O's power up to the tune of five homers

BALTIMORE -- Maybe it was the calendar flip, or the fact that the Orioles' offense had posted several multihit games earlier in the week but came up short of a real breakout contest. Perhaps the team desperately wanted to help starter Brad Bergesen -- recalled after a brief exile to Triple-A Norfolk -- get back on track.

There are many theories emerging from Saturday's power-party 12-9 win over the Red Sox but only one overwhelming consensus: The Birds were tired of losing.

"I was talking to Bergesen before I came in, and he said that was the ugliest win he's ever got, but it felt the best that he's ever felt," manager Dave Trembley said. "So he'll take it."

So will the other 24 Orioles, who trotted out to shake hands and exchange hugs postgame with a little extra bounce in their step, an energy that comes with knowing they are no longer winless in a season series.

Baltimore broke out of a season-long slump in a big way, slugging a season-high five homers and spoiling Daisuke Matsuzaka's season debut in front of 35,164 at Camden Yards. It was the first series win for the Orioles since they swept the Blue Jays in October, and they set myriad season highs: runs scored (12), runs scored in an inning (six) and homers.

"We have a lot of young talent, and right now you are seeing it's their time to come through," Miguel Tejada said. "You see what [Matt] Wieters is doing and [Nick] Markakis is doing. Everybody is contributing, and that's what we need. We need the young guys to step up to win the game."

Markakis snapped a career 0-for-12 mark against Dice-K with an RBI single in the first inning, and he drove in another run in the fifth. After Ty Wigginton hit his second homer of the night, this time off reliever Tim Wakefield, the O's put a pair of runners on board with two outs in the sixth, setting up Markakis' 445-foot blast. That homer gave the Orioles a seven-run lead.

"Nick told me around the batting cage today, 'I'm glad [the weather has] finally warmed up,' " Trembley said.

The same can be said for Markakis, who tied a career high with five RBIs and, after a slow start, is batting .349.

"Nick Markakis is a pure hitter," Trembley said. "Nick will be there at the end of the year with the numbers that he usually puts up, and he'll probably put up better numbers this year."

Though Markakis' homer gave the Orioles a much-needed cushion, it was Wieters' homer that really turned the tide, capping a six-run fifth.

After the O's plated a run in the first, Matsuzaka retired the next 12 batters before Wigginton blasted a one-out shot on a 2-0 offering. Rookie Rhyne Hughes followed with a single. Nolan Reimold drew a five-pitch walk and took out shortstop Marco Scutaro, allowing Cesar Izturis safe passage to first and avoiding an inning-ending double play.

Reimold's hustle paid dividends, as Adam Jones legged out an infield single with a slow roller to third base, scoring Hughes, and Markakis followed with his second RBI single. Wieters broke it open with his three-run homer over the left-field wall.

"[Matsuzaka] probably just left some pitches over the plate," Wigginton said of the Orioles' turnaround. "That's what it boils down to. To that point, he really didn't make any mistakes. He was pretty much taking it to us."

Added Tejada: "Everybody was tired of going to the plate and making an out. But nobody quit. Even with two outs, we just continued to have at good at-bats."

The Orioles' persistence, combined with a fatigued Dice-K, did the trick. The Orioles chased Matsuzaka from the game after just 4 2/3 innings and proceeded to put up four runs on Wakefield, who made his first relief appearance of any kind since 2004. Luke Scott added a solo shot off Wakefield in the seventh.

Bergesen allowed two solo homers and another pair of runs in the fourth but hunkered down to toss a scoreless fifth, aided by Tejada's run-saving play at third. With two outs and Scutaro on second, Tejada robbed Kevin Youkilis of a single, making a diving stop, spinning and coming up with the inning-ending out at first.

"[It] gave us a big lift," Trembley said of Tejada's putout. "[It] put a zero up on the board when they were really trying to add on. [The play] got our guys in to hit, and the momentum of the game changed on that one play."

"The timing of it was just great," Bergesen said.

The right-hander was admittedly not at his best, missing with his fastball location on both homers, but he got through five innings and collected his first win of the season.

"It was by far the ugliest 'W' I have ever had," he said. "But it is such a funny game, so I will take it any way I can."

So will the Orioles, who closed the book on a disappointing 5-18 April and are hopeful that the win can jump-start their season.

"We [put] April behind us, which wasn't the most pleasant of circumstances, but you've got to put it behind you, and you have to keep fighting," Trembley said. "You have to trust and have confidence in yourself and in your team. It's that simple. And know that sooner or later, things are going to get better. But you have to make it get better."

Brittany Ghiroli is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.