Orioles go back-to-back twice to power past A's

OAKLAND -- Trey Mancini hit two home runs and the Orioles went back-to-back twice en route to a 7-2 win over the A's Thursday night at the Coliseum.
Adam Jones and Mancini hit consecutive homers off of Oakland starter Chris Smith in the fourth, with Mancini and Mark Trumbo tagging Smith twice in a row in the sixth.
"I left balls up and they hit them out," Smith said. "Four solo shots in a blink of an eye it felt like. Too much to overcome."

• Mancini has fourth multi-homer game of season
Jonathan Schoop added a two-run double in the seventh to tack on, providing more than enough support for Orioles starter Wade Miley, who allowed one unearned run on three hits in seven innings. The left-hander walked three and struck out seven to pick up his sixth win of the season. With Seattle losing, the Orioles moved to 1 1/2 games back in the race for the second American League Wild Card spot.
"We kind of struggled a little bit in that first inning trying to find the command but we stuck with it, stuck with the game plan, and it worked out," Miley said. "Still wasn't where I want to be at. Still don't have the fastball command that I would like but I was able to use the breaking ball, use the cutter to get ahead a little more."
Miley credited his curveball with being a big pitch for him, something he's relied on increasingly over the past few weeks.
"Maybe's he got better command of it and he feels more confident throwing it," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "Especially when he throws it for a strike and then throws a short one where he might get a chase."

Smith gave up five runs in six innings, allowing seven hits and one walk while striking out three. He's the first A's pitcher to allow four homers in a game this season.
"You know, it was just the homers -- when he got some balls up, they squared them up," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Other than that, he had guys off balance. If it had been a single or a double, that would have been another thing, but every mistake he made, they made him pay for it and hit homers. That's what they do when they're swinging the bat well."
Jed Lowrie knocked in both A's runs, hitting a sacrifice fly in the first and an RBI double in the eighth.
• Lowrie has AL lead in doubles with 35

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Starting strong:Tim Beckham, who will wear the nickname "Swaggy T" on the back of his jersey for Players Weekend, set the tone for the Orioles out of the gate, blasting a 2-2 fastball from Smith off the center-field wall and racing to third for a stand-up triple. He scored two pitches later on Manny Machado's groundout to give Baltimore a quick lead. Beckham extended his hitting streak to 10 games and has had at least one hit in every game since being acquired from Tampa Bay at the non-waiver Trade Deadline.
"Tim just started us off," Mancini said. "Leading off the game with a triple was big. Just kind of got some momentum going."

Missed chances:As has been the case much of the season for Melvin's ballclub, the A's had numerous opportunities to keep things close but repeatedly came up short. Oakland had two runners on in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and could not capitalize.
QUOTABLE
"That lineup is deadly. There's a lot of right-handers in there. Man, they just kept on attacking. They made the adjustment on my mistakes and they hit them. They hit them hard and far." -- Smith on facing Orioles
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Orioles closer Zach Britton came in with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth and got Lowrie to line out to right, converting his 59th consecutive save opportunity.
WHAT'S NEXT
Orioles:Ubaldo Jiménez (5-7, 6.31 ERA) will attempt to win consecutive starts for the first time this season in the second of this four-game series. The 33-year-old allowed one run in his most recent start, the fourth time this season that Jimenez has gone at least five innings while giving up one run or fewer. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 p.m. ET.
A's: Right-hander Paul Blackburn (3-1, 2.60 ERA) takes the mound at 7:05 p.m. PT on Friday night looking to keep his strong rookie season going. Blackburn has pitched into the seventh inning in each of his last three starts, including 6 2/3 scoreless his last time out.
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