Orioles Continue Miserable Play

Tony Phillips marked his 40th birthday with a three-run home run in the ninth inning Sunday as the Oakland Athletics defeated the stumbling Baltimore Orioles, 11-10, at Baltimore in a game of comebacks, poor pitching and costly errors.

But the story was after the game, when Oriole Manager Ray Miller, whose job is being threatened after his team’s league-worst 4-14 start, slammed his fist against something, he wouldn’t say what, while lashing out at his team.

“We walked 14 people today. We pitched like a bunch of 12-year-olds,” Miller told the media, his right hand wrapped in a cold towel to keep the swelling down. “We had a guy get picked off when we’re six runs down. . . . If you want any more stories, go out in the clubhouse. They’re the ones making all the money. Have them explain how they did and how they performed in front of 47,000 people. That’s all I have to say.”

Baltimore erased a 6-0 deficit by scoring eight unearned runs in the seventh inning to take a 10-6 lead. The Orioles then gave the game away, allowing Oakland to score twice in the eighth before Phillips delivered the game-winning homer off Mike Timlin.

Boston 3, Cleveland 2--Pedro Martinez struck out 10 and Jason Varitek hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to lead the Red Sox to a victory over the Indians at Boston.

Martinez, who retired 14 of the first 17 batters he faced, picked up his fourth victory.

Seattle 6, Tampa Bay 4--Jay Buhner hit a two-run home run with two out in the ninth inning as the Mariners defeated the Devil Rays at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Tampa Bay’s Jose Canseco became the ninth player in American League history to hit 10 or more home runs in April with his major league-leading 10th homer--a 443-foot solo shot--in the fifth inning.

Texas 9, Minnesota 5--Lee Stevens hit two homers, Todd Zeile had a home run and three runs batted in, and Rick Helling won his first game of the season as the Rangers defeated the Twins to complete a four-game sweep at Minneapolis.

Detroit 9, Chicago 4--Jeff Weaver won for the second time in three major league starts and Damion Easley drove in three runs as the Tigers defeated the White Sox at Chicago to end the White Sox’s six-game winning streak.