Matt Wieters slapped an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning on Tuesday night, plating Felix Pie and giving the O's their first walk-off victory of the season, a 7-6 win over the visiting Seattle Mariners.
The win took just over four hours to earn, after the Birds lost the lead in the ninth and were unable to take advantage of several opportunities in extras before Wieters stepped up and snapped the O's four-game losing streak with one swing of the bat.
Seattle struck first in the game, taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning off O's starter Jake Arrieta. Those were the only runs Arrieta allowed, as he went six strong innings and gave up just four hits and three walks while striking out six in the no-decision.
J.J. Hardy cut the deficit to one run after launching a solo homer in the third inning in his first at-bat since returning from the DL. Hardy went 4-for-5 with a walk and was a huge boost to a club struggling on offense (the O's slapped a season-high 20 hits on Tuesday night).
The Birds tacked two more on in the bottom of the sixth, taking a 3-2 lead on Adam Jones' two-run double. Jones had a big day at the plate as well, going 3-for-6 with three RBIs.
Once again, it was the bullpen that faltered...Michael Gonzalez came on to pitch the seventh and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk to put Seattle back on top, but the Birds answered back with two more runs in the eighth to regain the lead. Kevin Gregg took the mound in the ninth but blew his second save of the season after allowing the Mariners to tie the game on two hits.
The game remained deadlocked at five until Seattle scored on Jeremy Accardo in the top half of the 13th inning. After failing to get anything done with runners in scoring position, the Birds finally got things going in the bottom half...Nick Markakis and Jake Fox stroked singles before Felix Pie's RBI single tied the game up again. After Jake Fox was thrown out at home for the second out of the inning, Matt Wieters stepped to the plate...and the rest is known around Baltimore as Orioles Magic.
The Birds send Chris Tillman to the mound on Wednesday night...
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