Astros

A recap of the Orioles' 7-5 win over the Astros last night: On the offensive The Orioles knocked around Astros starter Shawn Chacon for six earned runs in five innings. Chacon walked Kevin Millar with the bases loaded to put the Orioles on the board in the third inning. In the fourth, Ramon Hernandez and Alex Cintron connected for long home runs off Chacon as the Orioles built a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The Orioles totaled 11 hits and also got a home run from Aubrey Huff. A painful at-bat Facing former teammate Brian Burres in the third inning, Miguel Tejada lined a ball off his left knee.

Before Kevin Millar stepped into the batter's box and delivered the hit that sent the Orioles to another thrilling victory, manager Dave Trembley yelled from the dugout to get the first baseman's attention. "I said, `Do you know what the sign for the squeeze [play] is?'" Trembley said. "And he looked at me like, `What are you kidding?' " With men on first and third and one out in the 10th inning, Trembley had no intention of asking one of his best run producers to drop down a squeeze bunt.

The at-bat lasted nine pitches and ended with Melvin Mora standing on second base, pumping both fists and yelling. On a night when Miguel Tejada returned to Camden Yards, the Houston Astros got a firsthand look at the resilience the Orioles have showed all season. His team trailing by a run, Mora ripped a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning off Astros closer Jose Valverde, the big hit in the Orioles' 6-5 victory before an announced 21,535 last night at Camden Yards. "I don't care who was there," said Mora, when asked whether it felt extra sweet to get the key hit in front of his former teammate, who was greeted with a mixture of cheers and boos.

ALL GAMES ON 105.7 FM TODAY Houston, 7:05 p.m., MASN Starters: Astros' Brandon Backe (4-8, 5.00) vs. Orioles' Garrett Olson (5-2, 4.53) TOMORROW Houston, 7:05 p.m., MASN Starters: Astros' Brian Moehler (3-3, 4.76) vs. Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie (3-7, 3.71) THURSDAY Houston, 7:05 p.m., MASN Starters: Astros' Shawn Chacon (2-2, 4.69) vs. Orioles' Brian Burres (5-5, 5.28) FRIDAY @Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m., MASN2 Starters: Orioles' Radhames Liz (1-0, 4.32) vs. Brewers' Jeff Suppan (4-4, 3.68) SATURDAY @Milwaukee, 7:05 p.m., Ch. 13, MASN Starters: Orioles' Daniel Cabrera (5-2, 4.45)

Observations, opinions and musings from the week in major league baseball: When Orioles club president Andy MacPhail dealt two of his stars this offseason for 10 players, there were rumblings that he should have netted more hitters. Of the bounty he received for Miguel Tejada (Houston Astros) and Erik Bedard (Seattle Mariners), seven were pitchers. Of the Orioles' top 20 prospects as ranked by Baseball America, 13 are pitchers. MacPhail's philosophy is to collect as many good pitchers as possible, building a staff primarily through the farm system and eventually supplementing any offensive holes through free agency.

The Orioles still would have signed free-agent shortstop Miguel Tejada in 2003 even if they had known his correct age, a club official said yesterday. But it probably would have been a shorter deal if they had known he was about to turn 30. "I don't think it matters being a couple years," said Orioles executive vice president Mike Flanagan, who, along with Jim Beattie, signed Tejada to a six-year, $72 million contract in December 2003. "That still would have been considered his prime." But, "we probably wouldn't have signed him for so long," Flanagan said.

PHILADELPHIA -- The constant in-game chatter has returned. So have the incessant clapping, the expansive smile and the bat that shoots lasers to every part of a baseball diamond. He's in a Houston Astros uniform now, but Miguel Tejada is looking like the old Miggi, the one who excited Camden Yards crowds when he first came to Baltimore. "I'm feeling good, feeling like I have a lot of energy," said Tejada, whose four-year stint as the Orioles' starting shortstop ended in December when he was dealt to the Astros for five players.