ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- After blowing a lead for the third straight game, the Baltimore Orioles got a little help from second baseman Marlon Anderson to salvage the finale of their three-game series with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Sidney Ponson threw seven solid innings and David Segui had an RBI single in the eighth inning to lift the Orioles to a 4-3 victory over the Devil Rays.
Ponson (1-1) rebounded from a poor season debut and gave up three runs and eight hits to improve to 4-3 lifetime against the Devil Rays. The righthander threw 98 pitches and struck out five without issuing a walk.
"Ponson threw a good ballgame," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. "It was a win we had to have. If we didn't take the lead in the eighth I would have brought him out there because his pitch count was so low. The difference with him in his last start and his spring was that he didn't let anything mentally bother him."
Brook Fordyce led off the eighth with a pop-up in shallow right-center field that fell just out of the reach of Anderson's outstretched glove. Anderson appeared to shy away at the last moment, although right fielder Aubrey Huff was not calling for the ball and it was ruled a hit.
"That ball should have been caught," Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella said. "That's the second baseman's play. It was very catchable."
Jerry Hairston sacrificed to move pinch runner Jose Morban to second base and, after a groundout by Gary Matthews Jr., Segui hit Jesus Colome's 2-2 pitch up the middle to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead.
"It was a big hit," Segui said. "I was trying to hit the ball hard on the ground. It was big after how we lost the first two games with the lead. It was a big win, but it's early, but also you don't want to get into a funk when it's early. It was nice to come out and play like we're capable of playing."
Buddy Groom pitched a perfect eighth inning and Jorge Julio struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his first save of the year.
Colome (0-1) has allowed seven runs and nine hits in three appearances.
Steve Parris went seven innings, allowing three runs and three hits with two walks and one strikeouts.
Parris cruised through the first three innings before issuing consecutive walks to Matthews and Segui. Parris retired Jeff Conine on a flyout, but Jay Gibbons sent a 1-2 pitcher over the right field fence for his second homer of the season and a 3-0 lead.
"Nine bad pitches. If I don't walk those two before I give up the homer, it's a solo homer," Parris said. "That'll teach you a lesson not to walk guys. I threw the ball well, seven innings, but I could have thrown a little better."
Ponson allowed the leadoff batter to reach in the fourth and fifth innings and Tampa Bay scored each time. Al Martin delivered an RBI double in the fourth to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Rey Orodonez led off the fifth with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored when rookie Rocco Baldelli extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single to center. Baldelli moved to third when Ponson threw wildly on a pickoff attempt and scored when the righthander uncorked a wild pitch before retiring Huff on a flyout.
