Dwight Smith Hits 1st Grand Slam, Orioles Beat Giants 9-6
BALTIMORE (AP) — Former major leaguer Dwight Smith Sr. rose to his feet and emphatically pumped his fist as the ball cleared the center field fence. His son not only ignited the home crowd, he also paved the way for one of the biggest wins of the season for the Baltimore Orioles.
Dwight Smith Jr.'s first career grand slam capped a six-run outburst in the first inning and the Orioles outslugged the San Francisco Giants 9-6 Friday night.
"I feel like every time he is around I do something," the younger Smith said. "He's a good luck charm. He was acting like he was at a football game tonight. It was pretty funny to watch on the big screen."
The teams met at Camden Yards for the first time since 2004.
Trey Mancini and Renato Nunez also homered for the Orioles, who overcame a five-run, first-inning deficit and improved to 8-21 at home.
Nunez has homered in seven of his last 11 games and has a team-leading 14 homers this season.
Jonathan Villar had two hits and scored twice. The Orioles second baseman is 13 for 39 (.333) with four doubles, two home runs and six RBIs in the last 11 games.
"It's been a rough couple of months," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "We've had so many tough losses. For us to be able to come back and take a serious blow in the top of the first to stay with it and stay in the game and continue to take good at-bats and stay together in the dugout, I thought it was just awesome."
Mike Yastrzemski, who was traded by Baltimore on March 23 after he was reassigned to minor league camp, homered and tripled in his first two at-bats for San Francisco, which has lost eight of nine.
"A great day by the kid," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's done a nice job out in the outfield, swinging the bat. He got us going there in that first inning, then leads off with a home run to give us life again."
The Giants charged to a 5-0 lead off Andrew Cashner (6-2) in the first inning. Yastrzemski, Buster Posey and Steven Duggar had RBI singles and Brandon Crawford drove a run in with a sacrifice fly.
The Orioles countered with six runs, highlighted by Smith's grand slam, in the bottom half off Drew Pomeranz (1-6).
Cashner and Pomeranz combined for 90 pitches in the opening inning. It was the first time that two teams scored at least five runs in the first inning since July 6, 2012, (Yankees and Red Sox), according to STATS LLC.
After Yastrzemski tied the game 6-6 with a solo homer in the second, the Orioles regained the lead in the bottom half on a two-run homer by Mancini that ended the night for Pomeranz.
The Giants left-hander tied a career-high by allowing eight runs on six hits. Pomeranz's ERA rose from 6.45 to 8.08.
Cashner didn't allow another run after the first and lasted five innings, with a season-high 109 pitches. He allowed six runs and eight hits with five walks.
"It was probably one of my worst starts of my career," Cashner said. "I just kept telling myself to get through the fifth, try to save the bullpen as much as I can no matter how many runs you give up."
Nunez homered off Sam Dyson in the seventh inning to make the score 9-6.
The Orioles' bullpen took over, with Paul Fry and Mychal Givens combining for 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Richard Bleier got the last five outs and picked up his second save.
MLB DRAFT
The Orioles hold the first overall pick in this year's Major League Baseball draft that begins Monday by virtue of their 47-115 record last season. Baltimore first-year general manager Mike Elias said the team has narrowed the potential No. 1 pick to four players. The consensus top prospects are Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, Texas high school shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn and Georgia high school shortstop C.J. Abrams. "Nothing's really changed. The draft is still three days away and we have a lot of time," Elias said. ... The Giants have the 10th overall selection.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: OF Mark Trumbo (knee surgery) had his third rehab assignment for Double-A Bowie. He went 2 for 4 with a strikeout and run.
UP NEXT
Giants: Shaun Anderson (0-1, 4.80 ERA) will make his fourth major-league start. He allowed six runs (four earned) and nine hits over five innings in his last outing May 26 against Arizona.
Orioles: David Hess (1-6, 6.71 ERA) has not won since carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning April 1 against Toronto. He has given up a league-leading 18 homers over 11 appearances.
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