Gonzalez, Markakis Help Orioles Topple Angels 3-2
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Miguel Gonzalez allowed one run over eight innings and Nick Markakis hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the seventh inning as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 Tuesday night.
Light-hitting Ryan Flaherty contributed two well-timed hits for the Orioles, whose third straight victory put them a season-high nine games over .500 (37-28). Baltimore will seek to complete a three-game sweep on Wednesday afternoon.
The Angels lost their fourth in a row despite a home run by Mike Trout that traveled an estimated 448 feet.
Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos made the defensive play of the night, robbing J.J. Hardy of a two-run homer in the first inning. After retreating toward the warning track, Bourjos pressed his body against the wall with a perfectly timed leap, stuck his glove well over the 7-foot barrier and caught the ball.
Gonzalez (4-2) gave up four hits, walked one and struck out five.
Jim Johnson got two outs in the ninth before Josh Hamilton doubled and scored on a single by Albert Pujols. Johnson then struck out Mark Trumbo to earn his 23rd save, and second in two nights.
Howie Kendrick had two hits for Los Angeles, which has dropped nine of 11.
Jason Vargas (5-4) allowed three runs, seven hits and a walk in 6 2-3 sharp innings. The loss ended the left-hander's five-game winning streak -- a run that started with a shutout of Baltimore on May 3.
Vargas was pulled after the Orioles used two-out infield hits by Danny Valencia, Steve Pearce and Flaherty to load the bases in the seventh. Markakis then lined a single off Scott Downs for a 3-1 lead.
Trout put the Angels up 1-0 in the fourth with his 12th home run, the second in two nights. It's the ninth time in his career he's homered in successive games.
In the bottom half, Hardy was thwarted in a second straight at-bat. After being earlier victimized by Bourjos, Hardy popped a foul toward the seats in left. As Trout prepared to make the catch, a fan wearing a Trout jersey stuck his glove in the way. The ball bounced off the fan's mitt and landed on the ground, but third base umpire Joe West called Hardy out because of fan interference.
Held to two hits through five innings, the Orioles pulled even in the sixth. No. 9 hitter Flaherty singled and Markakis followed with a single that momentarily handcuffed Bourjos for an error, putting runners at second and third. Manny Machado followed with an RBI grounder, providing Baltimore with its first run against Vargas in 15 innings this season.
NOTES: Markakis is 9 for 26 (.346) with 10 RBIs with two outs and runners in scoring position. ... Machado extended his hitting streak to nine games with a first-inning single before being picked off first base by Angels C Chris Iannetta. ... Baltimore's Chris Davis ended an 0-for-16 skid with an infield hit in the first inning, although replays showed he was out at first. ... Seven of the nine homers Gonzalez has allowed have come at home. ... Jason Hammel (1-3, 7.33 ERA at home) starts for the Orioles in the series finale Wednesday. Jerome Williams will be on the mound for LA. ... Trout's eight homers against Baltimore are his most against any opponent.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
