Melvin Mora, 2004 Leaf Second Edition #10

Last night Nate McLouth provided some walkoff magic, hitting a home run to lead off the bottom of the tenth inning, as the Orioles beat the Yankees 3-2. It was a cathartic win, coming on the heels of six consecutive losses to open this eight-game homestand, and it happened under quite unique circumstances. All three O's runs scored on solo homers, with backup outfielder Chris Dickerson providing the other two longballs in the third and fifth innings.

As I continue searching for ways to get the most bang for my buck from my subscription to the Baseball Reference Play Index, I decided to find out how many games the Birds have won in which each of their runs came courtesy of a bases-empty home run. The tally is 61, with the high being a five-homer barrage on June 19, 2001. That day, the O's bested the Blue Jays 5-1 at Camden Yards, with Brady Anderson, Jay Gibbons, Melvin Mora, and David Segui (twice) doing the honors. There has also been one four-homer game that met the criteria: September 6, 1995, better known as Cal Ripken's 2,131 game. Everyone remembers Cal's dramatic fourth-inning shot, and he was joined by Bobby Bonilla and Rafael Palmeiro (twice). Last night's game was the seventh in Oriole history with three solo home runs accounting for all of the team's scoring. It was, however, the first time the O's have ever hit that many solo homers, scored no other runs, and won in walkoff fashion. So you see, there's a first time for everything.