As Luke Scott's two-run blast sailed over the right-field wall in the sixth inning, the Orioles designated hitter flipped his bat and Buck Showalter lightly clapped his hands from the top step of the dugout.
Throughout all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the arrival of a new manager, Showalter stressed the importance of winning games. So the official start of the Showalter era has to be characterized as a rousing success.
Scott's tape-measure home run gave the Orioles a lead they never relinquished in beating the Los Angeles Angels, 6-3, in front of an announced 16,723 at Camden Yards. It was Showalter's first win since Sept. 29, 2006, when he was the manager of the Texas Rangers and just the Orioles' fourth victory in 18 games since the All-Star break.
It was also the type of win that any manager craves as the Orioles (33-73) got another strong start from Jeremy Guthrie, who allowed three earned runs over seven innings for his fourth quality start since the All-Star break. The bullpen turned in two scoreless innings, with Michael Gonzalez getting five big outs and a huge ovation from the crowd and Alfredo Simon striking out Howie Kendrick to end the game.
Matt Wieters had three hits and a walk and drove in two runs, and rookie third baseman Josh Bell hit a two-run double for his first major league RBIs.
Showalter got a rousing ovation when snippets from his introductory news conference were shown on the stadium video screen before the starting lineups were introduced. The clip ended with Showalter saying, "Let's quit talking about it and get started."
After the new manager got a nice ovation on his sprint to home plate to deliver the lineup card and on his sprint back to the dugout, the first pitch of the Showalter era was Jeremy Guthrie's 94 mph that Erick Aybar lined right at center fielder Adam Jones.
The game quickly morphed into a pitchers' duel between Guthrie, who had allowed just three earned runs in 201/3 innings of his first three starts since the All-Star break, and Trevor Bell, who was making just his second big league start this season.
Guthrie hit Maicer Izturis in the first inning and nearly did the same to Torii Hunter two batters later, but he didn't allow a hit until Hunter's two-out single in the fourth inning.
The Angels finally got to Guthrie in the fifth to break the scoreless tie. Alberto Callaspo, who was acquired from the Kansas City Royals last month, lined a single up the middle, and then Howie Kendrick smoked a 1-1 fastball deep into the left-field seats. The two-run shot was Kendrick's ninth homer of the season and the 18th that Guthrie has given up.
Bell, meanwhile, was having little trouble with the Orioles. He pitched two perfect innings to start, striking out three of the six hitters he faced. Catcher Matt Wieters got the first hit, a line single into to center field to lead off the third. However, he never moved as Josh Bell struck out and Cesar Izturis and Brian Roberts flied out.
Scott gave the Orioles their first man in scoring position off Trevor Bell in the fourth with a two-out double down the right-field line, but he too was stranded when Jones grounded out to second base.
The Orioles finally got on the board in the fifth, an inning that started with a double by Felix Pie, whose T-shirt was given out to the first 10,000 fans 15 and over. Wieters then doubled into right-center field to cut the Orioles' deficit to a run.
The score stayed 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth. Angels manager Mike Scioscia removed Bell after the right-hander walked Ty Wigginton with one out. Francisco Rodriguez came on and watched Scott turn around a full-count fastball and send it deep into the right-field seats. Scott's team-leading 19th homer traveled an estimated 422 feet and gave the Orioles a 3-2 advantage.
The Orioles kept adding on from there. Pie hit a two-out single and then swiped second base, his first steal of the season. After falling behind Wieters 3-0, Rodriguez opted to put him on, and he paid for it when Bell laced a two-run double down the left-field line. It was Bell's first major league extra-base hit.
Guthrie gave a run back in the top of the seventh after getting two quick outs. Kendrick, who was one of the few Angels to get some good swings off Guthrie, doubled off the base of the left-field wall. Mike Napoli then drove a two-strike pitch off the wall in right field, the single cutting the Orioles' lead to 5-3.