Hector Santiago ejected as Orioles pound Angels

ANAHEIM >> Only one American League team entered this weekend with more home runs than the Baltimore Orioles.

The Angels saw that power first-hand Friday night in a 9-4 loss that snapped their two-game wiing streak.

Baltimore hit four home runs, and they wasted little time getting started. They hit three against Angels left-handed starter Hector Santiago during the first three iings.

The first one came on Santiago’s second pitch of the night, a 91 mph sinker that Joey Rickard hit to center field. In the next at-bat, May Machado launched one in the same direction but farther – 427 feet, over the shrubbery.

Santiago had thrown seven pitches, and the Angels were down 2-0. They never led, despite scoring at least four runs for the seventh time in their last nine games.

It was not a long night for Santiago, who was ejected in the top of the third iing for arguing about the strike zone with home plate umpire John Tumpane.

Santiago recorded the first two outs of the third iing Friday night, but he gave up a two-run home run to Mark Trumbo, who has and AL-best 13. Then Orioles catcher Matt Wieters came to the plate.

After throwing three consecutive balls to Wieters, Santiago started yelling at Tumpane.

“It was right over the (expletive) plate,” he said, as captured on television replays.

At that point, Tumpane motioned to toss him out.

“You have to do more than what Hector did to get thrown out of a ball game. That’s a joke,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Santiago was also ejected in the sixth iing of a game last September at Houston for arguing with the home plate umpire while leaving the field after he had been pulled from the game by Scioscia.

Friday marked the second time in Santiago’s last three starts that he had allowed four runs in a game, his ERA climbing to 3.93.

The Angels tied the game with a three-run sixth iing, before another home run, a two-run blast from Chris Davis in the top of the seventh, put the Orioles ahead for good. The first six of Baltimore’s nine runs came via the long ball.

The Angels got RBI singles from Johy Giavotella and Gregorio Petit in the sixth. It was Giavotella’s 19th hit this month after the second baseman had just 10 in April.

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Catcher Carlos Perez also added a sacrifice fly after an RBI double earlier. In his first 21 games, Perez had just one extra-base hit, but he has four this week, including a solo home run against the Dodgers on Thursday.

Perez has shouldered more playing time, starting three straight games behind the plate, after Geovany Soto was placed on the disabled list with a to meniscus.