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05-23-2003, 07:13 AM
A 9TH INNING GRAND SLAM TO WIN THE GAME!!! Holy moly! :eek: Off Troy Percival, yet.
:hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail:
Wow. Plus, he made a sparkling play in the 8th. I saw it on Sports Center. It was a beauty.
Dang. Sparky. Way to make a mark. :thumbsup:
Very dramatic. :D
Plus, the other new guy, Carlos Mendez, makes a mark, pinch-hitting for Bubble-Boy. His first major league at-bat and he doubles. :D
O's win it, 7-4, and take 2 of 3 from the Angels.
Roberts' slam in ninth lifts O's over Angels, 7-4
Newcomer rips Percival; O's take champs in series
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published May 23, 2003
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is trying to prove he belongs in the big leagues this time, and last night he made one heck of a case.
Roberts came up with the bases loaded in the ninth inning against All-Star closer Troy Percival and hit his first career grand slam, lifting the Orioles to a 7-4 victory over the Anaheim Angels at Edison International Field.
After looking lousy for two weeks against the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Orioles took two of three games from the World Series champion Angels.
Roberts, who came up from Triple-A Ottawa on Wednesday after Jerry Hairston broke a bone in his right foot, had the dugout jumping for joy. Roberts said it was the biggest moment he'd had in 115 big league games, bar none.
"I can't really put much into words when it comes to that," Roberts said.
"You'd have to experience it. I've only hit 10 home runs in pro ball. Occasionally, I'll hit one, but I'm obviously not going to hit 30 a year. I try to keep that out of my mind."
Trailing 4-2 in the eighth inning, the Orioles faced a mountainous task. The Angels had Brendan Donnelly on the mound - he of the 0.00 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. Behind him stood Percival, the hard-throwing right-hander who had converted all seven of his save opportunities this season.
With one out in the eighth, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove sent Carlos Mendez to pinch hit for David Segui, who was dizzy all night with a sinus infection and went 0-for-3. Making his major league debut, Mendez doubled to deep left-center field.
With two outs, Jay Gibbons scored Mendez with a bloop single to left. It marked the first earned run Donnelly has allowed in 33 innings stretching back to last season.
Percival took over with a 4-3 lead in the ninth, but his control problems were obvious from the start. Later, he said he felt a little soreness in his right hip. He walked Gary Matthews, and then the Orioles executed a rare hit-and-run play. Matthews broke for second, Angels shortstop David Eckstein went to cover, and Deivi Cruz singled right through the spot where Eckstein was standing.
With runners at the corners, Percival (0-2) hit Geronimo Gil with a pitch to load the bases, and then Roberts drilled a 3-2 fastball over the right-field wall.
"It was a big shot for us," Hargrove said. "They're the world champions, and it's nice to play the world champions tough. They were not lucky to win it last year. If you wanted to write a book on how to play winning baseball, you could watch how they played the whole second half of last season."
All three games in the series were tight, with the team's splitting a pair of 7-6 nail-biters heading into last night. It looked like the Orioles would head to Texas last night with nothing but a moral victory until Percival unraveled in the ninth.
Orioles starter Jason Johnson took a no-decision after allowing four runs and striking out seven batters in 6 1/3 innings. Willis Roberts (3-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, stranding three runners on base to give the Orioles a chance to come back.
Jorge Julio pitched the ninth for his 12th save.
Roberts has had chances to prove himself as an everyday player the past two years, but both of those stints have been a little disappointing. He had hit three previous home runs in 410 major league at-bats.
The Orioles aren't looking for Roberts to hit home runs. They'd rather see him use his speed as a leadoff man and get on base.
They'd also like to see him play good defense. After mishandling two potential double-play balls Wednesday, Roberts played flawlessly in the field last night. To end the eighth inning, he started a double play with a spectacular sliding stop and throw.
He ranged to his left, fielded a short-hop, and fired to shortstop Cruz at second base. Cruz threw to first in time to get the slow-footed Bengie Molina.
"Brian's got a lot of talent," Hargrove said. "There's going to be a time when Brian's going to play in the big leagues and be a very good player. Is the time now? I don't know. We'll see."
In two games, Roberts is 3-for-10 with a single, double, home run and four very big RBIs.
Against Percival, Roberts said he was trying to take some pitches at first.
"I felt like he was struggling a little bit with his control, so I didn't want to help him out," Roberts said.
Hargrove said he would have taken a sacrifice fly.
