(Garrett Olson, AP Photo/Gail Burton)
When I walked into Camden Yards yesterday, I had a good feeling. I didn't want to vocalize it to my father, as not to jinx it. After all, the Orioles had lost their past 15 Sunday games, not winning on the day of rest since April 6 against Seattle. Not to mention the fact that today was my dad's birthday, so he had high hopes that everything would come together just for him.
And come together it did! Starting pitcher Garrett Olson retired the Angels in order to start off the first inning, no small feat for this team. Then Nick Markakis hit an RBI double and Carlos Santana hit Luke Scott in the shin with a pitch (he walked it off for five minutes with trainer Richie Bancells) with the bases loaded to force in a run. Then Jay Payton didn’t deliver and Quiroz struck out. But we were wining 2-0 after the first.
In the third, the Orioles loaded the bases with two walks and a single. Then chokes-under-pressure Payton struck out. But unsung hero Quiroz singled in two runs with a broken-bat hit to left. That brought it to 4-0. The Angels scored a run in the fourth when Guerrero got an RBI with runners on the corners. But Olson held his own and retired Robb Quinlan with two outs and the bases loaded.
Payton finally delivered in the sixth with a triple and Quiroz again made a clutch hit to bring him home. Anderson singled in a run for the Angels in the seventh, bringing the final score to 5-2. They had finally done it.
The gold medal for this game has to go to starting pitcher Garrett Olson. Olson (7-5) allowed two runs and seven hits in six-plus innings, which was his first win since June 28. When Trembley took Olson out in the seventh, the boisterous crowd gave him a standing ovation. Imagine that. A starting pitcher on the Orioles, who isn’t Jeremy Guthrie, lasting until the seventh. Pure bliss.
The close silver goes to the underdog backup catcher Guillermo Quiroz, who went 3-for-4 with a career-high three RBI’s for the Orioles. He was the shining light in what would have been an abysmal bottom of the lineup (Payton, Quiroz, Castro). The bronze goes to George “Flat Breezy” Sherrill. Not only does he seriously rev up the crowd when he jogs out of the bullpen, but he worked the ninth for his 30th save, which matches the totals of the entire Orioles pitching staff in 2007.
After the game, we realized that the man in front of us was also celebrating his birthday. We joked that the Orioles pulled it off just for them. But there is no doubt that yesterday’s game felt like a gift-wrapped package for Sunday ticket holders all over Baltimore.
Keywords: Baltimore Orioles, Garrett Olson, George Sherrill, Guillermo Quiroz, Los Angeles Angels
