Randy Milligan

CLEVELAND -- The hits just kept on coming last night. The Baltimore Orioles averaged a dozen per game on a seven-game swing through the two gulags of the American League, closing out their most successful trip of the season with a 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.They hammered the last-place club from each division. Now they must prove they can do it against a real team.The Boston Red Sox, who arrive at Memorial Stadium tonight to open a three-game series, don't figure to be so accommodating, but the Orioles appear to be on a major roll.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The competition between third basemen Craig Worthington and Leo Gomez has been placed on hold while Worthington recovers from a strained muscle in his left thigh.Worthington remained behind when the club traveled to Grant Stadium to play a Grapefruit League game against the Toronto Blue Jays, and he could be out of action for several more days."Hopefully, it's just a day-to-day thing," manager Frank Robinson said. "With Monday off, hopefully he'll be all right for Tuesday."

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- They had forecast rain for the Orioles' spring opener yesterday, but no one, save the groundskeeper, took it seriously.As you know, the tourist industry runs Florida, and that's all they needed in a recession year: pictures of puddles where ballplayers are supposed to be.As it turned out, it was the kind of day -- I'm not making this up -- when concessionaires roam the stands selling sun block.Under bright sunshine on a perfectly lovely afternoon, Bob Milacki was perfect for three innings, and Cal Ripken was perfect for two at-bats, and the Orioles beat the Cardinals.

For Sam Horn, it has always been feast or famine. The home runs are plentiful, but so are the strikeouts.As the Orioles start a road trip tonight in Boston (7:35, Ch. 2), Horn has the momentum generated by a prosperous homestand. His two-run homer in yesterday's 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians was the final flourish.Horn played in eight of the 10 games on the homestand and batted .391, with two doubles, five home runs and 11 RBIs. He had an extra-base hit in seven of those eight games.

Before panicking over Glenn Davis, demanding a new manager and pulling the plug on the whole season, there's one thing rational Orioles fans ought to consider:This team can't be that bad.Yes, the 6-11 Orioles are last in the AL East, 4 1/2 games behind division-leading Toronto. Yes, they can match their worst April since 1956 -- excluding the 0-21 disaster -- with another loss tonight.Doesn't matter. Manager Frank Robinson admits he's already losing sleep, but he started the season without his best pitcher, and now faces the prospect of finishing it without his best hitter.

Good move keeping McLemoreThree cheers for Peter Angelos for caring about Baltimore and for reportedly making sure that Mark McLemore was signed.As a 56-year-old board-certified internist who has never made six figures, I never thought I would consider a process that led to a million-dollar baseball contract unfair but relatively speaking, this one was.No one (except for Randy Milligan) has gotten less respect for what he has done for the Orioles and for the community.When Bill Ripken was here, McLemore took a back seat in coverage despite putting up as good or better numbers and establishing himself as a clutch player.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Even yesterday, there was the familiar electricity, the sheer thrill of seeing Vincent Edward Jackson perform. But he limped so slowly to home plate, hobbled so gingerly to first base, he would have been better off using his bat as a cane.Don't remember him that way. Remember him scaling the Memorial Stadium wall like he was riding a skateboard. Crushing a monstrous home run to lead off the 1989 All-Star Game. Starring in another hilarious Nike commercial. Flattening Brian Bosworth for the good of all mankind.

Third baseman Leo Gomez and first baseman Randy Milligan were in the middle of everything last night.They were the principle characters in an umpiring controversy that almost sent the Baltimore Orioles to their sixth straight defeat.They were also prominent in the three-homer barrage that brought the club back to score an 11-inning, 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox last night at Memorial Stadium.Gomez delivered the final shot, a one-out homer to left off reliever Donn Pall that broke the White Sox's seven-game winning streak.

As near as can be determined, this is what was expected when the season began. The difference is that most people thought the Orioles might go on a roll for a couple of months early -- instead of a couple of weeks long after the contenders had been identified.Yesterday's 7-3 win over the AL West-leading Minnesota Twins, the team with the best record in baseball, left the Orioles with a 9-5 record for the last two weeks. With the exception of a three-game sleepwalk in Milwaukee, it has been a generally impressive stretch.