Orioles Continue Erasing Memories of Last Season

Three games into the season, and already the Baltimore Orioles have outdone last year’s team.

Charles Johnson hit his third homer in two days, a three-run shot in the sixth inning that broke a tie and lifted the Orioles past the Cleveland Indians, 6-2, on Thursday night.

Mike Bordick also homered for the Orioles, who took two of three from the defending American League Central champions. Baltimore went 1-9 last year against the Indians.

That’s not all. The Orioles didn’t win a series last year until May, and they never topped .500 after the first game of the season.

“Any time you beat Cleveland two out of three, especially with the track record this series has had, it gives you a lot of confidence,” said Manager Mike Hargrove, who was on the other side of the rivalry last year as manager of the Indians.

“This reinforces the idea that we’ve got a good ballclub and can compete with people.”