Not only did he respond with a solid night, he also enabled the rest of the Orioles hitters to return to their comfortable slots in the order.

"It forces (the opposition) to make decisions. You've got a guy hitting behind him with 100 RBIs," manager Dave Trembley said of Mora's spot in the order before cleanup hitter Aubrey Huff. "It allows me to put Nick (Markakis) in the two-hole, and with (leadoff man Brian) Roberts, the first four guys in your lineup, our goal is to get those first four guys up and get to the fifth guy in the first inning."

The top five slots in the order combined to go 8-for-22 with five runs and four RBIs.

Mora went 2-for-5 with two RBIs in his Thursday return. The two runs batted in bring Mora within one RBI of 100 for the season. Mora would join Huff, who has 103 RBIs, in the century club. Mora's career high was 104 RBIs in 2004 -- the only time he's reached triple digits in his career.

ORIOLES 6, INDIANS 3: Brian Bass got the Orioles into the fifth inning in a spot start -- his first as an Oriole -- and the bullpen held the lead with 4 2/3 shutout innings. After beginning the series in an eight-game losing streak, the Orioles earned a split of the four-game set against Cleveland.