"The first game of the season-ending "Fan Appreciation Celebration" at Oriole Park quickly turned into something completely different in the sixth inning on Monday night when Vladimir Guerrero kept his date with international baseball history.

Guerrero singled up the middle in his third at-bat of the Orioles' 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox and passed Julio Franco to become the all-time major league leader in hits by a Dominican-born player. He also sparked a four-run rally that dragged the reeling Red Sox into a wild card dead heat with the surging Tampa Bay Rays.

His 2,587th hit brought the announced crowd of 21,786 to its feet for an enthusiastic ovation as Guerrero waved his helmet to the fans and his teammates ? who lined the top step of the home dugout to applaud his magic moment. The night was made even more special for him because his mother, sister, nephew and cousin were in attendance.

"I've played for a lot of years ? 16 years ? so it felt very good, very satisfying to get that hit.'' Guerrero said through interpreter Rudy Arias, but he also pointed out that it is not something he has been consciously pursuing for a long time. "I didn't know about the record until Buck told me about it in Toronto."

No doubt caught up in all that excitement, Guerrero quickly stole his second base of the year and eventually scored the go-ahead run on a double by third baseman Chris Davis. Obviously, the Orioles got caught up in the moment, too, because they went on to score four times in the inning ? the last three runs on an inside-the-park home run by Robert Andino.

Talk about an evening of interesting subplots. Andino's inside job was the first ever by an Orioles player at Camden Yards and it came with his father in the stands to see his son play for the first time ever in a major league game."