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BALTIMORE -- Baltimore's Nolan Reimold has not had a lot of at-bats lately so he began taking practice swings in the cage underneath Camden Yards late in the game against Cleveland. The reserve outfielder wanted to make sure he was ready if manager Buck Showalter called on him.
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That extra work paid off in a big way.
Reimold roped a pinch-hit, two-run homer off the Indians' Cody Allen in the ninth inning and the Orioles completed a three-game sweep with a 5-3 victory Sunday.
"I haven't been swinging the bat very well lately as it is," said Reimold, who is batting .254 with five homers. "You just have to do what you can to be ready when you're called."
After losing three straight games to the New York Yankees that knocked them out of first place, the Orioles rebounded this series and once again sit atop the American League East. Despite the losses, the Indians are still in first in the AL Central.
"We try to win every game home and away and it's worked out a little bit more at home this year and we're just trying to win more games than four other teams in our division," Showalter said. "Obviously, our fans are very supportive and create a good atmosphere, but we have a lot of fans on the road, too. We don't overthink it."
Jonathan Schoop gave Baltimore a 3-2 lead in the fifth with his 17th homer of the season. The Indians tied the game in the eighth on an RBI single by Mike Napoli off Brad Brach.
The Orioles rallied in the ninth when Pedro Alvarez struck out but took first base when catcher Roberto Perez dropped the ball and then hit Alvarez in the back with an errant throw to first. Alvarez moved to second on a bunt by Ryan Flaherty, and two batters later, Reimold hit a 2-0 pitch off Allen (2-4) for his homer.
"I think he didn't move his feet," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said about Perez. "We talked to him about that all the time. You don't ever want anybody to learn the lesson the hard way and he did."
Orioles' set-up man Darren O'Day (3-1) came off the disabled list earlier in the day from a strained right hamstring and threw a scoreless inning to pick up the win. Baltimore improved to 45-2 when leading after seven innings.
The Orioles are still looking to solidify the back end of the starting rotation. As a result, Vance Worley got his fourth start of the season and showed he could be a viable option moving forward. He allowed two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks over seven innings.
Worley retired the final 11 batters he faced. The Orioles' starters had an 0.95 ERA against Cleveland in the series.
"I was able to use all of my pitches to both sides and feel confident in all of them," Worley said. "I think today we threw more curveballs and more changeups to kind of keep guys off balance instead of just fastball and cutters."
The Indians' Corey Kluber did not allow a baserunner until Caleb Joseph flare a one-out single to right in the third. Kluber allowed three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and one walk over seven innings.
The Indians got their offense going in the fourth when Jose Ramirez walked and Lonnie Chisenhall followed with a single. Two batters later, Tyler Naquin hit an RBI double off the left-field wall for a 1-0 lead. It was the first time Cleveland led in the three-game series.
A sacrifice fly by Roberto Perez provided another run that inning.
"(Worley) is kind of a mix and match guy," said Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis. "He's not going to overpower you. I thought we got guys on. We just couldn't get them in at first. It was a close game and well-pitched by both sides."
Baltimore responded in the bottom half of the fourth when Schoop led off with a double and scored on a single by Manny Machado. The Orioles tied the game 2-2 later that inning on a fielder's choice by Alvarez that was initially ruled an inning-ending double play. However, Showalter challenged the call and after a 54-second review, the play was overturned.
NOTES: To make room for O'Day, LHP Donnie Hart was optioned to Double-A Bowie ... The Indians' Perez caught back-to-back days since coming off the DL on July 18 from an injured right thumb. "I checked with him first and I checked with the trainers and they were fine with it," Francona said." ... Baltimore RF Hyun Soo Kim (strained right hamstring) has been on the DL since July 19, retroactive to July 11. Kim was scheduled to serve as the DH on Sunday at Double-A Bowie and play the outfield the following day. If there are no setbacks, Kim could be activated as early as Tuesday, according to Showalter.
