They are getting quality starts, proper aggressiveness on the bases, sure-handed defense and an avalanche of hits with runners in scoring position.
Dave Trembley and Juan Samuel probably aren't the only ones wondering, "Who are these guys?"
For the second straight night, Buck Showalter's Orioles got the best of the Los Angeles Angels in all facets, and the result is their first two-game winning streak since the All-Star break. The Orioles certainly made it interesting, watching an eight-run, seventh-inning lead get whittled to two before holding on for a 9-7 victory before an announced 13,467 at Camden Yards.
Rookie left-hander Brian Matusz allowed one run in six innings for just his second victory in his past 19 starts, and the offense exploded for nine runs and 12 hits by the bottom of the fourth inning.
The victory, just the Orioles' fifth in 19 second-half games, clinches their first series victory against the Angels since April 14-17, 2006, when they took three of four at Camden Yards. However, it came at a price.
Leadoff man Brian Roberts (left shin bruise) departed the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when play resumed after a 24-minute rain delay. Roberts was hit in the left leg by catcher Jeff Mathis' pickoff throw in the first inning, and he walked and ran with a pronounced limp until he was removed from the game five innings later.
Reliever David Hernandez sprained his left ankle while trying to cover home after a wild pitch in the seventh inning. That was the inning when the Angels scored five times to cut the Orioles' lead to 9-6. Matt Albers was the primary culprit, allowing four of the five hitters he faced to reach base and allowing four earned runs.
Koji Uehara came in for Hernandez, and after giving up an infield single to load the bases, he retired pinch hitter Alberto Callapso on a ground out to keep the Orioles' lead at 9-6. He then struck out the side in the eighth, pounding his fist into his glove as he walked off the mound.
The Angels scored a run in the ninth against Alfredo Simon and had a man on second with no outs when Torii Hunter curiously tried to steal third and was thrown out by Matt Wieters. Simon retired Howie Kendrick for the second out, but Juan Rivera singled to bring up the tying run. However, Simon got Mike Napoli to fly out to pick up his 16th save and make the Orioles' early offensive onslaught stand up.
Every Oriole in the starting lineup except Wieters got a hit, and five players drove in runs. Left fielder Felix Pie led the effort with three hits and three RBIs. The Orioles (34-73) broke the game open and knocked Angels right-hander Ervin Santana out of the game by scoring five times in the fourth inning, all with two outs. Six straight Orioles reached base in the inning, and Luke Scott slammed a two-run homer, his 20th home run of the season and his third in three nights.
In the first two games of the series and the Showalter era, the Orioles have scored 15 runs and pounded out 22 hits. With their 6-for-12 effort with runners in scoring position Wednesday night, the Orioles are 11-for-23 in such situations over the past two games. In the five games before Showalter took over, the Orioles went 4-for-35 (.114) with runners in scoring position.
They haven't made an error, and their starters -- Jeremy Guthrie on Tuesday and Matusz on Wednesday -- have allowed just four earned runs and no walks in 13 innings.
Pitching on the one-year anniversary of his major league debut, Matusz wasn't particularly sharp, allowing base runners in all but one of his six innings. But he scattered seven hits and surrendered just one run on Napoli's RBI groundout in the fourth inning in winning for the first time this season at Camden Yards and just the second time overall since April 18.
In his previous four starts since pitching seven shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox on July 4, Matusz was 0-2 with a 12.46 ERA. During that span, he surrendered 19 hits and 13 walks in just 13 innings. Three of those four starts lasted 3 1/3 innings or fewer, and one lasted just 1 2/3 innings. The longest was a five-inning outing against the Minnesota Twins on July 24.
Matusz also entered the outing 0-7 this season at home, not exactly a comforting statistic for a pitcher who badly needed a positive result. Yet Matusz consistently pitched his way out of jams, stranding two runners in the first inning when Kendrick flied out.
The Angels had men on first and second with no outs in the third, and Matusz retired the next three batters, the final one, Hunter, on a come-backer, to escape without any damage.
He finally gave up a run in the fourth inning, but all that did was cut the Orioles' lead to 4-1. They then tacked on five in the bottom of the inning to turn the game into a rout
jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com