The Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 5-4 on Friday night. With the win the Orioles extended their current winning streak to six games and are now three games under .500.
The Orioles, long the subject of national media jokes (especially on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM) now have a record that is better than 14 MLB teams: they currently sit 4.0 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot (Seattle and Cleveland are above the O’s for the final slot. I know it’s too early.
Tell me if you’ve heard this story before. The Orioles entered the bottom of the ninth down 4-2. A flyout and a strike out had the Orioles cornered. Down to his last strike, Rougned Odor (1 for 1, 1 run scored), batting for Robinson Chirinos (1 for 3), singles, then steals both second and third base. Adley Rutschman (1 for 2, 1 run scored, 1 RBI), down to his last strike, doubles in Odor. Cedric Mullins (2 for 5, 1 2B, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI) then singles in Rutschman to tie the game at 4; Mullins was down to his last strike. Mullins advanced to second on the Angel’s throw home, attempting to get Rutschman and moved to third on a Raisel Iglesias wild pitch.
Trey Mancini (2 for 5, 1 RBI), down to his final strike, started the Friday night fireworks show early with his single to left field that scored Mullins and made him the center of attention at first base.
Ryan Mountcastle went 1 for 4 with a RBI and a stolen base..
Tyler Wells started and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits, including Mike Trout’s 24th of the year, walked 2 and struck out 3 in 4.0 innings.
Despite giving up Shohei Ohtani’s 19th homerun of the year, Dillon Tate (1-3), was credited with his first win of the year with a 1.0 inning, 1 run, 1 hit effort.
2022 Record: 41-44