masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgI guess Red Sox manager Terry Francona really wanted to get Dice-K through the fifth, no matter how much his starter looked like a guy in dire need of a cold drink and a warm hug.

Francona’s one heck of a manager, but hello? This is Matsuzaka’s first start and he ran out of steam like a dry iron (OK, that’s a reach.)

Did somebody grease the top step of the visiting dugout?

The Orioles have batted around, and hey, there’s Francona breaking through the restraints and fighting his way to…I guess Red Sox manager Terry Francona really wanted to get Dice-K through the fifth, no matter how much his starter looked like a guy in dire need of a cold drink and a warm hug.

Francona’s one heck of a manager, but hello? This is Matsuzaka’s first start and he ran out of steam like a dry iron (OK, that’s a reach.)

Did somebody grease the top step of the visiting dugout?

The Orioles have batted around, and hey, there’s Francona breaking through the restraints and fighting his way to the mound.

He waited until Nick Markakis singled to tie the game, and Matt Wieters cranked a three-run homer to give the Orioles a 7-4 lead. And he let Matsuzaka pitch to Miguel Tejada, who doubled as the ninth batter to hit in the inning.

The six runs and six hits are the most for the Orioles in a single inning this season.

If you had to pick a first-half MVP for the Orioles, and you really don’t because it’s a free country and there are no laws requiring it, Ty Wigginton would seem like a logical choice.

Wigginton got the fifth-inning party started with his team-leading seventh home run. He’s batting .318 with 13 RBIs and a 1.092 OPS.

Is that good?

And you were worried about Wigginton getting enough at-bats this season to keep him happy.

Mark Hendrickson is coming into the game. Brad Bergesen is done after five innings. He allowed four runs and seven hits, walked none, struck out two and gave up two home runs. He threw 86 pitches, 57 for strikes.

Update: So seriously, is Ty the MVP?

That’s 11 career multi-homer games for Wigginton, who went deep again to lead off the sixth.