The difference in the Orioles' 8-6 comeback win in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays might have occurred before the Orioles hit four home runs and before they overcame a an early four-run deficit.
Earlier than the rally, the game was slipping away from Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman, who was struggling to get out of the third inning. Tillman had let five straight Tampa Bay batters reach base with two outs in the inning and two runs had already scored, one on Desmond Jennings' double and the other on Hank Conger's bases-loaded walk.
The Orioles trailed, 4-0, and when Rays No. 9 hitter Jaff Decker lined a 2-0 pitch from Tillman into the right-center-field gap, it appeared that the rout was going to be on. But center fielder Adam Jones ranged to his left and made a diving catch on Decker's sinking liner to get the Orioles out of the inning.
"I told him, 'Thanks for picking me up,'" Tillman said. "That was an outstanding catch. I think that was a game-changer right there. That saved two, maybe three runs. I liked to say it kind of kept us in the game and gave us some momentum there. I would've liked to put up a zero the next innings, but you know what? I guess I just wasn't able to execute some pitches."
Tillman allowed six runs - tying a season high – on a season-high 10 hits over five innings. But it could have been much worse had Decker's ball dropped in the gap. Jones' diving play will go in the scorebook as a simple F-8, but the play had much greater impact.
"Huge play," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "It's like a double-play ball. That game can get away from you right there. I'm glad that we make note of that. That's a huge play that will get overlooked by some. That's a play, too, you just played nine innings and you won a game. It's sticky out there and some people would say, 'I'll take this on one hop. Not sure I can catch it.'
"Those are the type of split-second decisions these guys have to make at this level every night. But it's like I tell them all the time, 'You feel something, you've got to go for it.' And if it doesn't work out, at least you don't wonder if it could have."
Wieters joins power posse
Matt Wieters had his fifth career multihomer game in Saturday's nightcap, launching a pair of souvenirs over the right-field scoreboard, including one onto Eutaw Street for the second time in his career.
"I'll take it," Wieters said of hitting his second homer onto Eutaw Street. "I don't have too many, so I'll take what I can get."
Wieters' eighth-inning homer, which came with the Orioles leading, 7-6, was another big hit in a "late and close" scenario, which is defined as occurring in the seventh or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one or the tying run at least on deck.
In those situations, Wieters is hitting .424 (14-for-33) with four homers and 12 RBIs this season.
"He's won like it seems five or six games with huge hits," Showalter said. "You give [closer] Zach [Britton] a little cushion … Matt's been doing that for a lot of the season. He's had a lot of pick-us-up hits. That's why we were so excited when we were able to get him back with us this year."
Wieters' two homers Saturday night give him nine on the season. Another homer by Wieters or Pedro Alvarez will give the Orioles six players with double-digit homers.
And the top six hitters in the Orioles lineup Saturday night – Jones (15 homers), Jonathan Schoop (12), Manny Machado (18), Chris Davis (17), Mark Trumbo (21) and Wieters -- have hit a total of 92 homers, which give the Orioles' the top power-hitting sextet in baseball.
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