Rafael Palmeiro was the first Orioles player dressed in full uniform on Thursday, the first player to march into the home dugout at Camden Yards about three hours before the game and the only one who had more than 100 members of the news media waiting for him.
Every move Palmeiro made was scrutinized, and the few syllables he offered were analyzed, as he returned from a 10-day suspension for violating baseball's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Palmeiro's agent, Arn Tellem, had said he would not speak publicly, but the Orioles persuaded Palmeiro to answer questions.
He spoke for less than five minutes, declining to discuss his positive test for steroids and his denial during a congressional hearing five months ago that he had ever used them. The interview ended seconds after Palmeiro was quizzed about testing positive for stanozolol, a potent steroid.
PHOTO: AP
"The time will come, and soon hopefully, where I can explain my situation," he said.
Palmeiro said he was happy to return and eager to play again, though he did not play in Thursday's game. He said he had done little conditioning during his suspension and was wary of rushing back. Alejandro Freire, a 30-year-old who made his major league debut on Tuesday, started at first base on Thursday as the Orioles, without Palmeiro, stopped the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-2.
Sam Perlozzo, Baltimore's interim manager, said it might take Palmeiro two days of working out before he would be ready to start. The Orioles play here through Sunday before starting a six-game trip.
"I'm not sure when I'm going to play," Palmeiro said. "I'm sure, in the next couple of days, I'll get out there on the field."
Palmeiro was not on the field during the national anthem and remained inconspicuous during the game. He knelt on the stairs leading to the dugout in the early innings, but later emerged to wave to some fans. A few "Raf-fy! Raf-fy!" chants were barely audible.
Palmeiro said after the game that he had spoken to each of his teammates individually and that the conversations were positive. He did not say whether he apologized.
There were fewer than 100 fans in the stands during pregame drills. Shortstop Miguel Tejada put his arm around Palmeiro's shoulder in a show of support. But when Tejada raised Palmeiro's left arm playfully as if he had won a heavyweight bout, Palmeiro quickly lowered it.
During batting practice, Palmeiro swatted liners to the outfield. He heard nothing derisive from the mostly young fans who had arrived early.
Paige Horn, 12, stood behind the Orioles' dugout holding an orange sign that said, "Welcome Back Raffy."
Once Palmeiro finished working out, he signed two autographs for her and also signed pictures, baseballs and gloves for about 25 other fans.
Some spectators offered their opinions through their attire. AP reported that four fans had worn orange jerseys with "Hall of Shame" and a syringe on the front, and Palmeiro's No. 25 on the back.
Palmeiro said he had no timetable for elaborating on his situation because he wanted to let Congress finish investigating his case.
He said his lawyers advised him to remain silent. That silence continued when Palmeiro was asked if he had damaged his credibility.
"I can't answer that right now," he said. "I'll answer that when the time is right."
Jason Kendall alertly dashed home from third base with the winning run when Los Angeles' miffed closer Francisco Rodriguez flubbed a return throw from his catcher, and Oakland rallied to defeat the Angels 5-4 on Thursday.
Eric Chavez hit a tying three-run homer in the seventh for the A's, who rallied from a four-run deficit. They took two of three to stand alone in first place in the American League West for the first time this season -- but not even the freewheeling A's could have predicted this finish.
"I've never seen that in my life, but that stuff happens in baseball," Kendall said. "You learn early on that you're supposed to always follow the ball. I saw it rolling away, and I didn't think he'd get it back in time. Fortunately for us, I was right."
Chavez was at the plate again in the ninth with two runners on and two out. After Rodriguez's first pitch was called a ball, the right-hander stared in and nonchalantly stuck out his glove for catcher Jose Molina's throw -- but it glanced away.
"I pointed at the ball, and by the time I looked at Kendall, he had already taken off," said Bobby Crosby, who reached second base on defensive indifference a moment earlier. ``I was in shock. I was like, `Are you kidding me?'"
