Reimold on his walk-off homer (and other clubhouse quotes)

It was not a bad Sunday for the Orioles. They got another strong performance from their starting pitcher. They got Darren O'Day back and they completed a three-game sweep of the first-place Cleveland Indians with a walk-off victory.

It was a walk-off win produced by an unlikely hero. Outfielder Nolan Reimold batted with Pedro Alvarez on second and two outs in the ninth of a 3-3 tie. Right-hander Cody Allen was on the mound and Reimold would normally be more likely to pinch-hit against a lefty.

But Reimold blasted his first homer since May 29 on a 2-0 pitch and the Orioles had a 5-3 walk-off win and a sweep. It was Reimold's third career walk-off homer and first since Aug. 10, 2011. It was the Orioles' first pinch-hit walk-off homer since Chris Davis against the White Sox on June 23, 2014.

Reimold said it was big for him and the team. The homer snapped an 0-for-16 stretch. He had been 3-for-23 in July.

"I mean, got a win," Reimold said. "A win to (try to) reach our goal of making the playoffs. In that case it was huge. For me it was big. You have to breakout sometime, so. I'm glad it was in a big moment.

"I was taking the first pitch to try and get comfortable. Then, got up 2-0 and I was ready to hit. I figured he wold try to throw a fastball there and I was ready for it in case he did."

With a right-hander on the mound, Reimold was preparing in case he had to enter the game. He just didn't figure it would be to hit there.

"I was actually pretty surprised," he said. "I was down underneath getting ready to pinch run if they needed me to do that. I wasn't expecting to hit with a righty out there. Glad he did pinch hit me though.

"I hadn't been swinging well lately. Been working on a few things, I was just in the cage a few innings before. You have to do what you can to be ready when you're called. It feels really good. The whole team played well this weekend."

This was Reimold's fourth career walk-off hit and the Orioles' fourth walk-off win of 2016. They had earlier walk-offs on April 4 against Minnesota, April 20 against Toronto and May 5 versus the Yankees.

More clubhouse quotes:

Vance Worley on his outing: "Happier than the last one, was able to go a little deeper. I was able to use all my pitches to both sides and feel confident in all of them. I think today we threw more curveballs and changeups to keep guys off balance, instead of just fastballs and cutters. Overall, a good team win."

Worley on the rotation pitching better recently: "It's big. Coming from bullpen, I know how those guys feel. We ate up a lot of innings early on in the year. By us starting to go deep out there, that is going to help them for the long run."

Worley allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings in a no-decision. The O's rotation gave up two earned runs in 19 innings in this series. O's starters have an ERA of 1.04 the past four games and 2.90 the last 12 games.

Pedro Alvarez on reaching on a strikeout to start the ninth: "As long as I've been playing baseball, the rule is you run down the baseline. I saw the ball get away from him and I just ran to first. Hoped that the ball crossed my path at some point and would ricochet off me or I would beat the throw."

Alvarez on beating out a potential double play grounder that scored a run in the fourth: "I just think that is playing the game the right way. There is no room for not playing the game the right way. You hit a ball, run it out. Every single person on this team plays the game the right way. That is something that should be done pitch after pitch. That is all I did right there, put the ball in play and run as hard as I can."

Darren O'Day on striking out the side in ninth in first game off disabled list: "I did one rehab outing and you would think it would be a game where we're down by a couple of runs, just get your feet wet. Oddly enough, I was more calm today than I usually am. I think just being away from the guys and the competition makes you appreciate what you get to do. To be able to be pitch in a big spot, guys standing out there in 90-something degrees today, to be able to perform in that arena, really helped me a lot."

O'Day on hearing the O'Day chant again: "That was cool. I didn't notice it until two outs. Yeah, it's pretty neat. Been to a few European soccer games and whenever I hear it, that is what it reminds me of. I love it. If they're doing it, that means I'm pitching well. I don't know if I could have written it any better. The walk-off homer, Vance, our starting pitching has been awesome the last few days here. You can't talk about the game without talking about Vance."

The Orioles have the best record in the American League at 57-40 and lead Boston by 1 1/2 games and Toronto by three atop the AL East. The Red Sox and Blue Jays also won today. The Orioles are now 36-14 at home and are 10-1 in their last 11 and 19-4 in their past 23 home games.