For a split-second in last night's goofy third inning at Camden Yards, the Orioles had to wonder whether their hottest hitter would be getting an extended seat on the bench.
Third baseman Melvin Mora took a fastball from Boston Red Sox rookie Clay Buchholz off his left hand and immediately writhed in pain. But Mora, who has been plunked a team-leading 10 times this season, jogged to first base and, eventually, delivered another game-changing performance, something he has done routinely in the season's second half.
In the third, he made a heady base-running play and scored the tying run, and then launched a 430-foot, three-run homer in the fourth - his 21st of the season - on a four-RBI night that helped the Orioles avoid a sweep and beat the Red Sox, 11-6.
It was a continuation of Mora's torrid second half, in which he has batted .408 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs in 31 games. His 95 RBIs are just nine away from tying his career high.
"Early in the season, his average wasn't there, but he was hitting home runs and swinging the bat well with men in scoring position," second baseman Brian Roberts said of Mora. "He was still being productive, although his numbers may not have looked as good. But this last month or six weeks, he's been pretty awesome."
Mora paced an offense that scored in double digits for the fourth time in seven games. But for a moment, Mora's night looked as if it might end prematurely.
"It's not a pleasant situation because you know how valuable he is," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "And we don't have a whole lot of depth on our bench right now."
The game-altering third inning also included a botched fake tag-up, a ballgirl fielding a live hit, a stolen base on a walk and an outfielder tumbling over the wall.
The Red Sox led 4-3 when Boston shortstop Jed Lowrie started the inning by smashing a hard grounder down the third base line. The left-field ballgirl, assuming it was a foul, stopped the ball, picked it up and gave it to a fan.
It was fair.
Lowrie was awarded a double on the interference call; he would have gotten there anyway. A batter later, Nick Markakis helped absolve the embarrassed Orioles employee of her mistake when Lowrie feigned a tag-up on a fly ball to right.
He went too far, though, and Markakis threw a strike to shortstop Juan Castro, picking Lowrie off second base. It was Markakis' 13th assist, tying the Toronto Blue Jays' Alex Rios for most by an American League outfielder.
