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BALTIMORE — Moments before he made history with his final swing in an incredible four-homer performance, Josh Hamilton stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with a surprising sense of calm.

The Texas Rangers slugger had never before hit more than two home runs in a game, and he already had three. So as he took his place in the batter’s box against Baltimore right-hander Darren O’Day, Hamilton already had a feeling of accomplishment.

“I just went up like it was any other at-bat because if I don’t hit one,” Hamilton reasoned, “I’ve still had a really good night.”

It turned out to be unforgettable.

Hamilton became the 16th player to hit four home runs in a game, launching a quartet of two-run drives against three different pitchers to carry the Rangers to a 10-3 victory Tuesday.

Hamilton homered off Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings, added another off Zach Phillips in the seventh and topped it off with a one-for-the-books shot against O’Day. During the last at-bat, Hamilton took a mighty hack and missed, lined a foul into right-field seats and then sent an 0-2 pitch over the centre-field wall.

“Obviously it’s, other than being in the World Series, the highlight of my big-league career,” Hamilton said. “I was saying after I hit two I’ve never hit three in a game before, and what a blessing that was. Then to hit four is just an awesome feeling, to see how excited my teammates got.

“It reminds you of when you’re in Little League and a little kid, and just the excitement and why we play the game. Things like that. You never know what can happen. It was just an absolute blessing.”

Hamilton also doubled in the fifth inning. His 18 total bases is a new single-game American League record, and his eight RBIs are a career high.

“Amazing,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “Josh came out tonight, and he wasn’t going to be denied.”

The last player to hit four home runs in a game was Carlos Delgado on Sept. 25, 2003, for Toronto against Tampa Bay. Two of the 16 players to hit four homers in a game did it before 1900.

“History was witnessed tonight,” Washington said.

“It’s like anything else — you do something good or something incredible happens, it takes a little bit for it to sink in,” Hamilton said. “I think when I get away from everybody and I have some time to myself, I think it might then.”

Hamilton is the sixth AL player to perform the feat. The last to hit four homers in a game against the Orioles was Rocky Colavito in 1959, at old Memorial Stadium.

“He’s the best athlete in baseball,” teammate Nelson Cruz said of Hamilton. “If anybody can do it, he can do it.”

Elvis Andrus got on base ahead of Hamilton in each instance, said, “He kept hitting bombs and bombs. It feels really good because I don’t have to run that hard to score.”

Hamilton, who is in the final year of his contract and could become a free agent after this season, leads the AL with 14 homers and 36 RBIs, and his 5-for-5 effort raised his batting average to .406.

He also set the Texas single-game club record with five extra-base hits, breaking the mark of four held by eight players. Hamilton has homered in five of his last six at-bats, counting his final trip to the plate Monday night.

Hamilton’s record-setting night is the latest accomplishment in a career that almost never was.

He went from first round draft pick in 1999 by Tampa Bay to out of baseball all together because of drug and alcohol addiction.

He recovered and returned to the majors in 2007 with Cincinnati, and was traded to the Texas, where he has become a star — the AL MVP in 2010 — while still battling his addiction. He had a relapse before this season, but is off to a torrid start.

“Understanding that what I’m doing and what God’s allowed me to do coming back from everything I went through and allowing me to play the game at the level I play it, it’s pretty amazing to think about,” Hamilton said.

Adrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers. Coming off a 14-3 win in the series opener, Texas has won two straight for the first time since April 24-25 and are 20-10, their best-ever record after 30 games.

Dating back to last season, Texas has won seven in a row over Baltimore by a combined 70-18 score.

Rangers starter Neftali Feliz (2-1) gave up one run on four hits and had a career-high eight strikeouts. Converted to starter after notching 72 saves over the previous two seasons, Feliz had a 2-0 lead to protect before throwing his first pitch and maintained the advantage — just like when he was closer.

