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Jones, Wieters give Orioles the game-changing moment of the week

As Adam Jones and Matt Wieters go, so go the Baltimore Orioles. One of the early surprises of the 2012 season, the Orioles won another memorable game Sunday thanks in part to their two young stars.

Sunday's 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies kept the Orioles near the top of the competitive American League East division as Jones and Wieters connected for the game-changing moment of the week.

In front of a sold-out crowd at Camden Yards, the Orioles rallied from down 4-1 against Phillies ace Cliff Lee. Orioles infielder Steve Tolleson tied the game with a three-run homer in the fourth inning, setting the stage for extra innings-drama – something that has become very common in Baltimore this season.

A fielding error by Phillies third baseman Ty Wigginton in the bottom of the 10th allowed Jones to reach first, bringing Wieters to the plate. With one out, Wieters sent an 0-2 pitch from Joe Savery deep to right field. The ball went off the wall, just out of the reach of Hunter Pence, allowing Jones to score the winning run all the way from first.

The win set a remarkable Orioles franchise record – nine consecutive extra-innings wins, breaking the mark of eight in a row, set twice previously. It was also the second day in a row the Orioles beat the Phillies in extra-innings. Jones hit a two-run home run on Saturday in the 12th inning for a walk-off win. The O's are 9-2 in extras this season.

"We'd rather win games in nine, but if you're going to go extras you want to win those," Wieters said. "The key is our bullpen has been able to keep teams where they're at – especially when we get to extra innings – and just give our offense the chance to get a timely hit."

The extra-innings magic has been a big part of the Orioles' early-season success. The Orioles, 34-26 after the weekend series win over the Phillies, are in the third place in the AL East, just one game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first.

Just being over .500 is a feat for the Orioles in recent years. They haven't won more than 70 games since 2006 and haven't finished a season above .500 since 1997 when they lost in the American League Championship Series.

The other good news for the Orioles is that Wieters is starting to swing the bat again. He went 3-for-4 with a walk in Sunday's game and has raised his batting average 29 points since the beginning of June.

In lieu of just one standout performance, the efficient player of the week goes to the Seattle Six.

Six different Seattle Mariners pitchers combined on a historic no-hitter on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The fourth no-hitter of the 2012 season was by far the least conventional.

Kevin Millwood started the game and went six strong innings. Then five different relievers finished off the no-no.

Relievers Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen all combined to finish off the 1-0 win. The six pitchers tied the record for most pitchers used in a no-hitter and was the 10th time in major-league history that a team combined on a no-hitter.

Pryor earned his first major-league win after facing just one batter. Pryor relieved Furbush in the seventh inning with a runner on second but got Juan Rivera to strike out to the end inning. Wilhelmsen worked the ninth for his third save of the season.

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