masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles won on a Friday night in Miami. What were the odds of that?
Beginning the night 0-6 this year on Fridays and 1-11 all-time in Miami, the Orioles rallied from an early three-run hole to win tonight 8-5 over the Marlins to open a weekend series.
In improving to 19-20, the Orioles are now one game away from getting back to .500 for the first time since they were 12-12 on May 5. The O’s have won four of their last five games.
Last weekend, the Orioles scored five runs total in three…

The Orioles won on a Friday night in Miami. What were the odds of that?

Beginning the night 0-6 this year on Fridays and 1-11 all-time in Miami, the Orioles rallied from an early three-run hole to win tonight 8-5 over the Marlins to open a weekend series.

In improving to 19-20, the Orioles are now one game away from getting back to .500 for the first time since they were 12-12 on May 5. The O’s have won four of their last five games.

Last weekend, the Orioles scored five runs total in three games against the Angels. Now they have scored 24 runs in the last four games.

Miami falls to 0-5 under new manager Dan Jennings and has lost eight in a row and 11 of its last 12 games to fall to 16-27.

machado-pointing-up-black-sidebar.jpg

The Orioles were trailing 3-0 heading to the top of the fifth and closed to within 3-2 that inning. Alejandro De Aza and Caleb Joseph led off with singles and scored on a Delmon Young pinch-hit RBI double and Manny Machado’s RBI groundout.

In the sixth, Chris Davis and Travis Snider drew leadoff walks and the O’s went on to a four-run inning. J.J. Hardy dropped a sac bunt and Miami starter Henderson Alvarez threw the ball past third base as the tying run scored. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Joseph’s two-run single gave the O’s a 5-3 lead. Joseph began the night just 3-for-26 over his past nine games. Later an RBI infield hit with two outs by Jimmy Paredes made it 6-3.

With that single, Paredes improved his batting average this year to .692 (9-for-13) with 13 RBIs when batting with runners in scoring position and two outs.

The Marlins, who took the 3-0 lead early with a run in the first and two in the second against Ubaldo Jimenez, cut the O’s lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth, but could have had much more.

Coming on and pitching with runners on second and third and no outs, Tommy Hunter got a strikeout, pop out from Giancarlo Stanton and a ground out to end that inning and the Marlins’ threat. Machado made a diving stop at third to rob Martin Prado for the inning’s final out and kept the Orioles’ two-run lead.

Machado’s two-run double in the eighth extended the Orioles’ lead to 8-4. Playing for the first time in the pros in his hometown of Miami, Machado drove in three runs. Paredes went 3-for-5 and is now batting .353 and Joseph went 3-for-4 as the Orioles had 11 hits.

Jimenez, who had pitched seven or more innings in three of his last four starts, went four tonight before he was pinch-hit for. He gave up seven hits and three runs, throwing 87 pitches as his ERA increased from 2.43 to 2.82.

Tyler Wilson picked up his first major league win tonight in his second big league game when he pitched one inning plus three batters, allowing one run. Tommy Hunter pitched two scoreless innings, Brad Brach allowed one run over 1 2/3 and Zach Britton got the last out to record his 10th save.

After working six innings Thursday the O’s bullpen covered five innings tonight.

On Saturday in the second game of this series, Mike Wright (1-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his second major league start and faces Dan Haren (4-2, 3.47 ERA) at 7:15 p.m.