The Los Angeles Angels looked like they had the drop on the Orioles on Saturday afternoon, until reliever Joe Smith literally dropped the ball.
Smith lost the handle on the baseball during his delivery and balked home the tying run in the seventh inning, which left the door open for an eighth-inning Orioles rally that carried them to a 3-2 victory before 43,288 at Oriole Park.
That's not something you see every day, but the Orioles clearly needed some help after managing just one run behind starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo. Smith worked out of further trouble in the seventh, then allowed three of the first four batters to single in the eighth.
Manny Machado hit a soft liner over second baseman Johnny Giavotella and Chris Davis pulled a sharp single past first base to put runners at first and third before Jonathan Schoop – who had scored from third on the balk – singled through the middle to give the Orioles the lead.
Newly minted All-Stars Brad Brach and Zach Britton pitched the final two innings for the Orioles, with Brach (6-1) getting the victory and Britton recording his league-leading 26th save in 26 opportunities.
The Orioles improved to 50-36, marking the fastest they've reached the 50-win mark since 1997, when they started 50-23. They also guaranteed that they'd be alone in first place going into the All-Star break.