As it turned out, the Orioles would not go hitless today with runners in scoring position. They were 0-for-16 when Mark Trumbo batted with runners at first and second and two outs in the 12th inning.
Trumbo lined a Danny Barnes 1-0 changeup to left and well beyond the diving attempt of Steve Pearce. Jonathan Schoop scored easily as the Orioles beat Toronto 5-4 with their 11th walk-off win of the year.
But before Trumbo could win it, the Orioles were down 4-3 and had to tie it in the ninth against Toronto closer Roberto Osuna. They did. Catcher Welington Castillo's second solo homer of the day got the Orioles even.
"I played against Welly a lot. That's a clutch hitter. That's a big-time situation against a premier closer. He got the job done," Trumbo said.
Castillo went 3-for-5. He is 12-for-24 over his last seven games with four homers and eight RBIs. He has six home runs his past 12 games.
It was a big win to pull out and allowed the Orioles to split this four-game series and improve to 70-67. Instead of a loss that could have dropped them 3 1/2 games back of Minnesota, which was winning in the seventh inning, they are 1 1/2 games back after the Twins lost by the same 5-4 score to Kansas City. So the Orioles gained ground in the chase for the second American League wild card.
After Chris Tillman gave up a three-run homer in the third to Josh Donaldson, the Orioles were down 3-0. But their staff gave up just one run the last nine innings.
"That was a really tough series," Trumbo said. "Obviously, this is crunch time, so we would have been real disappointed if we didn't get the job done."
The Orioles are now 12-2 in extra-inning games and the win percentage of .857 is the best in the game in extras. They pulled one out in the 13th on Friday night.
"I think especially at home, you have to like our chances, top to bottom, anyway (in extras)," Trumbo said. "Everyone has 20 homers or more. If you give us enough chances, I think we can come through. I think it's a credit to our pitching because we have to get those opportunities, and they've held the game and given us that opportunity every time."
Said manager Buck Showalter of a win the Orioles had to dig deep for: "It's just really hard to do what they did today and have been doing. It's just there are so many lures to give in and our guys never did, and they didn't either. That's why these guys perform at this level. ... It would take too long than the time we have here to rattle off the things that happened in that game that mattered. Chris (Davis') play on the double play. That's one of about 20."
Did Showalter feel the Orioles were due to finally break through with a runner in scoring position? He said he always feels they will. But at the same time, chances to get big hits and wins are dwindling.
"Let's be frank: There's going to come a day before too long where there isn't another game," Showalter said. "So we want the opportunity to play some more games, and games like this make you feel like you earned it."
The O's bullpen combined to pitch eight innings, allowing one run and three hits. Jimmy Yacabonis got his second win in three games with two scoreless innings. Trumbo hit his 21st homer in the fourth and in the 12th came up with his fourth walk-off hit of the year and ninth of his career.
The Orioles are 43-28 at home, 5-2 on this homestand, 32-24 versus the AL East and 11-5 against Toronto. They host the Yankees for three starting Monday afternoon.
More postgame quotes:
Showalter on Tillman: "I felt like the other team kind of told me (when to take him out). Donaldson had had some real good swings, other than the first at-bat. I'm glad to pass him on to somebody else. He's heating up. But I think the other team kind of told me. Chris held them to three runs, a lot because of the job that Mychal (Givens) and them did behind him. I thought he was good early, then kind of fell back a little bit."
Showalter on Castillo: "He had that potential. I told you from the first day. I wasn't that knowledgeable, other than talking to people - people who I respect their opinion, watching some tape. Until you get someone, especially a catcher, but he's been so easy to work with. This guy likes to win, and he likes to improve if there's something he needs to improve on. And he respects Caleb (Joseph). It's a good tandem."
Schoop on the win: "We've got to keep it up. Keep winning. We kept battling. This team doesn't get down. We can be down 10-0. The pitching was good today again. We have to grind them out and we believe in each other."
Tillman on getting pulled in the fifth: "Does it bother me? Yeah. But when we win, that's more important. I think it kind of doesn't really matter what I do as long as the team wins. That's the way I think everyone in here feels. Right now is the time of year we've got to win, especially in September. You see it all the time. I feel like you've got all the callups here and there's a chance for that game to get away with one more swing. I think I saw it coming, especially after I walked the guy."
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