I got the Nolan Riemold bobble head. I had to get the next one, Adam Jones. I find myself down at Camden Yards trading in an unused season ticket for a $1 seat in upper reserve, section 384. I was hoping for a win.
Kevin Millwood on the mound look lost from the get go. Several straight hits in the first and the Marlins were up 2-0. The second inning was more of the same leaving the Marlins ahead 3-0. I was ragging Millwood as he left the mound at the end of the inning. He looked defeated already, and it was still only the second inning. I thought it was going to be a long night of Marlins hits and runs and Orioles futility.
Then the bottom of the third started off with a Craig Tatum double. Then another hit, and another, and another. Finally, the Orioles were up 5-3 and the night felt better. But these are the Orioles and no lead was safe. Will Millwood cough up the lead in the next inning? He didn’t. He came back and pitched respectable going 5 innings and only allowing 4 runs.
Jason Berken continuing with his great relief pitching pitches a nice couple of innings of shutdown ball. David Hernandez finishes up the eighth. Matt Albers comes on for the junk ninth, gives up a run but closes out the win. Why was Albers even pitching? Or even Hernandez? Silly Orioles wasting their guys.
The offense came alive tonight. Jones had a screaming line drive homer, and Miggy came through to seal it with a 3 run homer. Woot!
As the game started I was stewing in my misery in upper reserve 384, drinking a few drinks. Then these guys showed up. They were hilarious. They started cheering. I started cheering. We got on the jumbotron three times! They should’ve been the Fan of the Game, but they had disappeared before then. Dancing and cheering was their forté, and after every score, high fives all around. We cheered. We cheered! We won!
Baseball is so much more fun when you win.
