the turnaround atop the leaderboard. Watney rolled in another 15-foot putt

  BALTIMORE -- Given their play of late, the Baltimore Orioles couldnt possibly have expected to come out on the winning end of a high-scoring, back-and-forth duel. . With some late-inning heroics, the Orioles did just that. Ryan Flaherty singled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh, Matt Wieters hit a three-run homer, and the Orioles broke out of their offensive funk with a 9-8 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night. On a steamy night in which temperatures reached 100 degrees, both teams worked up a sweat circling the bases. Cleveland had a season-high 16 hits, but the Orioles scored just enough runs to secure their third win in 10 games. "It was a battle," Wieters said. "We havent been able to come out on top of those, and we really worked to get that win." The defeat was costly for the Indians, and not just because they fell 3 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago in the AL Central. Cleveland lost third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall for 4-6 weeks with a broken bone in his right forearm. The injury occurred when he was hit by a pitch by Baltimore reliever Troy Patton. "I had a bad feeling about it," manager Manny Acta said. "Its bad news for us, especially a young kid like him. Its always tough seeing a young guy getting his feet wet, getting better and then all of a sudden, an injury like that." Chris Davis started the Orioles seventh-inning uprising with a two-out single off Joe Smith (5-2). After Wieters walked, Flaherty delivered an RBI single to right. Xavier Avery hit his first major league homer in the eighth to make it 9-7. "When I looked up and I saw it go out, I just started smiling," he said. The Orioles went 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position after going 3 for 52 in that situation over their previous 10 games. It was the first time in 11 games that Baltimore scored more than three runs. "I was so proud of the guys tonight. They just kept grinding," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "They were not going to be denied." Matt Lindstrom (1-0) got the last out in the top of the seventh, Pedro Strop worked a perfect eighth and Jim Johnson earned his 23rd save despite giving up a ninth-inning run. Wieters and Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians both homered onto Eutaw Street, located in front of the B&O Warehouse and far beyond the right-field wall. It was only the second time in the 21-year history of Camden Yards that two balls landed on Eutaw Street in the same game; Rafael Palmeiro did it twice on April 11, 1997. The Orioles trailed 5-4 before Wieters connected against Derek Lowe in the sixth inning. The lead vanished in the seventh, when the Indians pulled even on an RBI double by Shelley Duncan and a run-scoring double play. Duncan entered in the fifth as a pinch runner for Chisenhall. Orioles starter Jake Arrieta gave up five runs and eight hits in 3 2-3 innings, but Baltimores comeback enabled him to avoid becoming the first 10-game loser in the majors this season. Lowe allowed seven runs, four earned, in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander has allowed seven runs in three of his past five starts and is 0-3 in that span. Three of the first four Cleveland batters got hits in the first inning, including an RBI single by Michael Brantley. After going six straight games without an error, Cleveland made two in the bottom half that led to three unearned runs. Brian Roberts reached on a poor throw by first baseman Casey Kotchman and scored when shortstop Cabrera mishandled an RBI grounder by J.J. Hardy. Wilson Betemit followed with a run-scoring double. Cabrera hit his 11th home run, the second in two games, to make it 3-2 in the third. A fielding gaffe by the Orioles fueled a three-run fourth that put Cleveland up 5-3. After Kotchman hit a leadoff single, Flaherty backed away from a fly ball to right-centre hit by Chisenhall, thinking centre fielder Adam Jones would make the catch. The ball dropped between the two for a single, setting the stage for a bases-loaded walk to Shin-Soo Choo and a two-run single by Jason Kipnis that ended Arrietas night. "I got our starter knocked out in the fourth inning because of that," Flaherty said. "Fortunately, we were able to rally around it and come back from it, but still thats not winning baseball." Baltimore closed to 5-4 in the fifth when Robert Andino walked, stole second and scored on a groundout by Avery. NOTES: Roberts snapped a 0-for-16 skid with a second-inning single. He also scored for the first time in 12 games. ... Pattons run of seven straight scoreless outings ended. ... Acta said C Carlos Santana (sore back) will likely be held out of the lineup until Sunday and will return as a DH. Santana hasnt played since Wednesday. ... Betemit had his fifth straight multihit game. ... Dana Eveland will start for Baltimore on Saturday against Josh Tomlin, whos 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA this month. . -- Stephane Robidas knew the Dallas Stars were overdue for a big offensive game, and Ryan Getzlaf figured the Anaheim Ducks couldnt keep up their torrid pace forever. . That was about as rough as things got for Manning on Sunday -- an afternoon he spent piling on in the second half instead of catching up. Off to a fast start for the first time as a Bronco, Manning led Denver to three third-quarter touchdowns in a 37-6 rout over the Oakland Raiders -- the first time Denver has beaten its AFC West rival at home since 2007. .Y. - Sabres owner Terry Pegula says injuries are behind his underachieving teams struggles, and he is confident Buffalo will bounce back in the second half of the season. . The Lachenaie, Que.