THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BALTIMORE - Booed at the outset by the smallest crowd in Camden Yards history, Aubrey Huff received cheers from the cozy gathering after driving in four runs to rally the Baltimore Orioles past the Tampa Bay Rays 9-6 on Wednesday night.
Huff hit a two-run homer to pull the Orioles to 6-5 in the sixth inning, then doubled in two runs in the eighth to put Baltimore ahead for the first time.
Home fans jeered huff during the opener on Monday and again on Wednesday because of derogatory comments he made about the city of Baltimore on a syndicated radio show during the off-season. But the booing subsided after his home run, and the fans happily applauded after Huff's double in the gap off Al Reyes (0-1) in the eighth.
Ramon Hernandez followed with a sacrifice fly and Adam Jones capped the four-run uprising with an RBI single.
All this occurred before 10,505 fans - the tiniest crowd since the ballpark opened in 1992.
Jamie Walker (1-0) struck out the side in the eighth and George Sherrill worked the ninth to earn the save in his Baltimore debut.
Cliff Floyd and Carlos Pena homered for the Rays, who were seeking to win the first two games of the season for only the second time in the franchise's 11-year history.
Carl Crawford had two hits and scored twice for Tampa Bay, and Matt Garza allowed five runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings in debut with the Rays.
Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera gave up six runs, six hits and five walks in four-plus innings. Coming off a dismal season in which he led the majors in losses (18) and walks (108), the right-hander struggled against a team that has never beaten him.
Pena homered in the fifth after a single by Crawford to make it 5-3. The Rays then loaded the bases before scoring a run on a double-play grounder by Dioner Navarro.
But the lead wouldn't last.
After Floyd connected with two on in the first inning, Baltimore's Brian Roberts answered with his 10th career leadoff home run, a shot to center on Garza's second pitch.
The Rays used three walks - one intentional - to load the bases with one out in the third, but Cabrera avoided damage by striking out Willy Aybar and retiring Navarro on a grounder. In the bottom half, Melvin Mora and Nick Markakis hit RBI singles to tie it.
