Vintage Fridays: Hank Bauer, 1964 Topps #178

I headed to Oriole Park at Camden Yards tonight expecting the worst. It was hot and muggy, the Yankees (and by extension their fans) were in town, and the pitching matchup was Ubaldo Jimenez vs. Michael Pineda. Sometimes I love being proven wrong. Jimenez gutted out five innings of three-run ball, the Yanks stranded the bases loaded twice, and the O's hammered out 16 hits en route to an 11-3 win. Chris Davis had a game-breaking three-run homer among his three hits, and Caleb Joseph also had a homer and three hits. New York didn't look much like a first-place team; they had two errors, two more misplays that were generously scored as hits, and a wild pitch. It was fun to watch.

This was a pretty significant win for Baltimore. It's their fifth in a row, their most runs scored since April 26's 18-7 beatdown of the Red Sox, and it draws them even at 30-30. The Birds hadn't seen the .500 mark since May 5. It was also Buck Showalter's 407th win as the O's manager, tying him with Hank Bauer for third-most in team history behind Earl Weaver and Paul Richards. Pretty good for one night's work.