Kendall sprinted home and beat the throw. The victory capped a surge of 20 wins in 23 games since the A's trailed Los Angeles by 8 1/2 games on July 18.
Scot Shields (7-8) allowed two singles in the ninth before Rodriguez took over.
All-Star Justin Duchscherer (6-2) pitched two hitless innings to win for the second straight day.
Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1
At Toronto, Scott Downs and two relievers combined on a two-hitter and Toronto handed Detroit its sixth loss in seven games.
Frank Catalanotto hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays, who outhit the Tigers 4-2. Toronto took three of four from Detroit after losing the opener.
Downs (1-2) allowed one run on two hits. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter in seven-plus innings for his first victory since shutting out the Chicago Cubs while he was with Montreal in September 2004.
Starter Jeremy Bonderman (13-8) lost his third straight start despite pitching a four-hitter for his third complete game of the season.
Orioles 4, Devil Rays 2
At Baltimore, the Orioles welcomed back Rafael Palmeiro, then beat Tampa Bay while he watched from the dugout.
Bruce Chen pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, and Javy Lopez homered and scored twice to lead Baltimore to a three-game sweep.
Baltimore is 5-2 under interim manager Sam Perlozzo, who took over for Lee Mazzilli three days after Palmeiro received a 10-day suspension from Major League Baseball for using steroids.
Chen (9-6) struck out five and walked none.
B.J. Ryan worked a perfect ninth to complete the four-hitter and earn his 25th save.
Doug Waechter (4-8) was the loser.
Yankees 9, Rangers 8
At New York, Derek Jeter hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning after the Yankees' bullpen blew a strong spot start by Scott Proctor for Texas.
Proctor was making his first big league start in place of Randy Johnson, who was skipped because of a bad back. Proctor held Texas to three hits -- two on solo homers to David Dellucci -- before leaving with a 6-2 lead after five-plus innings.
Trailing 8-4 in the seventh, Texas scored four runs off Felix Rodriguez, and Tanyon Sturtze (4-1), who gave up a tying three-run home run to Michael Young.
After Jeter homered off James Baldwin (0-2) in the bottom half, the Rangers loaded the bases in the eighth against Tom Gordon with two outs on a hit and two walks.
Mariano Rivera relieved and got Dellucci to hit a popup on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat. Rivera then got three outs for his 31st consecutive save.
Indians 4, Royals 2
At Kansas Vity, Missouri, Jeff Liefer hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to help Cleveland hand Kansas City its franchise-record 13th consecutive loss.
The Royals broke their team record of 12 straight losses set in 1997.
The Indians, who have won 14 of their past 18, went 6-0 on a road trip for the first time since May 1-6, 2001.
Royals starter D.J. Carrasco (5-6) limited the Indians to two hits in the first six innings before running into trouble in the seventh.
Kevin Millwood (6-9) held the Royals to eight hits and two runs in seven innings.
Bob Wickman worked the ninth for his league-leading 32nd save in 37 opportunities.
New York Mets right fielder Mike Cameron was taken off the field on a stretcher following a frightening head-to-head collision with center fielder Carlos Beltran in a 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Thursday.
Cameron lay on the field and was tended to by trainers from both teams before being taken to Mercy Hospital. He broke his nose, had multiple fractures of both cheekbones and a slight concussion, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said. Cameron underwent two CT scans and was to be hospitalized overnight. He was placed on the disabled list.
"I don't remember anything of what happened," Beltran said. "I don't remember how it happened, I know we got hit. I feel like I got hit by a train."
Beltran walked off the field, and left the game with a sore left shoulder and a cut on the face.
Neither caught the ball, and pinch-hitter David Ross ended up with a triple. Joe Randa drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.
Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 30th save in 32 chances and the 423rd of his career, leaving him one shy of tying John Franco for second on the all-time list.
San Diego's Woody Williams (6-8) got his first win in four decisions. He went seven innings, allowing one run and six hits, striking out a season-high eight and walking one.
