CLEVELAND -- In a game the Orioles frequently led but never controlled, it took Roberto Alomar only four plate appearances to remind his former team of his worth.

The former Orioles second baseman capped a night of quick comebacks by his new team with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly that broke a tie and sent the Cleveland Indians toward a 6-4 win before 40,615 at Jacobs Field. Alomar insisted before the game there were no hard feelings. So why did the Orioles leave the game bruised?

Ask Juan Guzman.

The Orioles' starting pitcher was given three leads over the American League's most potent offense and dropped them all, eventually taking the loss. Jeff Conine's three-hit night went for nothing as the Orioles lost for only the second time in their last eight games.

While David Justice, Richie Sexson and Wil Cordero crushed home runs for the Indians, it was Alomar who turned the game for good.

Benefiting from long ball, the 22-9 Indians won because of Manny Ramirez's bases-loaded infield single and Kenny Lofton's checked-swing double to start the seventh. The Indians also successfully picked at rookie third baseman Willis Otanez, who was forgiven one error, reacted slowly to Ramirez's hit in the fifth and was caught flatfooted on Lofton's double.

Indians starter Dave Burba (3-1) overcame a bases-loaded walk and a run-scoring wild pitch to gain the win. Indians manager Mike Hargrove gave blanket orders for his staff to pitch around Albert Belle. The plan worked.

"What you've got to do is score runs off their pitching," said Orioles manager Ray Miller. "We did and we had a chance to break it open; we just didn't come up with the hit."

Guzman (1-4) held a two-run lead for only two hitters in the second inning as Justice followed Cordero's one-out single with a mammoth home run to center field.

Conine entered the game a career 1-for-12 (.083) against Burba. He exited the third inning with his third home run of the season. It was the Orioles' 18th home run in their last eight games.

The 3-2 lead was even more fleeting than the 2-0 advantage when Sexson led off the bottom of the third by crushing a home run to right-center. The home run was the eighth allowed by Guzman in seven starts covering 37 1/3 innings.

Burba fell behind a third time in the fifth inning. B. J. Surhoff and Albert Belle singled with one out. A fielder's choice brought up Conine, whose third hit provided a 4-3 lead. The RBI single left Conine with 14 hits in his last 29 at-bats.

Conine has hit safely in six of his last eight games, forcing Miller to contemplate all sorts of possible combinations when Will Clark leaves the disabled list. At the same time, Miller wonders when Belle will see pitches to hit. Belle walked three times last night, jacking his league-leading total to 33.

"I want to get the bases loaded here a couple times with Albert up," Miller said.

Guzman was equally aggressive against the league's most dangerous lineup. He walked three and allowed seven hits in seven innings.

"They've got a great lineup. But I'm not afraid of anyone," Guzman said. "I know what I can do when I have my good stuff. I personally think I didn't have a lot of luck. There were two breaks I couldn't get away from."

Guzman and reliever Jesse Orosco surrendered three home runs totaling 1,224 feet and worth four runs. The other two were what drove Guzman to distraction. Both stemmed from reaction plays that centered on Otanez. One was a four-hop swinging bunt with the bases loaded and the other a checked-swing double by Lofton on a high, inside pitch.

The Orioles damaged themselves offensively as well. They were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position the first two innings and were unable to turn any of six walks into runs. Representing the tying run, Anderson and Calvin Pickering were called out on wide strikes in the ninth inning.

Constantly jeered by the place where he started his major-league career, Belle was picked off first base by All-Star catcher Sandy Alomar in the fifth inning. Belle took two steps toward second when a ball skipped by Alomar but couldn't recover when Alomar quickly retrieved the pitch.

"Sandy did a heck of a job. It looked like the ball got away," Miller said.

Even worse, Guzman couldn't close the fifth inning with a lead, a tendency that has plagued Orioles pitching this season. This time his slippage began with a one-out walk to Sexson and a single by Lofton. Roberto Alomar inherited the situation with two outs and walked, bringing on right fielder Manny Ramirez. Swinging from his heels, Ramirez nubbed a four-hopper at Otanez, who broke late and made a barehanded throw too late to catch Ramirez. Sexson's run forced a 4-4 tie.

"He didn't react to the ball. With a big strong guy there, you have a tendency to rock back when they swing," Miller said.

"I was playing farther back for him," Otanez said. "You don't expect him to hit a ball like that."

Another situation found Otanez in the seventh inning when Lofton led off with a half-swing that drilled a ball between the slumping rookie and the third base line. Lofton took third base on Omar Vizquel's right-side grounder. Roberto Alomar then added another notch to his reputation as a big-moment player. Fighting for a fly ball, he drove one down the left-field line that easily scored Lofton for the game-winner.

Reflecting on it all, Guzman was left to wax philosophical. "It cannot rain every day," he said.

Garciaparra: 2 slams, 10 RBIs

Red Sox's Nomar Garciaparra hits two grand slams and a two-run shot, becoming the first AL player with 10 RBIs in a game since 1975. [Page 4D]

Orioles tonight

Opponent: Cleveland Indians

Site: Jacobs Field, Cleveland

Time: 7: 05

TV/Radio: HTS/WBAL (1090 AM)

Starters: O's Sidney Ponson (2-2, 3.67) vs. Indians' Bartolo Colon (4-1, 4.24)

Historic walk

With three walks last night, the Orioles' Albert Belle has more than one walk per game. If he maintained his current pace and played all 162 games, he would barely set a major-league record with 172. A look at him in comparison to the American and National league record holders:

Player BBs Gms Rate

Babe Ruth ('23) 170 152 1.12

M McGwire ('98) 162 155 1.05

Belle ('99) 33 31 1.06