The Memorial Day tilt between the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays (34-17) at Camden Yards was certainly one to remember. The game was a back-and-forth affair that lasted 4 hours and 12 minutes. The 22,388 fans in attendance saw more action in the final four extra innings than they had seen in the regulation nine. Once the rollercoaster ride was over, the Orioles exited with a 13 inning 9-7 win.
For the second time in as many days, Colton Cowser (1 for 4, 2 R, 2 RBI) walked off the game with a homerun. Today it was a two-run, 425 ft. blast to right center field. Cowser, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Tyler O’Neill in the seventh inning, also played a part in keeping the game alive in the 12th inning setting the stage for his game-ending heroics. He started on second as the ghost runner in the 12th and advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Ward. Gunnar Henderson (0 for 5, HBP) grounded to first base where Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Aranda attempted to cut down Cowser at home. The ball, the catcher and Cowser came together just about simultaneously and ended in a collision at home with the call being out. Upon review, Cowser’s head-first slide was overturned to a safe call by the tip of his orange sliding mitt and tied the game once again at 5 each.
The game really did play out in two acts. The first nine innings resulted in a 2-2 tie and the four extra innings saw a total of 12 runs scored. It started as a duel between Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan and Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish. Bradish gave the O’s a quality start: 6.0 IP, 5 H, R, 2 BB, 3 K with the only blemish being a homerun by Aranda in the sixth.
Baltimore scored two runs in the seventh thanks to some sloppy play and a pair of errors by the Rays. Those runs were countered in the eighth by a homerun by Victor Mesa Jr off of Anthony Nunez.
Scoreless in the tenth inning, the teams matched a run in the 11th and a pair of runs in the 12th.
Dietrich Enns (3-0) allowed a pair of runs in the 13th on 2 singles and a sacrifice fly before Leody Taveras (2 for 4, 2 R, BB) hit a RBI double and Jackson Holliday (0 for 4, BB) hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 7, setting the stage for Cowser and putting the win in Enns’ column.
Pete Alonso (3 for 5, R, RBI, BB) and Blaze Alexander (3 for 5, 2 R, RBI, BB) were also offensive stars. Alonso had a major show of emotion after scoring in the 11th to tie the game once more.
For those keeping track, Mustard finally won the Hot Dog Race.
2026 Record: 24-30
Next Game: Tues. 5/26 @ 6:35 pm vs. Tampa Bay Rays