-native led for almost two-thirds of the race, but fell behind for good after his second pit stop. .cas weekly rundown. Also check out TSN.cas Off-Season Activity Tracker, the Free Agent List, and the CFL Alums in the NFL Tracker. O-Line Shakeup In the wake of Alex Gauthiers release, the Regina Leader-Post takes a look at how the Roughriders offensive line could look next season, and what free agent o-linemen the team could target later this month. FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- The greens were so fast that Sergio Garcia didnt know when the ball was going to stop. He was happy to see the day end with a 2-under 69, giving him a two-shot lead over Nick Watney going into the final round of The Barclays. Garcia fell out of the lead with a three-putt bogey on the third hole, but he didnt have another one the rest of the round on a Bethpage Black course that lived up to its tough reputation Saturday because of greens that reminded players of another course on Long Island. Shinnecock Hills came up more than once. Thats when the USGA lost control of the greens in the final round of the U.S. Open, and even had to water one green in the middle of the round. Bethpage wasnt that bad, but it was close. Watney, who made five putts over 15 feet, three-putted the final hole when his putt went racing 10 feet by the cup. He had to settle for a 71, giving him another round in the final group with Garcia. "Hopefully, the pins will be in spots where theres some grass on the greens and the ball will stop rolling," Watney said. Tiger Woods, who started the third round three shots out of the lead, three-putted for bogey three times on the front nine alone. He had another three-putt on the 14th hole, this one from 15 feet, and had a 72 that put him six shots behind. "I dont remember blowing putts by 8 to 10 feet," Woods said. "So that was a bit of a shocker." Garcia went four years without winning on the PGA Tour and now has a chance to make it two in a row. He was at 10-under 203, and only four players were within four shots of the lead. Kevin Stadler played early, when the greens still had some moisture, and had a remarkable round of 65 without any bogeys. He moved up from a tie for 42nd to alone in third place, three shots behind. Brandt Snedeker started strong and closed with nine pars, which was equally impressive, for a 68 that put him four back. Phil Mickelson might still be in the game. Twice a runner-up at Bethpage Black -- both times in the U.S. Open -- Mickelson played early Saturday and had a 67. That eventually put him in the large group at 4-under 209 that included Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood and Charl Schwartzel, an impressive collection of players who have either won a major or been No. 1 in the world. Garcia can set the tone for the final round. "If Sergio goes out and shoot 4 or 5 under, youve just got to tip your hat," Watney said. His third round was worthy of praise. Of the final 18 players who teed off, Garcia was the only one to break 70. "If you play well, you can shoot a decent score, but as the day goes on, the course just gets harder and harder," Garcia said. "No doubt playing in the morning makes it a little bit easier. . Even though the greens were still firm, they were probably not as firm and probably not quite as fast. Its just we know what Bethpage Black is all about. We know its a tough golf course, and youve just got to realize thats the way its going to be." And so it was. Slugger White, the tours vice-president of rules and competition, disputed the idea that course was on the verge of being unplayable. "The golf course is not unplayable," he said. White conceded a few greens became "crusty," particularly at Nos. 2 and 8, and that the staff was thinking there would be more cloud cover. He went out to the greens after the last group came through and said, "I saw no issues." "Players always want firm and fast," he said. "It seems like when we give them firm and fast, they dont want firm and fast. I hear Tiger say it was too soft on Thursday. And then some guy walks off the tee and says, Have you guys run out of water? Where do you go? Were doing the best we can." Watney didnt entirely agree. "Theres firm and fast, and then theres this," Watney said. "I mean, this is pretty extreme." Also extreme was the turnaround atop the leaderboard. Watney rolled in another 15-foot putt for birdie on the ninth hole, and when Garcia made bogey on the 10th, Watney had a three-shot lead. That didnt last long. With his first poor swing of the day, Watney went from the middle of the 11th fairway to the right bunker and made bogey, while Garcia holed a 20-foot birdie putt. Watney followed with a tee shot well to the left to set up another bogey, and the lead was gone. And on the par-5 13th, Garcia made birdie to take the lead. He never gave it back. Watney took three putts twice over the last four holes, one from long range and down the hill on the 15th, though he accounted for that with a 40-foot birdie from the fringe on the 17th. Thats what made this day so scary. Any putt that missed was likely to roll well beyond the cup, making players more cautious than usual. "This will tell you how fast it was," Garcia said. "Usually when you are putting on fast greens, you have an idea where the ball is going to stop. And today, you didnt. You thought the ball was going to stop 2 feet behind the hole, and it went 6. It was pretty much as simple as that. "Was it unfair? I wouldnt say it was unfair," he said. "It was borderly. It was very close. It felt like the greens were very close to Shinnecock Hills at the U.S. Open." Ernie Els might have summed up the day better than anyone. He finished his 72, sat down for lunch and said, "The boys out there are going to have some fun." ' ' '