Notes on Tim Beckham, Anthony Santander and the 1992 Orioles

With their win last night over the Los Angeles Angels on Manny Machado's walk-off grand slam in the ninth, the Orioles now have five wins this year when trailing after eight innings. That is tied for the American League lead.

Such wins are rare.

The Orioles are 5-57 when trailing after eight, while the New York Yankees are 5-52 and Tampa Bay is 5-56. Division-leading Boston is 3-48 and seven American League teams have two or fewer such wins.

Machado's slam was his third homer of the night and his second career three-home run game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Machado became the 13th player in major league history to hit three homers in a game with the final one a walk-off home run. The last three times that it happened, the final homer has been a walk-off grand slam - Joey Votto against the Nationals in 2012, Khris Davis versus the Rangers last year and Machado on Friday night.

Of course, Machado could not have hit the slam if Anthony Santander didn't get his first major league hit, Seth Smith didn't draw a seven-pitch walk or Tim Beckham didn't get his second hit of the night. Beckham singled to right on a 2-0 pitch to load the bases and set the stage for Machado.

"First two guys got on and that was big for us," Beckham said of that ninth-inning rally. "Once runners got on first and second, I just wanted to see a pitch to hit. Try to stay within myself. Don't try to do too much, get a base hit and keep the inning going. Just pass the baton along. Just wanted to get on base so the boys could hit us in. That was a huge win for us and now we want to keep it rolling."

Beckham talked about a night where the teams combined for 10 homers, with each club hitting five.

"Early in the game, the ball was flying out. But as the night went on, the ball wasn't flying as much," he said. "But Manny put some good swings on some good pitches and put us up to win. That was impressive."

The game featured the major league debut of 22-year-old outfielder Santander, who is starting again tonight. Santander made a diving catch in right field to rob Mike Trout in the second inning. Then, as he hurried to his feet, he took another dive. His teammates gave him some grief for the second one.

"I felt great," Santander said of the catch through translator Ramon Alarcon. "I was coordinated with my outfield coach, right position. And I was able to make the play, so it felt awesome. It was fun. The guys were ribbing me a little bit in the dugout. But it was fun. I made the catch and we won the game, so it was all fun."

Tonight at 6 p.m., the festivities begin to honor the 25th anniversary season of Camden Yards with the return of the 1992 Orioles, the first team to play here. It starts with a Home Run Derby competition between Brady Anderson, Mike Devereaux, Chris Hoiles, Sam Horn and Joe Orsulak. Following the Derby, the returning 1992 Orioles will be introduced on the field at approximately 6:40 p.m. as part of a special ceremony.

Sadly, some members of that team are deceased, including manager Johnny Oates, coaches Greg Biagini, Elrod Hendricks and Cal Ripken Sr., and players Mike Flanagan and Todd Frohwirth.

Infielder Tim Hulett, who spent six seasons as an Oriole, fondly remembered Oates at a warehouse press conference on Friday.

"Johnny was special to a lot of us," he said. "We lived in a complex close to Johnny. He would hang out over his balcony and watch myself and my kids play Wiffle Ball every morning. We got to know him pretty well. His support and all the things he brought to the Orioles - he was a players' manager. Baltimore will always have a special place in the hearts of the Hulett family. The Orioles organization, led by Johnny, was just fantastic. This is a special place for us."

Leo Gomez was a 26-year-old third baseman in 1992. That season, he hit .265 with a career-best 17 homers and 65 RBIs for the Orioles.

"Being the first guy to play third base here was special," Gomez said. "Last guy to play third base at Memorial Stadium and first guy here. And got to play next to Cal Ripken. I will always love Baltimore. Camden Yards is special for me."

After four seasons at Triple-A Rochester, Dick Bosman was promoted to the major league staff for that 1992 season as pitching coach. His staff led the AL with 16 shutouts and posted its best ERA in nearly a decade.

Bosman remember Oates' decision to start Rick Sutcliffe in the first game at Camden Yards, over up-and-coming young pitchers Mike Mussina and Ben McDonald.

"It was the right thing to do," Bosman said. "The veteran presence and who he is. How he carried himself from the first day of spring training right on through it. And then to cap it off with that performance opening day, it was truly special."

Sutcliffe pitched a complete-game five-hitter that day while under the weather as the Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians 2-0. He is one of the many players returning to Baltimore this weekend.