The Orioles finally came home to roost Friday night, shaking off the frustration of their four-game series in New York with one of their more uplifting victories of the season.
Why should anyone be surprised? The Orioles own the best home record in the major leagues and have struggled all season on the road, so Friday night's series opener against the Cleveland Indians figured to be an elixir for what ailed them in the Big Apple.
Of course, there were no guarantees with unproven Dylan Bundy making only his second major league start. But major league home run leader Mark Trumbo snapped out of a two-week homer drought with a three-run shot in the first inning and the Orioles cruised to a 5-1 victory before 39,358 at Camden Yards.
The Orioles improved to 55-40 and moved back into first place in the American League East, a half-game ahead of the Boston Red Sox and two ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays after both lost Friday night.
The home run was Trumbo's 29th of the year and it was the first for the Orioles since Jonathan Schoop hit a solo shot in the series opener at Yankee Stadium on Monday night. It would not be their last, however, because Manny Machado opened the third inning with his 20th home run of the season to extend the Orioles' lead to five runs.
That was the first time the heavy-hitting Orioles have held a five-run lead over an opponent since they defeated the San Diego Padres, 12-6, on June 29 at Petco Park. The Orioles were just happy to be back home and it showed.
"It means a lot, to come home to the type of crowd we had tonight with that enthusiasm and that amount of orange in the stands means a lot," manager Buck Showalter said. "I was thinking about that before the game. You come from four days in New York and I heard a lot of guys say pulling in the train station last night. … This is no knock on anybody else, but you appreciate coming home to Baltimore."
Bundy (3-2) enjoyed the support and made the most of it, pitching five solid innings to get the victory. He gave up just five hits and was not charged with an earned run. Reliever Odrisamer Despaigne took over in the sixth inning and pitched 3 2/3 strong innings before Zach Britton came on to get the final out to convert his 31st save without a blown opportunity.
"That's a really good offensive team over there, so that makes it even more impressive,'' Showalter said. "[Bundy] was good. He pitched as much as threw. I was talking to him when he got through, he was talking about watching Chris [Tillman] pitch. That's another benefit of having a guy like Chris."
Despaigne was in line for his first career save until he walked Abraham Almonte to bring the tying run to the on-deck circle in the ninth. He protected a four-run lead from the sixth inning on, so he would have been eligible for a rare four-inning save if he had gotten the final out.
Trumbo's 29th: Trumbo changed the subject in a hurry Friday night. The Orioles had spent the past four games in New York struggling to hit with runners on base, but that was not a problem in the series opener against the Indians. Adam Jones led off the bottom of the first with a solid single and Machado drew a one-out walk before Trumbo's two-out launch to straightaway center field to give Bundy a quick 3-0 cushion. It was Trumbo's first home run since July 9 and it moved him back ahead of Todd Frazier for the major league lead.
Hardy's hot: J.J. Hardy had two more hits Friday night and continues to swing a hot bat. He is batting .296 since he returned from his lengthy stay on the disabled list.
The only Bundy run: Bundy did not surrender an earned run, but the one unearned run was the result of a passed ball and a blown rundown play. Almonte, who scored the run, would have been out at the plate after Hardy scooped up a no-out grounder from Chris Gimenez and threw home in plenty of time. But Almonte pulled up short of the plate and catcher Caleb Joseph held the ball too long running him back to third. Everybody was safe and Almonte scored on an ensuing double play.
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