The Baltimore Orioles finished 2016 with a record of 89-73, a wild-card loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings in what would be considered a successful year.
TheBaltimore Oriolesbiggest game of 2016 wasn’t the lone wild-card game, but the game a week earlier in Toronto. To look at their most exciting games of the year,check this out.
The Birds headed north coming off a much-needed sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, only to have their struggling bats silenced in game one of the series in a 5-1 loss.
Kevin Gausmanagain received no run support from the offense and allowed an early home run toJosh Donaldson, asAaron Sanchezcontinued his successful season in the win for Toronto.
That loss, combined with the Detroit Tigers win over the Cleveland Indians, left the Orioles one game ahead in the race for the second Wild Card spot.
More fromThe Baltimore Wire
- What other Baltimore Orioles Offseason Storylines will you be interested in seeing?
- Baltimore Orioles to Face Numerous Playoff Contenders Down the Stretch
- Baltimore Orioles Showing Encouraging Signs During Recent Wins
- The Baltimore Orioles and the Expanded September Roster
- Maryland Football: Terps honor Jordan McNair, beat Longhorns 34-29
Game two of the series was played on September 28th at Rogers Centre.
The game started in ugly fashion for the Orioles.Ezequiel Carrerareached on a bad fielding play byChris TillmanandChris Davis, with Davis getting an error. Then, Tillman attempted to pick off Carrera, putting him on third base. A sacrifice fly byEdwin Encarnacionmade it 1-0 in the first inning.
The Orioles were hitless through the first three innings, but got two quick hits in the fourth with no outs, only forFrancisco Liriano, who struck out 10, to strike outManny Machado,Mark Trumbo, andTrey Mancinito end the threat.
Meanwhile, the Jays had put a run across in the second to run the score to 2-0 Toronto.
In the fifth, the Orioles loaded the bases, but again all three outs came via the strikeout and this team that struggled to get runners in was at it again.
The O’s went down 1-2-3 in the sixth, and then got a huge double play on a fly ball double play in the bottom half whenJose Bautistagot doubled up. That ended Chris Tillman’s day, andDonnie Hart,Mychal Givens, andBrian Duensingwould pitch the next two and a third innings, leaving up absolutely nothing.
In the seventh, the Orioles again got baserunners on, only for strikeouts to again ruin the inning.
The major league leader in home runs, Mark Trumbo, struck in the eighth offJason Grilli(very few people I would rather see a home run hit against) on a solo shot to put the Birds within one going into the ninth.
The Jays brought in closerRoberto Osuna, who established himself as an excellent closer in 2016, following up his successful rookie campaign in 2015.
The inning began with, what else, a strike out byJ.J. Hardy.Jonathan Schoopsingled and then was pinch-run for withMichael Bourn.
Meanwhile, Hyun Soo Kim came to the plate to bat forNolan Reimold. Bourn stole second, and Kim worked the count full and saw nine pitches in the at-bat.
Kim hit the ninth pitch of the at-bat to right field, just high enough to clear the tall Rogers Centre wall.
It was pretty clear the ball was going to clear Bautista in right field, but when the ball cleared the wall into the Orioles’ bullpen, the bullpen and bench went wild.
With a one-run lead, the team turned toZach Brittonto face the Jays’ 8-9-1 hitters. You can imagine how that went. Two strikeouts and a ground out later and the Orioles gained a pivotal victory.
The win kept them one game behind Toronto for the first wild card, and also one game ahead of Detroit for the second wild card.
Next: 5 of the most exciting Orioles games of 2016
The Baltimore Orioles would go on to win their next two to help solidify their playoff standing, but no game was bigger than the one in which Hyun Soo Kim, a villain to fans when the season started, became the greatest hero in 2016 for the Baltimore Orioles.
Add us as a preferred source onGoogleLoading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations