It was a hell of a game last night, as the Orioles seemingly were setup to win a close one, but in the top of ninth, leading 2-1, closer Jim Johnson served up a one-out homer to Ben Zobrist to the game at two.
After both teams endured a lengthy rain delay before the ninth inning began, one figured that the game could have gone into extra innings; however, the Orioles in the bottom of the inning prevented that from happening.
Jay Howell – reliever for Tampa – came into the game and walked Luke Scott, and moments later, Mat Wieters came up to the plate and would hit a towering flyball which landed over the left-center field wall for a two-run game winning homer.
And at the end of the night, the Orioles would earn a 4-2 win over the Rays.
Baltimore got another great start from youngster Chris Tillman as he went 6 2/3 innings and gave up a run on five hits. The only run he gave up came in the sixth inning as Gregg Zaun hit a solo homer – his sixth. He didn’t strike out anyone, and while he allowed a lot of flyballs, it’s perhaps better to be lucky than good.
Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine – who started on the mound for Tampa and has struggled in ’09 – went 5/2 innings and gave up only a run.
The Orioles runs came in second inning off a Wieters’ sacrifice fly in the second inning and a Luke Scott RBI-double in the fourth.
Matt Wieters is starting to find himself in the majors after many felt he was scuffling at the plate. Not that we all should have expected him to become the next Johnny Bench from the onset, but unlike most position players – he’s had to work with a pitching staff … a young one, and with veteran arms he was unfamiliar with.
After some struggles, Matt’s got comfortable behind the plate, and he accomplished a major feat – he threw out Carl Crawford (one of the premier base-stealers in baseball … twice.)
Good for Matt. We’re all starting to really see his skills, and he can only get better from here. I can’t wait to see what he’s got in store for us all next season.
