Baltimore Orioles: 5 of the most exciting games of 2016
By Nate Wardle
1. August 14: Baltimore Orioles 8, San Francisco Giants 7
The Baltimore Orioles were on another West Coast swing that could have wrecked their season. The Birds lost three in a row to the Oakland Athletics before winning the fourth game and had split the first two to the Giants.
Wade Miley started in this one, and he was not very good. The O’s were down 7-1 in the fifth inning, and it did not look good, as Johnny Cueto was on the mound.
But, the O’s chipped away with two in the seventh, and two more in the eighth, including a home run by Mark Trumbo, his league leading 34th.
That led to the ninth inning, and the Orioles were still alive. Hyun Soo Kim got out to lead off the inning off closer Santiago Casilla, and then Manny Machado singled and went to second on an error by Angel Pagan.
Chris Davis struck out, something he was doing a lot at the time, and Trumbo walked. That put Jonathan Schoop at the plate, and Schoop homered in spacious AT&T Park to give the Orioles an 8-7 lead.
Some wins are important, but this win had a huge impact for the Orioles, giving them confidence as they returned home.
Honorable mention is the game from September 16th against the Tampa Bay Rays, where Michael Bourn and Manny Machado combined to throw out the game-tying run at the plate to preserve the win and Zach Britton’s streak of not blowing a save.
Next: Baltimore Orioles Have Decision to Make on Dariel Alvarez
Have a memorable game not on this list? Comment and let us know!