Orioles 13, Devil Rays 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Miguel Tejada drove in three more runs and Erik Bedard pitched seven impressive innings, leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 13-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Tejada increased his AL-leading total to 121 RBIs for the Orioles, who have won four straight following a 12-game losing streak. Jay Gibbons, Rafael Palmeiro, Melvin Mora, Geronimo Gil and B.J. Surhoff all drove in two runs apiece, sending the Devil Rays to their sixth consecutive loss.

Surhoff went 8-for-15 and knocked in five runs during the Orioles’ first three-game sweep at Tampa Bay. He entered with just three hits in 34 at-bats. Baltimore outscored the Devil Rays 31-8 in the series.

Bedard (6-9) allowed one run and six hits. He was 1-5 in his previous seven starts, giving up 29 runs and 45 hits in 35 1-3 innings.

Dewon Brazelton (6-6) allowed six runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings, his second loss in eight decisions at home this season.

The Devil Rays held meetings the past couple days about Hurricane Frances and have been in contact with major league baseball. Tampa Bay is scheduled to host a three-game series against Detroit this weekend, but those games could be postponed. A decision was expected Friday.

“The No. 1 thought in our minds is safety,” Devil Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn said. “Safety for our fans, our players and our employees.”

The Tigers are in St. Petersburg. They had an off day Thursday after completing a series at Kansas City on Wednesday.

The Florida Marlins already postponed their series opener against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night and were waiting to make a decision about games on Saturday and Sunday.

Jose Cruz Jr. had a pair of RBI grounders for Tampa Bay.

Surhoff hit a run-scoring double and scored on Gibbons’ grounder as the Orioles took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Tejada extended Baltimore’s lead to 3-0 with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.

The Devil Rays snapped a stretch of 15 scoreless innings when Cruz made it 3-1 with an RBI grounder in the sixth. He also drove in a run with an eighth-inning grounder.

The Orioles went up 8-1 with a five-run seventh. Tejada hit a run-scoring grounder, Palmeiro and Surhoff had RBI singles, and Gil drove in two with a double.

Tejada had a run-scoring single, Palmeiro hit a run-scoring grounder and Gibbons drove in a run with a double in a four-run eighth that put the Orioles ahead 12-1.

Notes: Tampa Bay All-Star OF Carl Crawford (shoulder inflammation) was out of the lineup for the fourth straight game. He could return in the next few days. … Tejada has 42 RBIs in his last 42 games. … Devil Rays C Toby Hall, a baserunner at first, was award second base when Bedard’s pitch in the dirt bounced and became lodged in Gil’s mask in the fifth.

AP-ES-09-02-04 1735EDT