Mike Mussina, 1993 Score #27

Tonight, with Mike Mussina (and yours truly) in attendance, the Orioles came from behind and pulled out a thrilling walkoff win for the second straight game against Oakland. Tonight's hero was Chris Davis, who blasted a solo shot to right-center field off of ambidextrous A's reliever Pat Venditte with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie. It was his second home run of the night, his sixth in the last six games, his 15th since the All-Star Break, and his 34th of the season. Did I miss any home run factoids? Oh yeah, it was also his 87th career homer at Camden Yards, so he surpassed Cal Ripken for sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Gerardo Parra chipped in with a game-tying solo home run in the sixth inning, his second as an Oriole. It's also worth recognizing the effort of starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez, who hung in there for a seven-inning quality start after coughing up three runs in the first three innings. Thankfully, the Birds wrapped things up a bit sooner than they did on Friday night, when it took 13 innings before Manny Machado broke the stalemate with a two-run walkoff homer. With back-to-back feats of Orioles Magic, the resilient O's have closed to within a half game of the Angels for the second AL Wild Card slot. The Rangers, Twins, and Rays are all lurking close behind as well, so the next six weeks should be nerve-wracking.