masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgCaleb Joseph today became the 15th catcher since 1914 to homer in five consecutive games. For a player that not long ago had a hard time getting out of Double-A, he’s been on quite a run.

And he showed some emotion today with a fist pump when he hit that one.

“It’s just a big whirlwind of kind of emotions,” he said. “You set a record and maybe seven or eight months ago, I was thinking about hanging it up.

“Every day in the big leagues is such a blessing, and especially to be on this…Caleb Joseph today became the 15th catcher since 1914 to homer in five consecutive games. For a player that not long ago had a hard time getting out of Double-A, he’s been on quite a run.

And he showed some emotion today with a fist pump when he hit that one.

“It’s just a big whirlwind of kind of emotions,” he said. “You set a record and maybe seven or eight months ago, I was thinking about hanging it up.

“Every day in the big leagues is such a blessing, and especially to be on this team with this group of guys and to be in first place, it’s just a great feeling,” he said. “Winning’s fun. Winning is the cure to everything. Just one of those things where it came out. Try to keep it low key next time.”

joseph-swing-looking-up-sidebar-orange.jpgThe Orioles’ team record for consecutive games with a homer is six, held by Reggie Jackson and Chris Davis.

“That is probably the most animated you’ll see me. I was pretty excited,” Joseph said. “We gained the lead there. I know we’ve had trouble scoring runs for Ubaldo (Jimenez).

“I don’t know if I’ve ever hit five in a row before. I know it’s in there and I’ve known since I’ve been here. It is just about making solid contact. The most important thing is we won today and created some more space with first place.”

Joseph is the sixth catcher since 2000 to homer in five straight games. The others are Devin Mesoraco, Buster Posey, A.J. Pierzynski, Brian McCann and Javy Lopez.

The Orioles have scored 22 runs on 31 hits with nine homers in this series.

“We’ve done it multiple times already this year,” Joseph said. “When we’ve had trouble scoring runs, our pitching held us together. So it’s good for days like today to blow some games open. They don’t have to pitch in high-pressure situations anytime.”

In his last 12 games, Joseph is batting .357 (15-for-42) with five homers and nine RBIs.

Ubaldo Jimenez got the win in his first major league start since July 5. He gave up six hits and three runs over six innings.

“Felt great to get the first one out of the way,” he said. “The guys have been on a good run the last month, month and a half so I’m happy to be a part of it.

“I felt good. I still have a lot of things to time up – the location on my fastball, the breaking ball has to get sharper, was missing a lot with the breaking ball. But I was able to minimize the damage and the guys played great defense and put a lot of runs on the board.”

Jimenez said he felt better and was sharper as the game went on and this outing gives him something to build on.

“Definitely. As the game went on, I was able to get better with my mechanics,” he said. “I got into a good rhythm and was throwing more strikes. Got ahead of some hitters. Now I have to get ready for my next one.

“Every game you win now, we are getting a little closer to where we want to go. The fans were involved. Every pitch means something right now. It gets you going a little bit more.”

The Orioles now lead the American League East by six games for the first time since Sept. 15, 1997.