Final
Orioles rally to beat Niemann, skidding Rays 10-5
Sep 16, 2009 - 3:13 AM By DAVID GINSBURG AP Sports WriterBALTIMORE(AP) -- If the Baltimore Orioles are looking for positive signs for next season, they got plenty of them in a gritty comeback win.
Despite being in last place with nothing to play for, the Orioles received solid contributions from two rookies and rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-5 on Tuesday night.
"This late in the year, to not give in, that's a lot of fight and determination," manager Dave Trembley said.
Matt Wieters fueled the comeback with a homer and a career-high five RBIs, and right-hander Jason Berken held the Rays in check after giving up four first-inning runs.
Wieters, a former No. 1 draft pick playing in his 78th game, appears to have justified the hype that surrounded his arrival in late May.
"It's good for the organization, it's good for the team," Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts said. "There's a lot of pressure, and it's hard enough up here without having to deal with that. I think it was a little unfair, the expectations early on. Now he's finally started to get comfortable and find his groove."
Berken (5-11) kept the Orioles in the game after a rocky start. He gave up four hits in the first inning and only three more before being lifted with one out in the seventh.
"That's one of the reasons why these guys are here, to help them learn how to do those sorts of things. You can't learn that down there," Roberts said. "He could have easily folded early on."
It was a good night for Roberts, too. He collected his career-high 74th RBI and set a franchise record with his 52nd double of the season.
"It's something that when it's all said and done and I'm old and I have my grandkids sitting on my knee, I might look back and enjoy it," he said. "But right now, it's just kind of, try to play games and help these young guys along and get us ready for next year."
Roberts, Wieters and Cesar Izturis had three hits apiece for the Orioles, who rallied against rookie Jeff Niemann (12-6).
Niemann, who allowed six runs and a career-high 11 hits in 4 1-3 innings, lost for the first time in nine starts since July 26. It was his shortest start since June 21, and the six earned runs matched a career high, set in his first outing of the season against Baltimore.
"A lot of balls were left up. I didn't really execute location very well today, and that's what happens when you miss," Niemann said. "They're going to take advantage of that."
Wieters put the Orioles ahead for good with two-run single in the fifth, Luke Scott hit his team-high 22nd homer in the seventh and Wieters clinched it with a three-run drive off Chad Bradford in the eighth.
"There's definitely progress being made," said Wieters, who raised his batting average to .272. "There are a lot of adjustments to be made up here, and you're going to have to keep making them."
Tampa Bay's Pat Burrell broke out of a 1-for-22 slump with a homer and four RBIs, and Ben Zobrist fell a home run short of the cycle. But the Rays lost for the 12th time in 13 games.
Only 11,575 showed up on a beautiful night for baseball. But with the Orioles 34 games out of first place, and because the opponent wasn't Boston or the New York Yankees, the stadium wasn't even one-fourth full.
An RBI single by Zobrist and a three-run homer by Burrell staked the Rays to a 4-0 lead in the first, and Tampa Bay added a third-inning run when Zobrist tripled and scored on a single by Burrell.
"It's definitely on me for not being able to hold that lead," Niemann said.
Baltimore closed to 5-2 in the bottom half on Roberts' record-breaking RBI double and a run-scoring grounder by Nick Markakis.
Izturis singled in a run in the fourth, and the Orioles chased Niemann during a three-run fifth that included a run-scoring groundout by Scott and Wieters' two-run single.
NOTES: Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria grounded into his AL-high 27th double play. ... For only the third time in 21 starts, Berken had three perfect innings. ... Orioles CF Felix Pie returned after missing three games with back spasms. He went 1 for 4, scored a run and made a couple of nice running catches.
- Orioles 10, Rays 5 - FINAL
TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Bartlett ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .327
C Crawford lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .300
E Longoria 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .276
B Zobrist rf-2b 4 2 3 1 0 0 1 .283
P Burrell dh 4 1 2 4 0 0 2 .230
W Aybar 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .247
B Upton c
Sep 15 10:02 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
THREE-RUN HOME RUN BY MATT WIETERS (6) TO RIGHT CENTER WITH
2 OUT IN THE 8TH OFF CHAD BRADFORD SCORED ROBERT ANDINO AND
NICK MARKAKIS.
