BALTIMORE — Adam Jones had heard tales about how Camden Yards used to be when the place was packed and the Orioles were in a pennant race. With one swing, Jones found out for himself just how crazy the place gets.
Jones hit the first of Baltimore's three homers in a wild eighth inning, and the Orioles climbed back into a first-place tie with the Yankees in the AL East by defeating New York 10-6 Thursday night.
Mark Reynolds had two of Baltimore's season-high six homers. Wieters and Robert Andino also connected.
Jones' leadoff homer in the eighth off David Robertson put Baltimore ahead 7-6 after the Yankees rallied from a five-run deficit in the top half.
"I've always asked our trainer, Richie Bancells, how loud can this place get? I always asked that," Jones said. "After I hit that home run, he came up to me and said, 'That's how loud this place can get.' "
Matt Wieters followed with a single and Reynolds hit a drive into the leftfield seats. Chris Davis then slammed the first pitch from Boone Logan over the rightfield wall.
After trailing the Yankees by 10 games on July 18, the surging Orioles pulled even Tuesday, then dropped a game back Wednesday before taking the opener of this series.
"They are playing with a lot of confidence right now," New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez said.
Reynolds, who also went deep in the sixth, has homered in three straight games and has eight long balls in his last seven. With Reynolds leading the way, the Orioles hit a half-dozen home runs in a game for the first time since Aug. 28, 2007, against Tampa Bay.
This is the first time since 1997 that the Orioles have been in the hunt for a playoff berth. The fans reacted accordingly, cheering from the first pitch to the very end.
"You couldn't ask for better," manager Buck Showalter said. "A special environment. Really appreciative. It helped."
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