BALTIMORE (AP) - The Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels spent the night launching baseballs over the outfield wall, combining for 10 home runs in a game decided by the grandest hit of all.
Manny Machado capped a three-homer night with a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning, providing the Orioles with a 9-7 victory Friday night.
“It’s like a game where everybody’s dunking,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “No (jump) shots tonight.”
Machado hit his seventh career slam off Keynan Middleton (4-1), who entered with two on and one out in the ninth. After Tim Beckham singled to load the bases, Machado hit a drive far over the center-field wall to give the Orioles their first lead.
Machado also hit a two-run homer in the third and a solo shot in the fifth to finish with seven RBIs.
Albert Pujols set the tone for the game in the first inning with a milestone homer off Jeremy Hellickson. There would be plenty more long balls on a steamy night at Camden Yards.
“Obviously a good hitters’ park,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “We hit the ball good tonight; they did too. They got the last big hit.”
Machado’s third slam of the year came on a fastball that caught way too much of the plate.
“I was looking for a pitch and I got it,” he said. “I made a good swing on it. Off the bat, I knew it was going to go far.”
Said Middleton: “I was trying to go fastball away, and I left the fastball over the middle.”
Pujols’ two-run drive was the 609th of his career, tied with Sammy Sosa for eighth on the all-time list. Pujols and Sosa share the distinction of hitting more home runs than any other foreign-born player.
After Pujols and Kole Calhoun connected in succession in the first inning, C.J. Cron and Kaleb Cowart homered in the second for a 5-0 lead. The Orioles used homers by Mark Trumbo, Machado and Caleb Joseph and cut the gap to a run before a two-run drive by Mike Trout made it 7-4 in the fifth.
All five L.A. home runs came off Hellickson, the first time the right-hander yielded more than three in a game.
But his hard-hitting teammates made up the deficit.
“It’s going to make my night a little better,” Hellickson said. “It would still have been nice to do my part in that win.”
Darren O’Day (4-1) got the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
ROCKY SEASON DEBUT
Pitching for the first time since April 2016 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Angels starter Andrew Heaney gave up five runs and seven hits - including four home runs - in five innings.
“I just really never got into a rhythm. My tempo was pretty terrible,” he said. “All of those things lead to bad pitches and lead to big innings. That’s on me.”
Scioscia said, “”It was good to see him out there. As he gets into his next start he’ll get better.”
LUCKY FRIDAY
The Orioles lost 10 straight games on Friday since June 2 before rallying in this one.
WELCOME TO THE BIGS
Orioles Rule 5 pick Anthony Santander played in his first major league game, going 1 for 4 with a fine diving catch in right field. He was on the disabled list with a strained forearm from March 30 through Wednesday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: LF Cameron Maybin was held out with a knee issue. “He’s OK. His knee was just a little bit stiff,” Scioscia said.
Orioles: 1B Chris Davis was feeling ill and did not play. … SS J.J. Hardy (wrist) took batting practice and could start his rehabilitation assignment on Monday or Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Angels: JC Ramirez (10-10, 4.26 ERA) starts Saturday night. He gave up a grand slam to Machado last week and has a 7.27 ERA in his career against Baltimore.
Orioles: Kevin Gausman (9-8, 5.08 ERA) has lost once in 10 starts since June 21, against the Angels last Wednesday night.
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