Tue Apr 8 17:59:24 2008

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Huff and Orioles continue hot start

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Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Aubrey Huff finished 4-for-4 with four RBI and Brian Burres was stellar on the mound, as the Baltimore Orioles downed Texas, 8-1, to spoil the Rangers home opener.

Luke Scott and Scott Moore each belted their first home runs of the season for the Orioles, who have won six straight after dropping the season-opener. Nick Markakis scored two runs and Brian Roberts added an RBI single.

Burres (1-0), celebrating his 27th birthday, allowed one run on seven hits and struck out three over six-plus innings. Matt Albers fanned four in his two innings of relief, while Greg Aquino tossed a perfect ninth.

Jason Jennings (0-2) struggled on the mound for Texas, allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings. Ben Broussard and Milton Bradley each had two hits for the Rangers, who finished 3-3 in their six-game road trip to begin the season.

Jennings fell into trouble in the first inning, walking the bases loaded, but the former first-round draft pick managed to emerged unscathed. However, the O's broke through with two runs in the second, as Moore led off the frame with a home run down the right-field line. Adam Jones followed with a double to left and eventually scored on Roberts' single to right.

The Rangers threatened in the bottom-half, with runners on first and third and nobody out. After Burres got Marlon Byrd to pop out to Roberts, the southpaw threw a ball in the dirt that skipped by Ramon Hernandez. Bradley tried to score, but Hernandez located the ball and tossed to Burres in time to get Bradley at the plate for out number two. David Murphy's line drive found the glove of Kevin Millar for the third out.

Baltimore added to its lead in the third when Scott crushed a two-run opposite-field homer to left, while Burres wiggled out a bases loaded jam in the fourth, fanning Murphy on a 2-2 curveball, to preserve the 4-0 lead.

In the sixth, Huff came up to bat with two men on and smacked a ball off the top of the wall in right, which first base umpire Bruce Dreckman originally ruled a home run. The call was later changed to a two-run double.

Ian Kinsler ripped an RBI single to center to put the Rangers on the board in the seventh, but the O's tacked on two more runs in the eighth on Huff's single that plated Luis Hernandez and Markakis.

Game Notes

Baltimore's Steve Trachsel (1-0) and Texas' Kason Gabbard (1-0) are slated to start on Wednesday...Texas won six of its 10 matchups with the Orioles last season...The O's were coming off a four-game sweep of Seattle, their first four-game sweep since August 6-9, 2004 over Texas...Both clubs stranded nine runners on base...Texas falls to 18-19 in home openers...Baltimore is off to its best start since going 7-1 in 1998.