Orioles Erupt, Guzman Cruises

Not even Albert Belle’s return to the Baltimore Orioles’ lineup could overshadow the pitching of Juan Guzman and an awesome power display by the Orioles in the first inning.

Guzman pitched a six-hitter for his first shutout in nearly three years, cruising to a 5-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday after Brady Anderson, Mike Bordick and Will Clark homered in the opening inning.

Given a four-run lead before he even took the mound, Guzman (3-4) held the Braves to nothing but singles and allowed only two runners to get as far as second base.

“I’ve had to be really fine because most of my games have been tight,” said Guzman, whose complete game was his first since July 30 and the shutout his first since July 16, 1996. “It’s a lot easier when you get so many runs in the first inning.”

Belle, who was benched Friday night after a Wednesday night shouting match with Manager Ray Miller, returned to right field and the cleanup spot in the batting order. He went two for four with a stolen base and an intentional walk.

For the second day in a row, the Orioles got a complete game from their starting pitcher--the first time that’s happened since Baltimore put together three in a row in late September 1995.

Sidney Ponson pitched a five-hitter Friday night as the Orioles won the opener of the three-game interleague series, 6-2.

“Back-to-back complete games are like finding a gold mine,” Miller said. “That was vintage Juan today. He had a good changeup and was keeping the ball down.”

The Orioles, showing signs of life in a disappointing season, won their third in a row, taking command against Kevin Millwood (6-4) right from the start.

“I felt good [warming up], but you can’t really tell in the bullpen what’s going to happen,” said Millwood, who took his first loss since May 12, ending a four-game winning streak. “A few bad pitches took us out of the ballgame.”

On Millwood’s second pitch, Anderson hit a towering drive into the right-field stands for his 11th homer. Bordick followed with his third homer, driving an 0-2 pitch into the left-field seats.

B.J. Surhoff flied to left before Belle, greeted by loud boos, singled to right. Clark drove the next pitch into the Braves’ bullpen for his fourth homer.