Orioles 5, Angels 4 (10)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Steve Pearce singled with two outs in the 10th inning to score Nolan Reimold from second and lift the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday afternoon at Angel Stadium.
The victory came as a sigh of relief for the Orioles after a sparkling 2013 debut by Orioles starting pitcher Freddy Garcia, who held the Angels hitless through six innings. Garcia was making his first start of the season after playing four games for the Orioles' Triple-A team in Norfolk.
The Orioles took a 4-0 lead on the strength of home runs by Manny Machado, J.J. Hardy and Reimold, only to lose it when the Angels scored two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Erick Aybar broke up the no-hitter with a soft leadoff single to center in the seventh inning. Mark Trumbo ended the shutout with a two-out, two-run home run later in the inning.
Orioles reliever Darren O'Day ended the seventh inning without further damage but got into his own trouble an inning later. Hank Conger led off the eighth with an infield hit, and pinch-hitter Scott Cousins walked. Conger scored on a groundout by Aybar, and Cousins tied the score on Mike Trout's two-out hit that landed in shallow right field, just out of the reach of first baseman Pearce.
Machado and Hardy hit solo home runs in the first and second innings to stake the Orioles to 2-0 lead.
The Orioles also stung Baltimore starter Tommy Hanson with another run in the fifth inning, on a sacrifice fly by Reimold.
NOTES: The Orioles designated right-handed pitcher Zach Clark for assignment, making room on the 25-man roster for Garcia. ... Pearce began Saturday's game at first base in place of Chris Davis, who hurt his knee in Friday night's loss to the Angels. He had an MRI exam on the knee Saturday morning but the results weren't immediately available. ... Josh Hamilton, the Angels' $125 million outfielder, was not in the starting lineup on Saturday because of what manager Mike Scioscia described as a "mental day." Hamilton was hitless in four at-bats on Friday, and he took some swings in the batting cage prior to Saturday's game. Hamilton's batting average is .208. "There is no doubt that Josh is trying to find a rhythm in the batter's box," Scioscia said. "I think he had a good session and hopefully the day off will clear some cob webs out." ... Angels RHP Jered Weaver, who has a broken left (non-throwing) elbow, began a throwing program this week but he's still weeks away from coming off the disabled list, Scioscia said. Weaver will have to undergo another version of spring training in order to rebuild his endurance.
