Huff’s hit off K-Rod helps O’s beat Mets
June 19, 2009
BALTIMORE (AP)—The Baltimore Orioles were 0-34 when trailing after eightinnings, and they were down a run in the ninth when New York Mets closerFrancisco Rodriguez(notes) entered the game.
K-Rod’s 0.56 ERA was exquisite enough, but the right-hander also had 16saves in 17 chances—the exception coming by virtue of a dropped popup againstthe hated Yankees.
Twenty pitches later, the Orioles celebrated perhaps their most upliftingperformance of the season.
Aubrey Huff(notes) drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single, capping atwo-run rally that carried Baltimore to a 5-4 victory Thursday night.
Asked if this was the most satisfying win of the season, Adam Jones(notes) said,“Yeah, this is. It’s off arguably the best closer in all of baseball. To get awin like that …”
Rodriguez, who last yielded an earned run on April 27, made no excuses afterallowing five of the six batters he faced to reach base.
“It was awful. I didn’t get the job done,” he said. “I’m a human being.Unfortunately, days like this are going to happen. It happened to me and I’vejust got to move on.”
Series at a Glance NY Mets 6 Baltimore 4 Tue, Jun 16 – Final NY Mets 4 Baltimore 6 Wed, Jun 17 – Final NY Mets 4 Baltimore 5 Thu, Jun 18 – Final
Matt Wieters(notes) led off the ninth with a double and Nolan Reimold(notes) walked. BrianRoberts(notes) laid down a bunt, and the throw to third by catcher Omir Santos(notes) was toolate to nail pinch-runner Felix Pie(notes).
Rodriguez (1-2) then walked Jones to force in a run, and after Nick Markakis(notes)struck out, Huff hit a liner to right—his second straight game-deciding hit.One night earlier, his seventh-inning homer broke a tie in Baltimore’s 6-4 win.
“That one felt better than the home run,” Huff said of the single.
After he touched first, the veteran was buried under a pile of his teammatesin an impromptu—and improbable—celebration.
“When something like that happens, you don’t really feel it,” Huff said.
Matt Albers(notes) (1-2) pitched the ninth and Robert Andino(notes) homered for theOrioles, who took two of three from the Mets.
Held to one infield hit over the first five innings by rookie Jason Berken(notes),New York rallied from a 2-0 deficit by scoring two runs in the sixth and twomore in the seventh. Alex Cora(notes) got the first hit in each inning and scoredtwice.
Baltimore Orioles' Aubrey … AP – Jun 18, 10:50 pm EDT
Baltimore closed to 4-3 in the eighth when Huff doubled and scored on agroundout by Luke Scott(notes), and the Orioles completed the unlikely comeback againstK-Rod in the ninth.
“You know at some point that he’s not going to be perfect,” manager JerryManuel said of his closer. “He’s been able to walk that tightrope hereoccasionally, but he’s been able to get it done. Tonight, it just didn’t happenhis way.”
Mets starter Livan Hernandez(notes) gave up two runs and eight hits in seveninnings. He left with the lead, and although the bullpen gave it away, remainedunbeaten since April 23.
After putting only one runner in scoring position through the fifth, theMets pulled even in the sixth. Singles by Cora and Carlos Beltran(notes) preceded asacrifice fly by David Wright(notes), and after Gary Sheffield(notes) singled, Ryan Church(notes) hitan RBI single off the right-field wall.
Berken retired the first two batters in the seventh before Cora singled andscored on a double by Daniel Murphy(notes). Beltran followed with a run-scoring singleoff Danys Baez(notes).
Baltimore Orioles Brian Robert… AP – Jun 18, 10:45 pm EDT
Making his fifth career start, Berken allowed four runs and seven hits in 62-3 innings. He had a career-high eight strikeouts, getting Wright, Santos andMurphy twice.
Andino put the Orioles up 1-0 in the third with his first home run sinceApril 7, 2008, with Florida.
Baltimore added a run in the fifth when Roberts ended an 0-for-12 skid withan RBI double. But with the bases loaded and one out, Markakis struck out andHuff lined out to Luis Castillo(notes) at second base.
“You felt the momentum shift to them when I hit the line drive thatCastillo caught,” Huff said. “I just tried to stay as calm as possible afterthat. To come up there in that situation again, to deliver was really nice.”
NOTES: Baltimore 3B Melvin Mora(notes) has hit in 16 of his last 19 games, but hasgone 34 straight games without a home run—the third-longest drought of hiscareer. … The Mets have not made an error this season while Hernandez ispitching.
