Baltimore Orioles prevail 4-3 in a thriller – MLB Update
Baltimore Orioles held their nerves to edge Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, May 11 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
The Orioles will be very pleased with the way they conducted themselves in a game that was played on an extremely competitive note. Tampa Bay had the first laugh as Sean Rodriguez grounded into double play to help Luke Scott score the first run in the second inning.
Baltimore battled back instantly as Adam Jones homered to the left to level the score at 1-1. Matt Joyce, Carlos Pena, J Molina and Rodriguez combined to make a superb play in the fifth to give the Rays a handsome 3-1 lead.
Nick Markakis displayed some high quality hitting skills in closing stages of the game, hitting a 412 feet home run in the sixth to reduce the deficit to 2-3. However, the start of the show was Nick Johnson who hit a clutch homer to help Baltimore come back from behind to snatch an important victory.
"I squared it, but I didn't know I got it," Johnson said. "I think the wind blew it out. I put a good swing on it."
"I got ahead in the count like I was supposed to," Joel Peralta said after blowing the save. "Then I throw some really good pitches that I thought for sure he was going to swing at. He didn't. I know he's a good hitter. In the end, I just throw a fastball that was supposed to be down and away. I missed the spot and he got it. That was the game right there."
Johnson’s home run was his first in almost two years and it will certainly lift Baltimore’s spirits. Both Tampa Bay and the surprising Orioles tied at the top of the American League with 20-12 going into the series.
With their win on Friday evening, the Orioles have now become the leading team and it will be interesting to see if they can continue their impressive from throughout the 2012 season.
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