Joey Rickard Finally Breaks Out as O’s Beat MLB’s Best Team
If you haven’t been paying attention to the goings on in Major League Baseball this year, it may surprise you that the Tampa Bay Rays are the best team in baseball. They’re the only team with 14 wins and lead the Yankees and Red Sox by a combined 13.5 games in the AL East. Annnnd, the O’s beat them 6-5 on Thursday night, though they almost blew it.
Going into the bottom of the eighth inning, Baltimore held a 5-2 lead over Tampa, doing so on the strength of a monster Pedro Severino homer and RBI knocks from four other O’s hitters. Then the bullpen imploded in the bottom of the eighth, walking the first two batters and allowing a two-run double to Mike Zunino. Baltimore escaped the inning on top 5-4 but it wouldn’t last long; Avisail Garcia hit a game-tying homer off O’s reliever Mychal Givens in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.
Luckily, once extra innings began, two things happened for Baltimore that made this a happy post rather than a sad one. First, John Means came in to pitch for the O’s and got right to business. He struck out the side in the bottom of the tenth and only allowed one baserunner (via walk) in the bottom of the 11th. His door-shutting in the 11th was particularly clutch because, in the half-inning prior, the O’s were able to string some knocks together (with two outs) to take a 6-5 lead.
With two outs in the top of the 11th, Brandon Hyde called on Chris Davis to pinch-hit, hoping for a timely blast. It didn’t happen that way but Davis did single, raising his average over .100 for the first time this season. A single by Rio Ruiz came immediately after, setting the table for the game’s hero, Joey Rickard.
On the 2-2 pitch, Rickard doubled to left, scoring Davis. The hit was Rickard’s fourth of the night, raising his season average from .149 to .212.
Before Thursday night, Rickard only had six hits on the year (in 37 ABs).
Baltimore, now 8-12, will come home on Friday for a three-game set against Minnesota.