CINCINNATI (AP) -- Melvin Mora outshined one of baseball's

greatest collections of power hitters.

Mora's three-run homer Friday night sent the Baltimore Orioles

to a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds and stole the spotlight

from three of the best home run hitters of all time -- Sammy Sosa,

Rafael Palmeiro and Ken Griffey Jr.

"Oh my God," Mora said, contemplating what he'd done. "That's

a good feeling when you've got a lot of guys who hit home runs like

that. I don't consider myself a home run hitter. I just try to hit

it hard somewhere."

The Orioles are visiting Cincinnati for the first time since the

1970 World Series, which third baseman Brooks Robinson turned into

his showcase. Baltimore won the series, 4-1.

The focus was on the long ball, not leather, in their return.

The interleague matchup marked the first time that three

500-homer players appeared in the same game -- Sosa (580), Palmeiro

(559) and Griffey, who hit a solo shot in the eighth for No. 511.

"To have two other guys on the field who've done it ... they're

not just good players, but they're good people as well," Griffey

said. "They've done it. You want to try to keep them off the

bases, or at least keep them on the bases and not circling them.

"It's weird. It's exciting to be out there with two other guys

like that."

The trio went 3-for-11, with Griffey providing the only hit of

any note. Sosa, who hit No. 500 at Great American Ball Park two

years ago, had a particularly rough time, striking out in his three

at-bats.

Instead, Mora made the difference with his 89th career homer, a

shot off Aaron Harang (4-4) that put the Orioles ahead to stay in

the third. Mora also doubled and scored in the eighth.

Rodrigo Lopez (5-2) rebounded from his shortest outing of the

season, a three-inning start against Detroit last Saturday. The

right-hander gave up Felipe Lopez's solo homer in the third, and

narrowly avoided worse trouble.

Cincinnati failed to score after loading the bases with none out

in the fifth. Griffey's bunt single against a shifted infield and

Palmeiro's fielding error loaded the bases again in the sixth with

one out. Left-hander Steve Kline let in a run with a wild pitch

before preserving a 3-2 lead.

"Without question, that was the key to the game," Reds manager

Dave Miley said. "With the way Harang was pitching, getting one or

two could have been key there. The opportunities were there. We

just didn't get it done."

Mora doubled off Kent Mercker in the eighth and came around when

left fielder Adam Dunn took the wrong angle on Miguel Tejada's line

drive, which fell for a double.

Griffey's 10th homer of the season off John Parrish in the

eighth tied Mel Ott for 18th on the career list. B.J. Ryan struck

out the side in the ninth for his 16th save in 18 chances.

The Reds were coming off a sweep of the AL's worst road team,

the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Cincinnati scored 34 runs during the

sweep, its highest total for a three-game home series since 1898.

The Orioles were another matter entirely.

Baltimore is the AL's best offensive team on the road, leading

the league in hitting and homers while averaging 6.5 runs per game.

Mora drove the point home in the third inning with an impressive

at-bat.

After Geronimo Gil singled and David Newhan walked, Mora came up

with two outs and worked Harang to a full count. He fouled off

three pitches with two strikes, then homered to left field on the

ninth pitch -- a knee-high fastball -- for a 3-0 lead.

"I thought I threw some good pitches at 1-2 and 2-2," said

Harang, who matched his career high with 10 strikeouts in seven

innings. "He did a good job. I threw some good sliders and he

fought them off."Game notes
Before this season, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were the only

teams that the Orioles had not faced in interleague play. ...

Baltimore improved to 6-5 on a four-city, 13-game trip that is its

longest of the season. ... 2B Brian Roberts (strained right

shoulder) was back in the Orioles' lineup for the first time since

May 31. ... C/1B Eli Marrero joined the team two days after he was

acquired from Kansas City in a trade. He pinch hit and drew a walk.

... LF B.J. Surhoff had his 12-game hitting streak snapped. ...

Griffey extended his hitting streak to 13 games. ... INF Anderson

Machado (rebuilt left knee) started a rehab assignment with

Triple-A Louisville on Friday and left the game with pain in the

knee. He'll be examined again.