BALTIMORE - The shaving cream was still glopped on Chris Dickerson’s head and shoulders long after the final pitch, a tell-tale indicator that the Baltimore Orioles had finally returned to celebratory mode at Camden Yards.
Nate McLouth homered leading off the bottom of the 10th inning, Dickerson hit two home runs Tuesday night and the Orioles beat the New York Yankees 3-2 to end a sixgame losing streak.
McLouth hit a 1-1 pitch from Vidal Nuno (1-1) into the bleachers in right-center to give the Orioles their first victory since May 12. Dickerson, who played sparingly for the Yankees in each of the past two-seasons, connected off Phil Hughes in the third and fifth innings - the first two-home-run game of his career.
For their efforts, McLouth and Dickerson each got a shaving cream pie from teammate Adam Jones during their postgame interviews. It was a fitting way to mark the end of a skid in which all six defeats came at home.
“We really needed this win,” Dickerson said. “This team continues to grind, continues to push forward even when the chips are down. Nate came up huge. This was one of those things that can turn it around.”
Asked if it was the best night of his baseball career, Dickerson didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Under the circumstances, yeah. … As soon as I saw the lineup card, I was already fired up, just to get the opportunity to play against them. But to go out and have that result, it was awesome.”RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 3 Kelly Johnson and Desmond Jennings homered, Alex Cobb won for the first time in three starts and Tampa Bay beat host Toronto.
TIGERS 5, INDIANS 1 Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run home run and Max Scherzer retired 22 consecutive batters after the first inning, leading Detroit to a victory over host Cleveland.
ROYALS 7, ASTROS 3 Mike Moustakas tied it with an RBI single before George Kottaras scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk in a four-run eighth inning, helping Kansas City end a four-game skid and beat host Houston.
ATHLETICS 1, RANGERS 0 Rookie right hander Dan Straily pitched seven scoreless innings and Yoenis Cespedes homered as Oakland won their fifth consecutive game over host Texas. WHITE SOX 3, RED SOX 1 Jose Quintana took a no-hitter into the seventh before David Ortiz broke it up with a one-out broken-bat single, and host Chicago beat Boston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE PIRATES 5, CUBS 4 Travis Snider hit a pinch hit grand slam during a five-run sixth and host Pittsburgh spoiled a strong return to the mound for Matt Garza with a victory over Chicago.
REDS 4, METS 0 Mike Leake pitched three hit ball for seven sharp innings and Cincinnati parlayed third baseman David Wright’s early error into a victory over host New York.
PHILLIES 7, MARLINS 3 Delmon Young homered and Ryan Howard added three hits and three RBI to help carry Philadelphia to a victory over host Miami.
BREWERS 5, DODGERS 2 Carlos Gomez hit a go-ahead two-run double, Jonathan Lucroy had three hits and an RBI and five Milwaukee relievers combined for five scoreless innings as host Milwaukee beat Los Angeles.
ROCKIES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4 (10) Wilin Rosario drove in Carlos Gonzalez with a one-out single in the 10th inning to lift host Colorado past Arizona after Colorado squandered a late four-run lead.
INTERLEAGUE BRAVES 5, TWINS 4 (10) Evan Gattis hit a two-out, pinch-hit home run in the ninth to send the game to extra innings and Freddie Freeman won it in the 10th, sending Atlanta to its fifth straight win over Minnesota.
Tuesday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Pittsburgh 5, Chicago Cubs 4 Cincinnati 4, NY Mets 0 Philadelphia 7, Miami 3 Milwaukee 5, LA Dodgers 2 Colorado 5, Arizona 4 (10) St. Louis at San Diego, (n) Washington at San Francisco, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE Detroit 5, Cleveland 1 Baltimore 3, NY Yankees 2 (10) Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 3 Oakland 1, Texas 0 Chicago White Sox 3, Boston 1 Kansas City 7, Houston 3 Seattle at LA Angels, (n) INTERLEAGUE Atlanta 5, Minnesota 4 (10)
Sports, Pages 22 on 05/22/2013