he threw to Palmeiro you couldn't even call a mistake," said A's manager Art Howe. "He's just a quality hitter. You have to tip your hat."

Fetters saw things differently.

"I had two strikes on him and I wanted to throw something off the plate and get him to fish at it outside. It stayed over the middle of the plate. He just put the bat on the ball and it went out of the park," described Fetters.

The Orioles improved to 24-3 when scoring first at Camden Yards. They can thank Palmeiro and a much-improved bullpen for improving the stat.

"Raffy's amazing," gushed manager Ray Miller. "He has such a beautiful, compact swing, and when you're sitting there in live action with no replay it looks like the ball just stops at home plate and he hits and it goes out."

Some within his own clubhouse perceive Palmeiro as a Negative Man, a gifted hitter with sometimes delicate confidence. Last season he was prone to sulking and often had to be pulled along during a 98-win season. This year he has stepped out front, driving in 39 runs in the last 38 games.

"Last year things didn't go the way I wanted them all the time," he said. "But I think if I'd had the same situation last year I would've had the same approach."

When hot, Palmeiro plays the game with a noticeable swagger. Now that the Orioles have erased 7 1/2 games from their first-half wild-card deficit, the first baseman can talk the game the same way.

"We smelled it when [the Red Sox] were 16 games ahead of us," he said. "You [media] guys didn't. But we did."

And all that time everyone thought it was the Orioles who smelled. Now they receive competent starting pitching and as a result enjoy a deepening bullpen. Miller wasted no time hooking Ponson after 5 1/3 laudable innings.

A month ago, Miller lived in terror of an invisible bullpen. Last night, while working with six relievers for only the third game this season, he went to the mound often and without looking back.

Asked if he considered such free-wheeling a risk with struggling Doug Drabek starting tonight, Miller insisted, "I never thought about it."

Now, each game carries its own urgency.

"I think everybody in this clubhouse believes we can come back and make up this deficit," said Hoiles. "Each and every night we go out there now, we believe we're going to win. Before the break, it was tough because we'd go out and wait for something to happen."

The Orioles didn't achieve perfection last night. Palmeiro and Cal Ripken committed errors, Ripken on a five-hopper that ended on a springboard bounce for his fourth error of the season.

But just as Palmeiro atoned later, Ripken provided a 4-3 lead by doubling in the fifth inning.

A month and a day shy of 38, Ripken also has dealt with a severe head cold since the Orioles left on their last road trip. However, the last two nights against the A's suggest that he's getting better. Ripken topped Tuesday's 7-1 win with his eighth home run and first since June 22. Last night's double was his 534th and tied him for 21st all-time with Lou Gehrig. The hit, No. 2,812, also tied him with George Sisler for 38th all-time.

Three one-run leads evaporated. Alan Mills surrendered a game-tying, opposite-field home run to center fielder Ryan Christenson with one out in the seventh inning. However, it was one of only two hits allowed by the bullpen in 3 2/3 innings. Four relievers struck out eight of 13 hitters faced while walking none in a performance reminiscent of 1997.

The record says it's 1996. And for now, no one's talking about 1999.

First things first

During the Orioles' 12-1 run since the All-Star break, they have scored in the first inning in six of the games. Eric Davis has been a consistent contributor. A look (R-first-inning runs):

Dt ...Opp... R... Davis role........ Res

7/9.. Bos... 1... Popped out........ W 3-2

7/14. Tor... 6... RBI single, scored W 11-5

Ana... 1... Double, scored.... W 4-1

7/18. Ana... 2... Single............ L 8-3

7/21. Oak... 3... Single, scored.... W 7-1

7/22. Oak... 1... RBI double........ W 5-4

Here they come

The Orioles have gone 12-1 since the All-Star break, and their deficit in the loss column to AL wild-card leader Boston has shrunk to single digits:

At All-Star break ........ W-L......... GB

Boston....... ............ 52-33....... --

Orioles....... ........... 38-50....... 15 1/2

Now........... ........... W-L......... GB

Boston........ ........... 57-42....... --

Orioles....... ........... 50-51....... 8

RTC Orioles tonight

Opponent: Oakland Athletics

Site: Camden Yards

Time: 7: 35

TV/Radio: Ch. 13/WBAL (1090 AM)

Starters: A's Jimmy Haynes (7-3, 3.91) vs. O's Doug Drabek (6-9, 6.93)

Tickets: About 7,000 remain

Pub Date: 7/23/98