Jonathan Villar hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.
The 443-foot shot to left, off left-hander Caleb Ferguson (1-2), was the 6,106th in the majors this season, setting a new record.
The Dodgers clinched the National League West title with a win over the Orioles in the series opener on Tuesday. But Villar ruined any hopes Los Angeles had of a three-game sweep, breaking a 2-2 tie and putting the Orioles ahead for good.
The win ended the Orioles' six-game losing streak and gave them 47 victories for the season, tying their 2018 total. Shawn Armstrong (1-1) earned the victory thanks to 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief on his 29th birthday.
Baltimore starter John Means threw 6 1/3 strong innings but again didn't get much offensive support and came away with a no-decision. He gave up two runs on four hits and finished with six strikeouts, often baffling the Dodgers in his first appearance against them.
The Dodgers rotated pitchers, using seven overall. Ross Stripling was the opener and gave up one run on three hits in three innings.
The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Trey Mancini led off with a double, and Dwight Smith Jr. followed with a run-scoring double.
Means and Baltimore held the lead until the sixth. That's when Austin Barnes doubled to start the inning, and A.J. Pollock followed with a two-run homer to center to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.
But the Orioles answered right back in the bottom half. New pitcher Joe Kelly walked Hanser Alberto to start the inning, and Alberto went to second on a wild pitch. Then, with two outs, Smith struck again, this time driving in the tying run on a single to right.
After Villar broke the tie with his seventh-inning blast, Pedro Severino added a two-run shot off Baltimore native Adam Kolarek in the eighth, giving the Orioles a 7-2 lead.
--Field Level Media
LA Dodgers | Baltimore | |
Ross Stripling | Player | John Means |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
3.0 | IP | 6.1 |
2 | Strikeouts | 6 |
3 | Hits | 4 |
3.00 | ERA | 2.84 |
LA Dodgers | Baltimore | |
A.J. Pollock | Player | Austin Hays |
2 | Hits | 3 |
2 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
5 | TB | 4 |
.500 | Avg | .750 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
LA Dodgers | 6 | 1 | 10 | .188 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Baltimore | 9 | 2 | 18 | .273 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |