BALTIMORE -- Adam Jones called it a game the Baltimore Orioles needed to win.
The center fielder set the early tone, and the rest of the team followed his lead.
Jones hit a pair of home runs, Jonathan Schoop added a three-run shot and Baltimore beat the Oakland Athletics 7-3 on Monday night. The Orioles won for the second time in six games, but they are still in the thick of the wild-card race.
"Adam's done that a lot and it never goes unnoticed or unappreciated or assumed, more importantly," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.