The Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the Pirates on Thursday night with a 12-6 victory. Bucs' starter Erik Bedard was hammered right from the start and the O's didn't let up. He lasted only 3.1 innings and was credited with allowing seven of the 12 Baltimore runs. Baltimore put a four-spot on the board in the first inning, with all of it coming with two-outs. Matt Wieters opened the scoring with a single that knocked in Brian Roberts. Back-to-back doubles by Mark Reynolds and Steve Pearce quickly made it 4-0.
A five-run fourth inning made it 10-0 and removed all doubt. Both Wieters and Pearce did the damage again, with the Baltimore catcher coming through with a two-run single and Pearce ripping a three-run shot. Both hits came off Doug Slaten but Bedard was responsible for two of the runs.
The ten-run deficit put the game out of reach, but the offense was stirred a bit in the fifth and sixth inning. Rod Barajas continued his solid season with a three-run homer off Tommy Hunter in the fifth.
Wounded from the the three-game sweep, the Bucs now head to neighboring Cleveland for another interleague series against the Indians, who are coming off a sweep at the hands of the Reds.
For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Orioles, there's Camden Chat.