The Orioles entered the series with the best record in the majors after a 5-1 trip through Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, but they have looked more like a team with 14 straight losing seasons in these two games against the two-time defending AL champions.

Arrieta (2-3) allowed six runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. He yielded a career-high three homers, matching the total he surrendered in his first six starts this season.

His most notable flaw was his inability to keep Hamilton from hitting the ball out of the park.

“It was the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that. Very special hitter,” Arrieta said on Hamilton. “He didn’t miss tonight.”

J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis hit consecutive solo homers for Baltimore in the eighth, long after the outcome had been decided.

The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Andrus drew a one-out walk and Hamilton hit Arrieta’s next pitch over the centre-field wall.

It was more of the same in the third, and then some. After Andrus reached on a chopper off the plate, Hamilton lined an opposite-field drive into the left-field seats. Beltre followed with this sixth home run, the fourth time in 30 games that Texas has homered in successive at-bats.

Andrus singled in the seventh before Hamilton sent a drive over the centre-field wall against Phillips, who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game.

After that, the only suspense was whether Hamilton would get another at-bat. He did, and made it count.

NOTES: Andrus has reached base in 26 straight games. He is 16 for 33 on the road trip. … Despite Baltimore’s surprising start, the game drew a meagre crowd of 11,263. … Baltimore’s Chris Davis singled in the eighth to snap an 0-for-14 skid.

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BALTIMORE — A road trip that began with such promise — a four-game sweep in Kansas City — ended with a thud for the Toronto Blue Jays.

And after absorbing a 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night, slugger Jose Bautista knows it’s time for the suddenly punchless Blue Jays to rediscover their offence.

“I’m not really worried about the offence,” Bautista said. “I know we’re going to pick it up. Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later. Our pitching is doing awesome. On the offensive side, we’d like to give them better support.”

Toronto scored only three runs while being swept at Camden Yards by the resurgent Orioles, who have won four straight. In the latest loss, the Blue Jays wasted a solid outing from rookie right-hander Drew Hutchison, who allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings.

“I feel like I threw the ball pretty well,” Hutchison said. “I got into a nice rhythm there for about four innings and executed some quality pitches.”

None of that mattered, however, after another stirring comeback by the Orioles, who took the lead for good when Adam Jones led off the eighth inning with a tiebreaking homer.

Jones ripped the first pitch from Casey Janssen (1-1) into the first row of the left-field stands, barely eluding the leap of Eric Thames. It was his sixth homer of the season.

Asked if he enjoyed a flair for the dramatic, Jones said: “If the situation calls for it, I’m not going to shy away from it. … I’m just looking for something out over the plate. Not necessarily a first-pitch slider away, but I was looking for a heater up, something to drive. I was able to just get enough of it to hit it out.”

Darren Oliver replaced Janssen after Jones’ drive and allowed Matt Wieters’ single before Chris Davis hit a two-run homer to right-centre.

Darren O’Day (2-0) pitched two perfect innings in relief of Brian Matusz, who might have saved his spot in the rotation with a strong outing. Luis Ayala worked the ninth for his first save.

“I just wish we could have got (Matusz) a W. … But we won as a team and he understands that,” Jones said. “He went out and threw six very, very, very good innings.”

Matusz, attempting to snap a career-high 12-game losing streak, yielded two runs — none earned — and four hits. He walked two and struck out three.

“This year, I’ve felt good out there in multiple outings,” Matusz said. “Just today I was able to be consistent and really find myself getting into a groove and putting everything together, and I’m just not trying to do too much but being able to hit locations and make good pitches.”

Orioles manager Buck Showalter didn’t sound as though he was considering a change in the rotation.

“He pitches like that, he’s going to get all the wins he wants,” Showalter said.

The Blue Jays have lost three straight and are 1-5 against the Orioles this season.

“We’ve got to play better collectively,” manager John Farrell said. “The way this road trip started out, with a four-game sweep in Kansas City, to have it end this way kind of leaves a bad taste.”

Baltimore’s Ryan Flaherty had two hits and an RBI, the firsts of his major league career.

Runs were at a premium early, when Hutchison and Matusz took turns putting zeros on the scoreboard through the first four innings.

Baltimore took a lead in the fifth when Davis worked Hutchison for a leadoff walk and Mark Reynolds lined a single to centre. Davis moved to third on Nick Johnson’s fly to right and Flaherty hit a sacrifice fly.

Toronto went ahead in the sixth on an error by Johnson at first base that allowed two runs to score.

Yunel Escobar led off with a single and Bautista drew a one-out walk. One out later, Thames hit a 1-2 pitch from Matusz down the first base line and past Johnson, who missed an attempt to backhand the bouncer, the miscue letting both runners score.

The Orioles tied the game in the sixth, taking advantage of Escobar’s error at shortstop.

Nick Markakis doubled and Jones hit a grounder into the hole. Escobar fielded the infield hit but threw wildly to first, allowing Markakis to score the tying run and Jones to advance to second. Luis Perez relieved and got Wieters to ground into a fielder’s choice, with Jones erased at third.

NOTES: Matusz wasn’t charged with a run for the first time since Sept. 27, 2010. … RHP Dustin McGowan, on the 15-day disabled list while recovering from a foot injury, experienced right shoulder problems while long tossing and will be shut down for two weeks, Farrell said. An MRI revealed inflammation. … Toronto starting pitchers have gone at least five innings in 21 straight games dating to last Sept. 27.

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TAMPA, Fla. — Kyle Drabek made a strong impression on the opposing manager.

Drabek threw five scoreless innings, outpitching CC Sabathia, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Tuesday night.

“Pretty good,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “You could see he’s got a hard sinker. He mixed in his other pitches. He held us in check. We had some opportunities, but he got some big outs. I thought he threw the ball pretty good.”

Drabek, competing for a spot in Toronto’s rotation, allowed five hits. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out five and walked two.

“I think when, to me, he pitches with more emotional control, as he’s shown, he doesn’t overthrow the baseball,” Toronto manager John Farrell said. “He doesn’t come out of his delivery. He’s doing a good job of that.”

Drabek had just one 1-2-3 inning.

“I was more happy with when I was getting in trouble, I was able to keep my composure and mechanics in check,” Drabek said.

Sabathia, set to start on opening day for the Yankees, gave up three runs and six hits in six innings. The left-hander will make his final exhibition start Sunday in the first major league spring training game at the Miami Marlins’ new ballpark.

“It will be fun to go there and open up the park,” Sabathia said.

New York centre fielder Curtis Granderson didn’t play due to a sore right elbow. General manager Brian Cashman said the move was precautionary and added that Granderson will have an MRI on Wednesday.

Toronto right-hander Brandon Morrow didn’t make the trip and instead pitched in a minor league game, where he struck out 11 in 5 2-3 innings.

“He was very good,” Farrell said. “He was strong. He threw four pitches for strikes. It was a very good day for him.”

New York left-hander Andy Pettitte, who ended his brief retirement by agreeing to a minor league contract on March 16, threw 20 pitches in batting practice and 13 more to four batters in a simulated game.

“It was a good day, a positive day,” Pettitte said. “A step in the right direction. Just another step in the process.”

Pettitte could pitch in a spring training game next week.

NOTES: Toronto INF Adam Lind was a late scratch due to lower back soreness. … Yankees closer Mariano Rivera threw a perfect inning in a minor league game. He will join Sabathia in pitching Sunday against the Marlins. … New York 3B Alex Rodriguez, hit in the left ribs by a pitch Sunday, doubled in three at-bats. … Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista was hitless in four at-bats two days after being hit on the right hand by pitch … Yankees RF Nick Swisher (groin) hit against Pettitte in the simulated game and will DH in a minor league game on Wednesday.