"For Brian to hit a granny like that, well, that's gravy," Hargrove said.
"But we'll take it."
Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun
:hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail:
Wow. Plus, he made a sparkling play in the 8th. I saw it on Sports Center. It was a beauty.
Dang. Sparky. Way to make a mark. :thumbsup:
Very dramatic. :D
Plus, the other new guy, Carlos Mendez, makes a mark, pinch-hitting for Bubble-Boy. His first major league at-bat and he doubles. :D
O's win it, 7-4, and take 2 of 3 from the Angels.
Roberts' slam in ninth lifts O's over Angels, 7-4
Newcomer rips Percival; O's take champs in series
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published May 23, 2003
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is trying to prove he belongs in the big leagues this time, and last night he made one heck of a case.
Roberts came up with the bases loaded in the ninth inning against All-Star closer Troy Percival and hit his first career grand slam, lifting the Orioles to a 7-4 victory over the Anaheim Angels at Edison International Field.
After looking lousy for two weeks against the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Orioles took two of three games from the World Series champion Angels.
Roberts, who came up from Triple-A Ottawa on Wednesday after Jerry Hairston broke a bone in his right foot, had the dugout jumping for joy. Roberts said it was the biggest moment he'd had in 115 big league games, bar none.
"I can't really put much into words when it comes to that," Roberts said.
"You'd have to experience it. I've only hit 10 home runs in pro ball. Occasionally, I'll hit one, but I'm obviously not going to hit 30 a year. I try to keep that out of my mind."
Trailing 4-2 in the eighth inning, the Orioles faced a mountainous task. The Angels had Brendan Donnelly on the mound - he of the 0.00 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. Behind him stood Percival, the hard-throwing right-hander who had converted all seven of his save opportunities this season.
With one out in the eighth, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove sent Carlos Mendez to pinch hit for David Segui, who was dizzy all night with a sinus infection and went 0-for-3. Making his major league debut, Mendez doubled to deep left-center field.
With two outs, Jay Gibbons scored Mendez with a bloop single to left. It marked the first earned run Donnelly has allowed in 33 innings stretching back to last season.
Percival took over with a 4-3 lead in the ninth, but his control problems were obvious from the start. Later, he said he felt a little soreness in his right hip. He walked Gary Matthews, and then the Orioles executed a rare hit-and-run play. Matthews broke for second, Angels shortstop David Eckstein went to cover, and Deivi Cruz singled right through the spot where Eckstein was standing.
With runners at the corners, Percival (0-2) hit Geronimo Gil with a pitch to load the bases, and then Roberts drilled a 3-2 fastball over the right-field wall.
"It was a big shot for us," Hargrove said. "They're the world champions, and it's nice to play the world champions tough. They were not lucky to win it last year. If you wanted to write a book on how to play winning baseball, you could watch how they played the whole second half of last season."
All three games in the series were tight, with the team's splitting a pair of 7-6 nail-biters heading into last night. It looked like the Orioles would head to Texas last night with nothing but a moral victory until Percival unraveled in the ninth.
Orioles starter Jason Johnson took a no-decision after allowing four runs and striking out seven batters in 6 1/3 innings. Willis Roberts (3-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, stranding three runners on base to give the Orioles a chance to come back.
Jorge Julio pitched the ninth for his 12th save.
Roberts has had chances to prove himself as an everyday player the past two years, but both of those stints have been a little disappointing. He had hit three previous home runs in 410 major league at-bats.
The Orioles aren't looking for Roberts to hit home runs. They'd rather see him use his speed as a leadoff man and get on base.
They'd also like to see him play good defense. After mishandling two potential double-play balls Wednesday, Roberts played flawlessly in the field last night. To end the eighth inning, he started a double play with a spectacular sliding stop and throw.
He ranged to his left, fielded a short-hop, and fired to shortstop Cruz at second base. Cruz threw to first in time to get the slow-footed Bengie Molina.
"Brian's got a lot of talent," Hargrove said. "There's going to be a time when Brian's going to play in the big leagues and be a very good player. Is the time now? I don't know. We'll see."
In two games, Roberts is 3-for-10 with a single, double, home run and four very big RBIs.
Against Percival, Roberts said he was trying to take some pitches at first.
"I felt like he was struggling a little bit with his control, so I didn't want to help him out," Roberts said.
Hargrove said he would have taken a sacrifice fly.
"For Brian to hit a granny like that, well, that's gravy," Hargrove said.
"But we'll take it."
Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun