LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Baltimore Orioles castoff Jayson Werth was
particularly gratified to get a big hit against them.

Werth hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning, and the Los
Angeles Dodgers beat the Orioles 6-3 Wednesday night.

"They pretty much just gave me up, gave me away for whatever,"
Werth said. "It was good to get that hit against that team. I
think I was 0-for-2 against them."

Werth, a first-round pick by the Orioles and the 22nd player
taken in the 1997 draft, spent four years in the Baltimore farm
system, but never played a game for the Orioles. They traded him to
Toronto in December 2000 for pitcher John Bale.

Odalis Perez (4-3) held Baltimore to one run and five hits in
seven innings, striking out eight. Werth's third homer staked the
left-hander to a 5-0 lead.

Werth's shot into the left-field bullpen came against Matt
Riley, his former batterymate and roommate in the minors.

"Sorry about that," Werth said.

Riley said Werth spoiled his outing.

"Just one swing of the bat can ruin the whole game for you.
He's one of my really good friends and he knows me pretty good,"
Riley said. "He was sitting on a fastball on the inside corner
because he knows that's what I like to do.

"When I get behind, I like to come in with the heater, and he
got his pitch. I'm going to get him sometimes, and he's going to
get me sometimes. That's just how the game works."

Perez got his second win in nine starts, with the lone run
against him coming on Javy Lopez's ninth home run on the first
pitch of the seventh.

The Orioles scored twice in the eighth on an RBI single by
Miguel Tejada against Duaner Sanchez, and Rafael Palmeiro's
sacrifice fly against Tom Martin.

Eric Gagne replaced Martin and struck out Lopez on three pitches
to end the inning. Gagne finished for his 15th save and major
league-record 78th in a row.

Perez (4-3) has pitched well but been hurt by a lack of
offensive support much of this season, with his two losses in his
last nine outings a 4-0 defeat against Cincinnati and a 2-0 loss to
Atlanta.

He had five no-decisions during that span, allowing a total of
nine runs in the five games.

This time, however, his teammates provided him a 6-0 pad in the
fifth inning against the Orioles, who lost for the eighth time in
11 games.

"We got seven great innings from Odalis Perez, and it's good to
see us score some runs," Los Angeles manager Jim Tracy said.

It was the third homer for Werth, who was acquired from Toronto
on March 30 for pitcher Jason Frasor and has spent much of the
season on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his rib cage.

Riley allowed five runs on seven hits in four innings. He struck
out five.

The Dodgers' first run came on Shawn Green's RBI infield single
in the third. Cesar Izturis made it 2-0 with a dribbler up the
third base line for an RBI single just before Werth's homer in the
fourth.

Jose Hernandez drove in another run with a broken-bat single in
the fifth for a 6-0 lead.

The Dodgers beat the Orioles 5-1 a night earlier in the opener
of the three-game series. Los Angeles is 4-4 in interleague play,
and Baltimore is 2-5.

Game notes
The Olympic torch relay passed through Dodger Stadium
before the game on its way to Athens. Actor Tom Cruise carried the
torch onto the field, handed off to Olympic gold medal-winning
swimmer Janet Evans, who passed the flame to heavyweight boxing
champion Vitali Klitschko, who then passed it to Olympic decathlon
champion Rafer Johnson. ... Baltimore RHP Ricardo Lopez said he is
upset that Lee Mazzilli, the Orioles' rookie manager, demoted him
to the bullpen. Mazzilli said, "As for what he said about being
treated, I don't know how to answer that because I treat him with
respect and I like him a lot."