A look at the homer barrage at the Yard, plus Aberdeen's draft picks and other notes

The ball was carrying at Camden Yards last night. There were seven homers hit between the teams, and Mitch Moreland and Chris Davis hit two each.

But Moreland's second two-run shot, which gave Texas two insurance runs, and an 8-5 lead in the eighth, surprised a few Orioles. Even on a night when the ball was carrying so well.

"That last one, I don't think even the hitter thought it would go out," Orioles outfielder Travis Snider said. "But, that is the elements and we understand this park and how it will play as the weather warms up. That can be an advantage for both sides offensively."

Snider said you can't necessarily go up to bat looking for a home run even knowing one could be there if you can put a good swing on the ball and get it up in the air on a night like Tuesday night.

"No, just me personally, I just try to simplify things and try to get a good pitch to hit," he said.

So, after winning 18 of 23 games, was it inevitable that the Orioles would lose a few soon as they have the last two nights? Snider wasn't buying that theory.

"It's a lot of baseball left. We are going to lose more games and also win more games," he said. "Hopefully we win more than we lose and we'll be all right. This group is not going to give up regardless of the inning or score. Came up short tonight. Get ready to go tomorrow and get back on the winning side of things."

On Sunday, the Orioles pitched shutouts in both games of a doubleheader against Cleveland, but they've allowed 26 hits and 16 runs - including eight homers - the past two nights as the team ERA went from 3.67 to 3.79.

Before this series, the Orioles had allowed three homers in a game nine times this year, but never had given up four in a game. Now they have done so on back-to-back nights.

On the farm: Short-season, Single-A Aberdeen added three more 2015 draft picks to its roster on Tuesday. Top draft pick DJ Stewart has not yet been activated by the IronBirds, but that should happen over the next few days.

Here is a rundown of the 12 draft picks from this year's draft currently on the Aberdeen roster and their draft round:

* RHP Jay Flaa (6)
* LHP Reid Love (10)
* RHP Ryan Meisinger (11)
* LHP Robert Strader (12)
* OF Cedric Mullins (13)
* 2B Drew Turbin (14)
* OF Mike Odenwaelder (16)
* C Jerry McClanahan (19)
* LHP Will Dennis (23)
* 1B Steve Laurino (25)
* C Stuart Levy (27)
* RHP Andrew Elliot (30)

Mullins, from Campbell University, is batting .333 with no homers, four RBIs and three steals in nine games. Laurino, out of Marist College, is batting .349 with four doubles, a triple, no homers, six RBIs and an OPS of .897 over 11 games.

Aberdeen beat Batavia 3-2 in 12 innings last night to complete a three-game sweep and improve to 5-7.

Single-A Delmarva improved to 4-2 in the second half last night with a 4-3 win over Lakewood. The Shorebirds (37-37 overall) took the lead for good on a go-ahead two-run home run by Yermin Mercedes in the sixth inning.

Triple-A Norfolk won in dramatic fashion on Tuesday afternoon. Sean Halton hit a two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Tides a 2-1 win over Charlotte at Harbor Park. With its seventh walk-off win of the season, Norfolk improved to 44-33 and moved a half-game ahead of Charlotte (44-34) for first place in the IL South.

Making his first start since being named to the MLB Futures Game last Thursday, right-hander Zach Davies worked five scoreless innings for the Tides. Davies lowered his ERA to 2.75 through 15 outings (14 starts).

Earlier Tuesday, Tides broadcaster Pete Michaud was named to the radio broadcast team for the 2015 Triple-A All-Star Game.

Double-A Bowie saw its five-game winning streak come to a halt Tuesday night in a 5-2 defeat in Akron. Bowie left nine men on base in the series-opening loss. But the Baysox are 44-32 and leading the Eastern League's Western Division by 2 1/2 games. The Baysox went 18-8 in June, the best record in the league over the month.

Once again today the Orioles, Norfolk and Bowie are all in first place.