Darren Oliver

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Orioles were waiting for the dam to break and for all of those runs that had been bottled up in their month-long slump to come cascading down on the Texas Rangers.It didn't happen quite that way, but to left-hander Jimmy Key, five runs probably looked like a flood.Key gave up just one run on six hits over six innings and the struggling offense finally stepped up to carry him to a 5-1 win over the Rangers last night before 35,842 at The Ballpark in Arlington.About time.

A man usually given to little reaction, Scott Erickson stood on the mound staring a hole into the sky.In the game's first two innings, Erickson had seen the Orioles send 13 hitters to the plate. Seven reached base. Only one scored. Now in the third, he saw what he thought to be a "routine fly ball" off the bat of Texas Rangers right fielder Juan Gonzalez keep floating and floating and literally scrape the left-field wall for a grand slam. In his mind, the Orioles' chances went with it."When the ball was hit, everybody was yelling 'second base' because they thought it was a sacrifice fly," Orioles manager Ray Miller said.

For Josh Hamilton, these could have been truly glorious days. If not for the Cardinals' fifth rally in Game 6, Hamilton still would be taking bows for hitting an extra-inning, game-winning home run in the World Series. His drive to center field should have been one for the ages. But Darren Oliver, like Neftali Feliz before him, couldn't finish off the Rangers' clincher and nothing has gone quite right for Hamilton since. Hamilton wasted no time recovering from a hernia that had left him moving awkwardly and hitting without his usual power throughout the Rangers' second consecutive run to the World Series.

Summer games at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington are supposed to be high-scoring affairs in which no lead is ever safe. So it's not surprising that in their 6-4 comeback victory over host Texas, the Orioles were forced to mount a late-inning rally after their offense was seemingly dormant through six innings. The shocker Thursday was how the scuffling Orioles (26-59) surged back — on the strength of a couple hit batters, a well-placed single and an error. And, of course, the generosity of Texas' bullpen.

Even as the Orioles drove to their first playoff appearance in 13 years this fall, you got the feeling manager Davey Johnson wasn't deriving much satisfaction from the accomplishment.He joked about how he had nothing to do, other than pick a lineup and change pitchers. Johnson saw the Orioles as a powerful, artless team -- maybe the way a car connoisseur would view a monster truck.But the '96 Orioles have been stripped down, rebuilt, streamlined into something much more attractive to Johnson and general manager Pat Gillick.

When it was finally done and right fielder Jeff Conine had squeezed the final out of the Orioles' 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers, Mike Mussina could finally feel the weight of 138 pitches and more than three weeks of frustration slip from his shoulders. It is still April, still very early. But the circumstances that surrounded Mussina's exhausting, complete-game victory lent yesterday's win significance usually reserved for mid-September, when a manager is willing to leave a game in his best pitcher's hand beyond what is normal or even expected.

BaseballLos Angeles Dodgers -- Signed free-agent OF Chris Gwynn. Optioned IF Rafael Bournigal to Triple-A Albuquerque. Designated P Al Osuna for assignment.Oakland Athletics -- Placed 2B Brent Gates (sprained right thumb) on the 15-day DL. Recalled IF Fausto Cruz from Triple-A Tacoma.Texas Rangers -- Purchased the contract of P Rick Helling from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Optioned P Darren Oliver to Oklahoma City.HockeySan Jose Sharks -- Recalled C Kip Miller and D Michal Sykora from IHL Kansas City.

On the field: Who says a walk is as good as a hit? In the eighth inning, B. J. Surhoff already had taken two steps toward first base before plate umpire John Hirschbeck called the 3-0 pitch a strike. On the next pitch from Gil Heredia, Surhoff hit a two-run home run to center field.In the dugout: Texas general manager Doug Melvin said before the game the Rangers' pitching staff was allowing too many walks. Starter Darren Oliver walked in a run in the fourth inning and was pulled by manager Johnny Oates after walking Cal Ripken -- his fifth free pass -- in the fifth.

Quote: "Tonight we just stunk, starting with me making some bad pitches. Then it got contagious." - Toronto pitcher David Wells after suffering his first road loss of the season last night in Oakland. It's a fact: Anaheim's Darrin Erstad needs 23 RBIs in the Angels final 55 games to become the batter in major league history to drive in 100 runs from the leadoff spot. Who's hot: Oakland's Tim Hudson (12-3) has won 11 of his last 12 decisions after last night's win against Toronto. Who's not: Texas pitcher Darren Oliver allowed seven runs and eight hits in two innings in an 8-7 loss to Detroit on Sunday night.