Tom Glavine (8-10) lost for the seventh time in nine road decisions this season.
"It stinks that we lost and it stinks that one of our buddies got hurt," said Glavine.
Pirates 11, Rockies 3
At Denver, Jose Castillo had a two-run triple among his three hits, and Jason Bay had three hits and scored three times to lead Pittsburgh.
Castillo drove in three runs and has eight RBIs in his last six games. Bay went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases.
Ryan Doumit added three hits for the Pirates who have won 13 of the last 18 meetings with Colorado.
Josh Fogg (6-7) won for only the second time in 13 starts. Fogg, 2-4 over that span, allowed three runs and six hits. He also drove in a run.
The Pirates roughed up Jeff Francis (11-8), who allowed six runs and six hits.
Cubs 11, Cardinals 4
At Chicago, Greg Maddux pitched his first complete game in more than a year, Derrek Lee hit two home runs and the Cubs snapped their eight-game losing streak.
Maddux (9-9) allowed 12 hits in going the distance for the first time since July 2004. He won his 314th game, tying Gaylord Perry for 16th place on the major leagues' all-time list.
Aramis Ramirez was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Corey Patterson had three hits, scored two and drove in one for the Cubs.
Cardinals starter Mark Mulder (13-6) again struggled in a day game, tying a season high with seven runs allowed on nine hits in four innings.
Diamondbacks 3, Marlins 1
In Miami, Troy Glaus and Chad Tracy homered in Arizona's three-run eighth, and Brandon Webb (10-8) limited Florida to four hits and a walk in eight innings.
Tracy tied it in the eighth with a leadoff shot off left-hander Valerio de los Santos (1-2), who left after allowing Luis Gonzalez's single.
Antonio Alfonseca relieved and got Tony Clark to ground to first as Gonzalez advanced to second. Glaus followed with a towering drive into the left-field stands.
Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Juan Pierre had an RBI single in the fifth for the Marlins' lone run.
Giants 5, Braves 3
Atlanta, Randy Winn hit a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh inning and San Francisco avoided a sweep in Atlanta.
One night after scoring three runs off John Smoltz in the ninth -- only to lose 5-4 in the 12th -- the Giants made this comeback stick.
Tim Hudson (8-7) cruised through the first six innings, striking out a season-high 10 while the Braves built a 3-1 lead. But San Francisco dealt him the loss with a three-run seventh.
Jason Schmidt (9-6) gave up eight hits and three runs in six innings to beat his original team. Tyler Walker pitched the ninth for his 20th save.
Atlanta's Marcus Giles, who drove in the winning run Wednesday, stretched his career-best hitting streak to 15 games, falling a homer short of the cycle.
Astros 6, Nationals 3
At Houston, Andy Pettitte won for the sixth time in eight starts, and Brad Ausmus had a three-run double in the sixth inning as Houston downed Washington.
Pettitte (10-8) struck out five in eight innings and allowed four hits, his last a two-run homer to Preston Wilson in the seventh.
Ryan Drese (3-6) lost his fifth straight start for the Nationals, who have dropped five of their last six to fall three games behind Houston in the NL wild-card race.
Lance Berkman also doubled and drove in two runs for the Astros.
Jose Guillen, making his first start in five games after sitting out with a sore left shoulder, hit his 20th homer in the ninth for Washington.
Dodgers 5, Phillies 1
At Los Angeles, Odalis Perez pitched eight solid innings, and Jeff Kent provided the go-ahead runs with a two-run double to lead Los Angeles past Philadelphia.
Perez (7-6) held the Phillies to one run on five hits and had a season-high eight strikeouts to help the Dodgers avoid a sweep in the three-game series.
Jason Phillips added a solo homer for Los Angeles.
Philadelphia starter Cory Lidle (9-10) had control problems, giving up four runs on five hits and six walks in five innings.
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