GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: LA ANGELS (84-59) at BALTIMORE (61-81)

Guerrero's two home runs propel Angels to victory

<h3>LA ANGELS 10, BALTIMORE 5</h3>By Rich Dubroff
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Vladimir Guerrero cracked a pair of two-runhome runs to propel the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to a 10-5victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

The win cut the Angels (85-59) magic number to 11 to clinch theAmerican League West Division. They are nine games in front ofthe Seattle Mariners (75-67).


Guerrero, who was the Angels' designated hitter after missingthe past four games with an inflamed right triceps, launched his23rd home run of the season to center in the third inning,capping off a five-run third inning.


He drilled his second home run of the night into the Los Angelesbullpen off Fernando Cabrera, his 24th of the season, to givethe Angels an 8-4 lead in the seventh. It was the 33rdmulti-home run game of Guerrero's career.


Angels starter Joe Saunders (8-3) pitched five innings, allowingfour runs and 10 hits. The lefthander struck out three andwalked one, earning his first win since August 19 against theBoston Red Sox.


Howie Kendrick began the third-inning rally with a leadoffdouble to right off Orioles starter Victor Santos. Kendrickadvanced to third on Jeff Mathis' single and scored on ReggieWillits' base hit. Chone Figgins hit a ground-rule double toleft to score Mathis and Willits scored on Orlando Cabrera's<div class="pre">sacrifice fly. Guerrero followed with his first blast of the</div>game.


Santos (0-1), whom the Orioles purchased from the CincinnatiReds on Friday, was finished after five runs and 2 2/3 innings.The 30-year-old righthander surrendered seven hits whilestriking out one.


After Figgins' RBI double gave the Angels a 6-1 lead in thefourth, Kevin Millar hit his 16th home run of the season - atwo-run blast - in the bottom of the inning to pull the Oriolesback within three.


The Orioles got runners on second and third with one out in thefifth, but got only one run when Nick Markakis drove in TikeRedmond on a fielder's choice.


Baltimore opened the scoring in the second inning when Millarled off with a double and moved to third on Aubrey Huff'ssingle. Ramon Hernandez bounced into a double play, scoringMillar to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead.


The loss secured a 10th straight losing season for Baltimore.They've now lost five of their last six games and 17 of theirlast 20.

 

Guerrero's two home runs propel Angels to victory

<h3>LA ANGELS 10, BALTIMORE 5</h3>By Rich Dubroff
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Vladimir Guerrero cracked a pair oftwo-run home runs to propel the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheimto a 10-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

Angels starter Joe Saunders (8-3) pitched five innings, allowingfour runs and 10 hits. The lefthander struck out three andwalked one, earning his first win since August 19 against theBoston Red Sox.


The win cut the Angels (85-59) magic number to 11 to clinch theAmerican League West Division. They are nine games in front ofthe Seattle Mariners (75-67).


"Both teams had a lot of offense. "We needed it," Los Angelesmanager Mike Scioscia said.


Guerrero, who was the Angels' designated hitter after missingthe past four games with an inflamed right triceps, launched his23rd home run of the season to center in the third inning,capping off a five-run third inning.


He drilled his second home run of the night into the Los Angelesbullpen off Fernando Cabrera, his 24th of the season, to givethe Angels an 8-4 lead in the seventh. It was the 33rdmulti-home run game of Guerrero's career.


"He swung the bat great tonight," Scioscia said. "Losing(Guerrero) out of the lineup for that length of time - you haveto be deep enough to absorb it."


Howie Kendrick began the third-inning rally with a leadoffdouble to right off Orioles starter Victor Santos. Kendrickadvanced to third on Jeff Mathis' single and scored on ReggieWillits' base hit. Chone Figgins hit a ground-rule double toleft to score Mathis and Willits scored on Orlando Cabrera's<div class="pre">sacrifice fly. Guerrero followed with his first blast of the</div>game.


"I've seen Vlad hit a lot of long home runs," Willits said."They all go a long ways when he hits them."


Santos (0-1), whom the Orioles purchased from the CincinnatiReds on Friday, was finished after five runs and 2 2/3 innings.The 30-year-old righthander surrendered seven hits whilestriking out one.


This was the sixth consecutive game where an Orioles starterlasted five or fewer innings.


"I think it's beyond concern," Orioles manager Dave Trembleysaid. "It's just been a fact that we've lived with for far toolong."


After Figgins' RBI double gave the Angels a 6-1 lead in thefourth, Kevin Millar hit his 16th home run of the season - atwo-run blast - in the bottom of the inning to pull the Oriolesback within three.


The Orioles got runners on second and third with one out in thefifth, but got only one run when Nick Markakis drove in TikeRedmond on a fielder's choice.


Baltimore opened the scoring in the second inning when Millarled off with a double and moved to third on Aubrey Huff'ssingle. Ramon Hernandez bounced into a double play, scoringMillar to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead.


The loss secured a 10th straight losing season for Baltimore.They've now lost five of their last six games and 17 of theirlast 20.


"We're going out there and doing the best we can," Millar said."Sometimes, we're just outmanned." Angels outfielder GaryMatthews Jr. left the game in the third inning with a sprainedright ankle. He'll be re-evaluated in several days.

"I thought I broke it," Matthews said. "I thought I wouldn't beable to play in the playoffs."