CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Melvin Mora's leadoff homer in the top of the ninth inning lifted the Baltimore Orioles to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Cleveland Indians.
Mora belted a 2-1 pitch from closer Danys Baez (0-1) over the left field wall to break a deadlock and help the Orioles win for just the third time in their last 19 games at Jacobs Field.
"He (Baez) makes me nervous," Mora said. "He throws so hard and the only pitch I swing at is his fastball. Everything else, I let go. It was a fastball down the middle and I just swung."
"It was a mistake," Baez said. "I wanted to throw it away, but it was in the middle of the plate. He had a good swing."
David Segui singled in a run with one out in the eighth to get Baltimore within 3-2. Baez later walked Tony Batista with the bases loaded, forcing in Gary Matthews Jr. with the tying run.
It was Baez's first blown save in four chances this season.
"Dany was up in the zone," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He didn't have the same command he usually does. He's the guy we want out there in that situation. He's throwing the ball well this year, but no one is going to be perfect."
The Orioles won for just the second time in nine games this season when trailing after seven innings.
"They brought Baez in the game who is a hard thrower," said Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove, who held the same post for the Indians. "I thought we showed good patience and drew some walks. We got some broken bat hits, which we were due for because yesterday we had nothing to show for the hard hits."
Buddy Groom (1-0) struck out two in 1 2/3 hitless innings before closer Jorge Julio recorded the final out for his second save.
Milton Bradley led off the bottom of the first with a single, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games. The last Cleveland player to hit safely in the season's first 14 games was Toby Harrah in 1982.
Mora also drove in the first run of the game. The shortstop's bases-loaded grounder with one out in the second plated Jay Gibbons to put Baltimore in front.
"Melvin's a very special player," Hargrove said. "He can play almost every position. That can be a good thing because it gives him so much versatility, but it can also be a bad thing because he might not get as many at-bats if he played just one position. He does a great job of keeping himself ready."
Matt Lawton grounded into a fielder's choice in the fourth to drive in the tying run, then scored on Travis Hafner's double to give the Indians a 2-1 advantage.
With two out in the fifth, Omar Vizquel drove a 2-1 pitch from Baltimore starter Rick Helling over the right field wall for his first home run of the season and a 3-1 lead.
Helling yielded three runs and eight hits in seven innings. The righthander struck out four and walked one.
"I threw a lot of pitches early, I didn't have a good feel for the ball," Helling said. "I was able to get a better feel towards the end and was able to control my pitch count. However, I have led the league in pitches the three years I was in Texas, so I am used to the pitches."
