Núñez homers twice, Valaika collects four hits in 9-5 win (updated)

Cedric Mullins is going to bunt. José Iglesias is going to collect doubles as if it's his hobby. Renato Núñez is going to be a streaky home run hitter.

The Orioles can be an unpredictable bunch, but there are certain truths that hold over an entire season.

They were responsible for staking Asher Wojciechowski to a quick lead tonight, casting the latest homestand and month of September in a positive light. It became a flicker in the next inning, with Wojciechowski giving back two runs and throwing 32 pitches.

Another truth about this team: It rarely is able to create a sizeable margin and let its manager coast.

Brandon Hyde had to use his bullpen again in the middle innings, a more stressful phone call given the subtractions. Andrés Giménez hit his first major league homer, a two-run shot off Thomas Eshelman in the sixth that tied the game, but Pat Valaika's first career four-hit game included an RBI double in the bottom half.

Anthony Santander lined a two-run homer to right-center field later in the inning and Núñez homered again in the seventh. Paul Fry, Hunter Harvey and Tanner Scott kept the Mets from crossing the plate and the Orioles posted a 9-5 victory at Camden Yards.

A second straight win improved the Orioles to 16-19 overall and 7-13 at home. Their last three victories were by one run. Tonight's margin was their largest since Aug. 15 against the Nationals.

Wojciechowski retired seven of his last eight batters to complete five innings for the fourth time in seven starts. He allowed three runs and seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Robinson Canó homered in the third to reduce the lead to 5-3, but Wojciechowski retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts in an 11-pitch fourth.

Rio Ruiz walked to lead off the sixth, moved up on Franklyn Kilone's wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on Valaika's double. Santander's 11th homer of the season increased the lead to 8-5.

Santander's ball traveled 405 feet with a 109 mph exit velocity and 18 degree launch angle, according to Statcast data.

Valaika had his first three-hit game since Aug. 13, 2017 in Miami while playing for the Rockies - until he lined a single into left field in the seventh. Núñez had his second multi-homer game of the summer and fourth of his career.

Mullins leads the majors with seven bunt hits and he reached tonight against Mets starter Ariel Jurado in the first inning. Santander popped up, but Iglesias delivered his 12th double among his 31 hits to put two runners in scoring position and Núñez parked a 93 mph fastball over the center field fence.

Núñez had five home runs in the first seven games in August and 14 days passed before he found the seats again. He's hit four in the last seven games.

Iglesias singled in the eighth inning and has registered six consecutive multi-hit games and seven in his last eight. He's batting .405 with a .972 OPS.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Iglesias was just the fourth player in Orioles history to hit at least .400 through his first 20 games with the team (minimum 50 at-bats). He joined Frank Robinson in 1966 (30-for-74, .405), David Newhan in 2004 (30-for-74, .405) and Tim Beckham in 2017 (36-for-85, .424).

Hyde keeps searching for combinations that will jumpstart an offense that has a tendency to become sluggish. Yesterday's game marked the first time that he used a duplicate batting order, matching the one he posted Saturday.

Three teams in the majors haven't used the same lineup twice, including the Mets, who did fine in spurts with tonight's entry. The Rays and Mariners are the others.

The Orioles used 150 different orders in their 162 games last season.

Mullins led off tonight while Hanser Alberto nursed a sore knee. He laid down a sacrifice bunt in the second after singles by Valaika and Andrew Velazquez, and Santander singled for a 4-2 lead.

Jurado's first Mets start wasn't going in his scrapbook.

Velazquez scored on Iglesias' ground ball, the Orioles led 5-2 and the game already had exceeded one hour.

Wojciechowski got a double play and strikeout in an 11-pitch first inning, but the Mets collected three hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly in the second and the pace slowed as if exposed to an anesthetic.

Canó's home run onto the flag court in the third inning was his 31st versus the Orioles, his highest total against any opponent. But he flied out to strand a runner in the fifth on Wojciechowski's 88th and final pitch.

Harvey allowed a single and struck out two batters on 98 and 97 mph fastballs in the eighth. Scott was given the ninth in a non-save situation and retired the side in order.

* The Orioles held a moment of silence before the game for longtime scout Fred Uhlman Sr., a member of the team's Hall of Fame who died on Sunday at 90.

Uhlman spent 46 years in professional scouting, including three decades with the Orioles, before retiring in 2015. He established their first baseball academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and was responsible for signing Jeff Ballard, Steve Finley, Gregg Olson, Arthur Rhodes and David Segui.

Uhlman's son, Fred Jr., currently serves as Padres vice president and assistant general manager. He joined San Diego's organization after 10 years in the Orioles' scouting and player development departments.

Hyde on the margin: "You're never totally comfortable and that's a really good lineup and a really good top of the order. Their first half of the order can do a ton of damage, so you're always kind of thinking the worst. We haven't had many games where we've had a four-run lead. Just happy with our offense today. We had a bunch of guys swing the bat really, really well. It was nice to see guys drive the ball in the gap. We've been a little bit of a rut offensively and tonight we got some pitches to drive and didn't miss them. Was nice to see us continue to pile on runs in the middle of the game."

Hyde on bunts: "It's personnel driven. I think the bunt is appropriate at the right time with the right people."

Wojciechowski on working five innings: "I wanted to go deeper and I wanted to go out there for the sixth, but given with how the second inning went, I thought I really found a good rhythm in the third inning on. I made a mistake to Canó, but other than that, I thought I threw the ball really well. But the second inning, throwing that many pitches, it seems to be an issue that I need to correct. These last few outings I'm having one inning where it's just eating up my pitch count. I feel like if I eliminate that I'm going to give us a good chance every time."

Núñez on whether he felt that he'd heat up: "I feel like I was putting some good swings the last couple days and nothing. It's just the work I've been putting in every single day with the hitting coach (Don Long) and you've got to make adjustments, so that's what I'm trying to do. And I got two homers to help the team today."