Dan Connolly

Some crazy stats from ‘Twilight Zone night’

By Dan Connolly

Posted on June 2, 2016

I remember these types of games between the Orioles and Boston Red Sox. Seems like we watched one a series back in the early 2000s.

Ones that lasted nearly four hours and ones in which the starting pitchers hit the shower well before the fourth inning.

These two teams, however, have been the class of the American League East this year. Beer softball league games haven’t occurred routinely between these two so far this season.

But one did Wednesday night, with the Orioles winning 13-9. And it was a bizarre one.

How strange?

Chew on these nuggets:

• The Orioles scored a season-high 13 runs, eclipsing their previous run output of 11 set twice this year. And yet the Orioles lit up the scoreboard without their trademark longball. Thirteen runs and 14 hits and they didn’t homer once.
• So at least the Orioles made the most of their opportunities, right? Wrong. They actually left 11 men on base. So they scored 13 and could have brought home a whole lot more.
• The Red Sox displayed their power game, hitting five homers. And they lost. In fact, the Red Sox outhomered the Orioles 5-0, and still lost. They had two guys, Mookie Betts and Chris Young, who each homered twice. And still lost.
• Betts continued his ridiculous run here in Baltimore. He homered three times Tuesday and twice more Wednesday. He became the first major leaguer in history to homer in the first and second inning in consecutive games. He homered five times in seven at-bats spanning 11 innings, tying the big league record for most homers in back-to-back games.
• The two starting pitchers combined to allow 14 hits, three walks and 13 runs while recording a total of 15 outs. Boston’s Joe Kelly was sent to Triple-A after the game. And Mike Wright, who became the first Orioles starter to yield four homers in a start since Bud Norris last June against Texas, could be in jeopardy of losing his rotation spot.
• The nine-inning game lasted three hours and 58 minutes. It was so long that during his post-game talk, Orioles manager Buck Showalter made a great beer sales crack, especially given the mini-controversy earlier this season involving the removal of National Bohemian at Camden Yards. “I’m sure Natty Boh was happy tonight,” Showalter said. “I’m sorry, are we serving Natty Boh? All right, take that back.”
• One last moment of weirdness: The Orioles took the lead for good in the sixth when Boston’s sure-handed second baseman Dustin Pedroia allowed a potential double play ball to skip right through his legs, allowing Chris Davis to score.
• After the game, Showalter summed up Pedroia’s miscue and, really, the game. “That’s when you know it’s Twilight Zone night,” Showalter said.