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Orioles come back from nine run deficit, Papelbon blows save for Sox
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Jonathan Papelbon in happier, more abrasive times
They may have disposed of the NL East with relative ease (sans their sweep at the hands of the Marlins), but it' took every clip in the round for the O's to take down AL East leading Boston on Tuesday night.
It was a tale of two games for The Birds, who looked outmatched at the plate,in the early goings of the game as they had each time they faced the Sox previously this year.
Red Sox fans dominated Camden Yards, as they have in each of the last several seasons. Sox fans were so much louder than Orioles fans, in fact, that if you closed your eyes you'd swear you were in Boston, except the drinks are cheaper here and we pronounce our r sounds.
Overall, it was a wet, dreary day at the ballpark. O's starter Rich Hill continued to struggle, going only 4.1 innings.
An hour plus rain delay let most of the O's fans who bothered going to the game take an early ride home. The club was already behind 1-9 when officials called for the tarp.
John Smoltz, making his 2nd start for Boston, handled the O's without trouble. Scruffy infielder Kevin Youkilis earned a homer in the 1st inning on a play during which O's CF Adam Jones hurt himself trying to leap over the center field wall.
In one of the stranger things I've seen on a baseball field, the Red Sox all followed pitcher Justin Masterson to the dugout at the bottom of the sixth inning—the only problem was that there were only two outs. The umpires eventually got the team back onto the field.
The crowd had packed it in, the O's seemed to have packed it in, the umpires had packed it in, calling strikes that were a half foot off the plate, and the Sox attempted to pack it in after only two outs, but in the seventh inning the Orioles finally found their stroke.
Aubrey Huff and Nolan Reimold singled to start the inning, Luke Scott doubled, and Oscar Salazar hit a pinch hit 3 run homer. Credit Trembley for pinch hitting Salazar for Melvin Mora. Mora hasn't hit a home run since Michael Jackson was the King of Pop.
Felix Pie, called into duty when Jones went down, brought Robert Andino home to get the Orioles within 4 runs.
It was 6-10 after seven innings. During the rally, Aubrey Huff became the second Oriole in as many games to argue about the strike zone. He nearly earned an early shower when he turned around and shouted in home plate umpire Tony Randazzo's face, irate about a high called strike. The pitch tracker showed that the pitch was indeed a bit high.
Whether it was the strike zone or simply Huff's inability to hit Hideki Okajima, Huff lined out to end the inning.
The O's continued to take it to Okajima and the O's in the eighth inning, loading the bases again and forcing the reliever from the game on 4 straight hits and a run scored.
Takashi Saito came out of the 'pen for the Sox, but he, too, struggled to finish the O's, giving up a sac fly to Ty Wigginton and an RBI single to Brian Roberts. With the game within one at 9-10, chest-thumping closer Jonathan Papelbon came on for a 5 out close.
There would be no Irish jig for Papelbon tonight. Nick Markakis hit a 2 RBI triple against Papelbon. He was 0 for 7 against Papelbon lifetime. Make it 1 for 7.
Papelbon was 20 for 20 in save attempts against the O's. Make it 20 for 21.
George Sherrill let the leadoff man on, plunked Kevin Youkilis in his sizeable forearm, but put down the rest of the Sox for the save.
Orioles win 11-10 in one of the most intense comebacks I've ever seen. They'll try to carry the momentum into tomorrow's matinee rubber match.
Gary Thorne said it was the biggest O's comeback since 1956, and tonight at least, I am going to believe in Gary Thorne.
Look for this one to be immortalized on a MASN commercial near you in the not-too-distant future.
