Series 8: Orioles take two of three from Flashes

Flashes 13-11, Orioles 9-15

Game One: Orioles 7. Flashes 3
WP: Phoebus (1-2)
LP: Haines (2-3)
Save: D Hall (3)
HR: Powell (5), B Robinson (3)

Game Two: Flashes 2, Orioles 1
WP: Nehf (2-0)
LP: Cuellar (1-4)
HR: F Robinson (10)

Game Three: Orioles 12, Flashes 11
WP: Watt (1-0)
LP: Ryan (0-2)
Save: Richert (2)
HR: Bottomley (6), B Robinson 2 (5), Blair (7), Kelly (4), Hafey (5), Salmon (3), Powell (6)

The power was on for the visiting Orioles in this series, as last-place Baltimore bopped eight homers to claim two wins.

Boog Powell set the tone quickly, nailing a two-run first inning homer off Jesse Haines in the opener. Tom Phoebus tossed 6.2 innings of two-run ball for his first win. Three Birds had two RBIs apiece -- Davey Johnson, Powell and Brooks Robinson. Highpockets Kelly scored twice for the Flashes.

The second game was a taut pitchers duel between southpaws Art Nehf of Fordham and Mike Cuellar of Baltimore. The Flashes scored in the third (Dave Bancroft walked, moved to second on Nehf's bunt, scored on Ross Young's single); the Orioles tied it in the eighth on Frank Robinson's 10th homer of the season. In the bottom of the ninth, Brooks Robinson committed a two-base error on Frank Snyder's grounder, and Bancroft promptly singled the catcher home for the winner. Both Nehf and Cuellar went the distance; Cuellar allowed six hits and Nehf seven.

Game Three was a long-ball orgy. Jim Bottomley tagged Dave McNally for a three-run homer in the bottom of the first; Paul Blair and Brooks Robinson replied with back-to-back solo homers. The Flashes scored four more runs in the third and fourth innings as Joe Medwick contributed a pair of triples, and Fordham opened a 10-3 lead in the seventh on Kelly's three-run homer off Jim Hardin. The Flashes hit for Hugh McQuillan in that inning, and Wayland Dean failed to get any outs; by the time Rosy Ryan retired all three men he faced that inning, the Orioles had scored five runs to make the score 10-8. Ryan stayed in for the ninth, and the Orioles clubbed three homers off him -- solo shots by Powell and Brooks Robinson to tie the game, and a two-run pinch-hit job by Chico Salmon to give the O's an unlikely 12-10 lead. Pete Richert relieved in the bottom of the inning and immediately allowed a homer to Chick Hafey, but then retired three in a row to wrap the game up.

Pitcher availability: Hardin pitched two innings and cannot make his next scheduled start. Watt, Richert pitched one inning each. If any of them pitch in the Orioles next game, they must sit a game out for each inning. Dean (six batters, no innings) and Ryan (two innings) are in the same position. All other relievers are fully rested.

Projected starters: Orioles -- Lopez or Leonard for the next game, followed by Palmer-Cuellar-McNally-Phoebus-Hardin. Flashes -- Grimes-Haines-Barnes-Nehf-Grimes.