Baysox imitate O's homer parade

There is an old cliche about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, an idea the Bowie Baysox took a bit literally Tuesday.

Joel Guzman, Joe Mahoney and Brandon Waring hit three consecutive homers in a seven-run fourth inning en route to Bowie's 10-5 victory, moments after Major League counterparts Luke Scott, Ty Wigginton and Adam Jones, did the same in Baltimore's 11-10 win in 13 innings over Tampa Bay.

"It was crazy," Mahoney said. "I've only gone back-to-back a few times in my life, and I've never gone back-to-back-to back. That inning we scored seven runs with two outs, that's something you don't see a lot."

Mahoney, playing in just his 10th Double-A game, made his point further in the sixth with his second homer of the night. Five of Bowie's 14 hits on Tuesday left the park.

Neither Waring or Mahoney had yet heard about the similar fireworks over in Baltimore after the game Tuesday. Both were impressed with the milestones, though.

"It's pretty odd, especially for that to happen on the same night," said Waring, who was the 2009 Carolina League MVP with Class A Advanced Frederick. "That's our parent club right too, it's pretty rare."

Waring, a former seventh-round pick, has 17 home runs this year, with four coming over his last seven games. Guzman's shot was his team-leading 20th -- he also leads Bowie with 63 RBIs.

Mahoney, though, is new to the party. He was promoted from Frederick two weeks ago and homered in his Double-A debut against Trenton on July 9. The Albany, N.Y. native hit safely in seven of his first 10 games at the new level, with eight RBIs in that span.

"It was fun, it's nice having a good hitter in front and behind you," Mahoney said. "I'm just kinda like the middle man."

Mahoney has apparently adjusted quickly to Double-A hitting -- he said he picked up on Binghamton starter Michael Antonini's pitching pattern in his first at-bat and just knew what to expect a second time around.

"He had a sequence in my first at-bat, so I was sitting on his curve," he said. "1-1, I got the pitch and put a good swing on it."

Bowie's lineup did, in fact, have a bit of Baltimore to it as former All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts batted leadoff in a rehab start, finishing 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Waring said the lineup has been clicking well anyway.

"I like having Guzy up there and Mahoney, they're both big, strong guys," he said. "We're doing our part to drive in runs."

Waring's shot capped the rally and came after Antonini was chased following Mahoney's tater.

"I wasn't even thinking about it," Waring said. "They made a pitching change, I got ahead in the count, got a fastball and hit it down the line ... knocked it out barely. It was a good thing to be a part of."

Waring said the rare trio of homers didn't kick off a huge celebration.

"Honestly, nobody was really fired up," he said. "It was a big inning and that homer was the cap, but I think everybody was enjoying the moment."

Baltimore native Steve Johnson started for Bowie, striking out 10 and allowing two unearned runs over six innings.