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5, BALTIMORE 10
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: M AUBREY (.300, 1-FOR-4)
Rays 5, Orioles 10 Bot 8, 0 OutsSep 15 9:52 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY LUKE SCOTT (22) TO RIGHT CENTER WITH 0 OUT
IN THE 7TH OFF BRIAN SHOUSE.
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5, BALTIMORE 7
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: M WIETERS (.270, 2-FOR-3, 2 RBI)
Rays 5, Orioles 7 Bot 7, 0 OutsSep 15 9:15 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MATT WIETERS SCORED MELVIN MORA AND NICK MARKAKIS
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, M WIETERS ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5
BALTIMORE 6 BOTTOM,5TH
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: M AUBREY (.321, 1-FOR-2)
Rays 5, Orioles 6 Bot 5, 0 OutsSep 15 8:31 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY LUKE SCOTT SCORED BRIAN ROBERTS
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M MORA ON SECOND, N MARKAKIS ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5
BALTIMORE 4 BOTTOM,5TH
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: M WIETERS (.267, 1-FOR-2)
Rays 5, Orioles 4 Bot 5, 0 OutsSep 15 8:30 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CESAR IZTURIS SCORED MATT WIETERS
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C IZTURIS ON FIRST, M AUBREY ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5
BALTIMORE 3 BOTTOM,4TH
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: F PIE (.268, 1-FOR-2)
Rays 5, Orioles 3 Bot 4, 0 OutsSep 15 8:14 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY NICK MARKAKIS SCORED JEFF FIORENTINO
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, B ROBERTS ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5
BALTIMORE 2 BOTTOM,3RD
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: M MORA (.264, 0-FOR-1)
Rays 5, Orioles 2 Bot 3, 0 OutsSep 15 7:59 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY BRIAN ROBERTS SCORED FELIX PIE
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B ROBERTS ON SECOND, J FIORENTINO ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5
BALTIMORE 1 BOTTOM,3RD
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: N MARKAKIS (.301, 0-FOR-1)
Rays 5, Orioles 1 Bot 3, 0 OutsSep 15 7:57 PM - AL
AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY PAT BURRELL SCORED BEN ZOBRIST
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, P BURRELL ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 5
BALTIMORE 0 TOP,3RD
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: W AYBAR (.246, 0-FOR-1)
Rays 5, Orioles 0 Top 3, 0 OutsSep 15 7:45 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TAMPA BAY 4 4 4 0
BALTIMORE 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: TAM - JEFF NIEMANN
BAL - JASON BERKEN
DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: F PIE (.265, 8 HR, 25 RBI)
J FIORENTINO (.350, 0 HR, 4 RBI)
B ROBERTS (.285, 15 HR, 73 RBI)
Rays 4, Orioles 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsSep 15 7:16 PM
Related News
- Tuesday Bird Droppings: The slow march to Opening Day Dec 26
- Christmas Bird Droppings: Enjoy the holiday season, Birdland Dec 25
- Christmas Eve Bird Droppings Dec 24
- Saturday Bird Droppings: Ryan Minor has passed away Dec 23
- The 2023 ALDS, Game 1 (Camden Chat’s version) Dec 22
- Friday Bird Droppings: The Dodgers won the Yamamoto sweepstakes Dec 22
- The 2014 ALCS, Game 1 (Camden Chat’s version) Dec 21
- Thursday Bird Droppings: Lease done, it’s back to thinking about the Orioles rotation Dec 21
- How much can Oriole Park at Camden Yards change without losing its classic feel? Dec 20
- The Mother’s Day Massacre (Camden Chat’s Version) Dec 20
- On Losing Tyler Glasnow Dec 20
- Wednesday Bird Droppings: Waiting on Yamamoto to make a choice Dec 20