masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgLew Ford and Nate McLouth were teammates at Triple-A Norfolk this summer. They didn’t envision hitting home runs on the same night at Camden Yards.

It’s been that kind of a season.

Ford led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run, his first with the Orioles. He also singled in the sixth. And McLouth’s two-run shot in the eighth erased the White Sox’s 3-2 lead.

“I kind of thought about that tonight after he hit his. I was like, ‘This is two of the guys who just came up and…Lew Ford and Nate McLouth were teammates at Triple-A Norfolk this summer. They didn’t envision hitting home runs on the same night at Camden Yards.

It’s been that kind of a season.

Ford led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run, his first with the Orioles. He also singled in the sixth. And McLouth’s two-run shot in the eighth erased the White Sox’s 3-2 lead.

“I kind of thought about that tonight after he hit his. I was like, ‘This is two of the guys who just came up and are helping contribute.’ That’s why they got us up here,” Ford said.

“That’s kind of interesting,” McLouth said. “Lew’s battled the past few years. It’s nice to see him hit one tonight, too.”

Ford hadn’t hit a major league home run since July 29, 2007 at Cleveland. He hadn’t produced an RBI since July 31, 2007.

“It was just good to get that kind of out of the way and put together a couple good at-bats,” he said. “It was good to get out there and help the team win. It feels good tonight.”

Ford had made one start since Aug. 12.

“It is a challenge, but I recognize it’s part of the job and you’ve got to be ready when called upon,” he said. “You’ve got to try to keep in the best shape you can and when you’re called upon, do your job.”

McLouth’s decisive home run came off White Sox reliever Brett Myers.

“I got a good fastball that I could handle,” he said. “It kind of helped that I faced him a number of times in the NL Central when he was with Houston, with mixed results. But I got a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it.”

McLouth began to doubt whether the Orioles would give him a chance, but they finally selected his contract on Aug. 4.

“Maybe. I think that’s probably fair to say,” he said. “But I love playing baseball. The Orioles were gracious to give me an opportunity and I’m happy to be here. I’m excited. It’s been fun so far.”

Does McLouth see the Orioles as a playoff team?

“Yeah, because you get in situations like tonight when you lose the lead late and you don’t give up,” he said. “Winning close games down the stretch is huge, and we’ve won quite a few of them since I’ve been here. Anytime you can come back and win a close games it’s huge.

“One-run games can make or break a season sometimes. We’ve been good so far.”