Orioles  2    Phillies  1

Baltimore Orioles (31-37) at Philadelphia Phillies (36-30), 1:35 p.m.

Sports Network | June 21, 2009

(Sports Network) - Gregg Zaun and Brian Roberts ripped the hearts out of the Philadelphia fans in last night's big rally for Baltimore's fourth straight win. Today the duo will try to lead the Orioles to a fifth consecutive victory in the finale of a three-game interleague set with the home-struggling Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

The Orioles entered the ninth inning down 5-4 until Gregg Zaun belted a solo home run off of Phillies closer Ryan Madson to even the score. Brian Roberts later came to the plate with a runner on and silenced the frenzy crowd with the go-ahead two-run blast to keep Baltimore's winning streak intact. The Orioles last won five straight games from May 25-29 this season, but are still 10 games off the lead in the AL East.

Roberts ended with four runs batted in and Zaun had three hits for Baltimore, which has won six of seven overall and will also visit the Florida Marlins on the road swing. O's rookie hurler Brad Bergesen was taken off the hook after allowing four runs in 6 1/3 innings in the no-decision and Mark Hendrickson posted the win for getting two outs in the eighth inning. George Sherrill earned his 14th save with a perfect ninth.

"I left a couple balls up," Bergesen said on the team's site. "Third time through the lineup, they'd seen me a couple times, and they got me. With that momentum shift, 45,000 fans screaming, for us to come back like that in the ninth was unbelievable."

Taking the hill for Baltimore today will be Jeremy Guthrie, who has dropped three straight starts and is winless in his last four outings -- all losses for the Orioles. He last toed the rubber in a 6-4 loss to the New York Mets on June 16, when he allowed five runs -- three earned -- in 6 1/3 innings.

The right-hander has allowed three or more in four straight outings and hasn't fared too well on the road this season as evidenced by his 1-3 mark and 8.53 earned run average in five away starts.

Guthrie, who is 4-7 in 14 total starts in 2009, has never faced Philadelphia.

The Phillies have dropped a season-worst five in a row and fell to 1-7 on a nine-game homestand following last night's heart-breaking loss. Ryan Howard highlighted a five-run seventh inning with a pinch-hit three-run homer, but the heroics were wasted when Madson came on in the ninth inning.

Howard did not start on Saturday because of the flu and was hospitalized after Friday's game with a fever that reached as high as 104 degrees. Howard's major-league best streak of 343 consecutive games was safe after manager Charlie Manuel called upon his services in the seventh.

"We've got to reach down and battle through this," Manuel said on the team's Web site. "We'll stay positive and come out to play well and go to win the game tomorrow."

Chase Utley and Greg Dobbs each knocked in a run for the Phillies, who still lead the NL East by two games over the New York Mets and fell to 13-21 at Citizens Bank Park this season. Madson was saddled with the loss and blown save, allowing three runs on three hits in the ninth. J.A. Happ started for the Phils and was reached for two runs and 10 hits in six innings.

Phillies ace Cole Hamels gets the ball Sunday and is 4-0 over the past nine trips to the rubber, with Philly going 7-2 over that stretch. Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP, posted a no-decision the previous time out in an 8-3 loss to Toronto on June 16.

Hamels left the game charged with two runs and seven hits in six innings before the bullpen imploded. Hamels, who is 2-1 in seven home starts in 2009, currently sports a 4-2 record over 12 starts with a 4.48 ERA.

The left-hander faced Baltimore during his rookie campaign in a 7-4 setback on June 28, 2006 and was reached for seven runs and nine hits through five innings to suffer the loss.

Baltimore won two of three meetings with Philadelphia from June 28-29, 2006 at Camden Yards, but the Phillies are 8-6 over the previous 14 matchups.