Although mild-mannered Orioles outfielder Corey Patterson doesn't consider himself to be emotional, sometimes, he said, you just have to let loose.
That's what Patterson did early Saturday morning after hitting a ninth-inning, two-out, two-strike grand slam against Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz that gave the Orioles an improbable tie in an eventual 7-6, 10th inning win that included an eventual game-winning homer by Jake Fox.
"Corey Patterson came out huge there," said interim manager Juan Samuel. "It was just an unbelievable feeling to see the ball go out of the ballpark."
It was the Orioles' second straight come-from behind win against the American League West-leading Rangers (50-36), but this one was even more dramatic than Thursday's 6-4 victory that was fueled by a three-run, eighth-inning comeback.
On Friday, the Orioles (27-59) were down four runs in the ninth and the Rangers' had All-Star rookie closer Neftali Feliz on the mound with the bases loaded and one out.
For his second out, Feliz fanned pinch hitter Josh Bell, who was sent down after the game to make room for Saturday's starter Chris Tillman. Then it was Patterson's turn.
Down to his last strike, Patterson hit a 2-2, 89-mph changeup into the right-field seats to tie the game at 6. On his way up the first base line, Patterson pumped his fist and waved his right index finger -- the No. 1 sign -- in the air.
"I'm not really an emotional guy, but ÃÂÃÂ sometimes you can't help it," Patterson said. "It's not that I ever try to withhold myself. But in that situation there, with the game on the line, you are able to come through, you put forth the challenge right there, and I was really pumped up."
What was more unusual than Patterson's show of emotion was the result of his swing. In his 11-season career, spanning 1,055 previous big league games and 3,686 previous at-bats, Patterson had never hit a grand slam.
He picked a pretty good time to do it.
"It didn't really hit me until maybe two minutes after the at-bat because I was still pumped up and excited," said Patterson, who had four hits and five RBIs. "And then someone reminded me and I said, 'Oh yeah.' It didn't happen before, but it worked out tonight."
The celebration had to wait for another inning, and for Fox to homer against Texas reliever Dustin Nippert (3-4) to lead off the 10th. It was Fox's fifth homer of the season, third as an Oriole -- and certainly his most important one.
"It just shows you a lot about the character of this team," Fox said. "We were down two days in a row and we won't roll over and play dead."
This one was as unlikely as they come.
The Orioles were 0-51 this year when trailing after eight innings. They were down 4-0 by the third inning. But in seven innings pitched, the resurgent bullpen allowed just two unearned runs. Jason Berken (2-1) earned the victory with one scoreless inning, and Alfredo Simon pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save.
The game was delayed for 2 hours, 29 minutes at the start because of rain, and didn't end until this morning, around 2:20 a.m. It took 3:51 and ended 6:20 after it was supposed to start.
The outcome might have been joyous for the Orioles, but the game itself was painful.
In consecutive innings, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters and left fielder Felix Pie limped off the field with leg injuries.
Wieters, who missed Thursday's game because of tightness in his right hamstring, was rounding second base in the fifth when he hit the base awkwardly and fell. He got up and limped safely to third base before immediately leaving the game.
He was diagnosed with a strained right hamstring and was to be be re-evaluated Saturday. He said he will definitely be out for the team's remaining two games of the first half of the season but doesn't think the injury is nearly as serious as it looked.
"It's feeling a little bit better now," Wieters said after the game. "Hopefully, with some treatment on it the next couple days, and the break, will be good for it. And hopefully I'll be ready to go when we get back."
The Orioles took another potentially damaging hit in the sixth, after Pie grounded out to end the inning. He walked slowly, stopped at home plate and was met by assistant athletic trainer Brian Ebel. Pie eventually made it to the dugout and left the game.
He was diagnosed with a left quadriceps strain and also will be re-evaluated today, but he told Samuel after the game that he would be fine to play today. That won't happen, of course, but the sentiment means he likely won't be heading to the disabled list. Pie has played just 12 games this season because of a torn muscle in his back.
"I feel OK to play [today], but Sammy said, I will take [today] off and I said, 'OK,' " said Pie, who was replaced by Fox in the lineup.
Before the Orioles were hit by injuries, they first had endure the rain delay and then an ineffective outing by Matusz, their young lefty who pitched seven shutout innings Sunday at Fenway Park in Boston.
On Friday, however, Matusz pitched at Rangers Ballpark, where in May he allowed seven runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings. His stat line was better this time around -- but not by a lot.
He allowed six hits, four walks and four runs in three innings. The big blow was a three-run homer by Vladimir Guerrero in the third on a changeup at the knees that looked like a good pitch before Guerrero hit it 363 feet to left. It was his 20th homer of the season.
"For a normal hitter, I'd say it was a good pitch," said Matusz, who finishes his first half 3-9 with a 4.77 ERA. "For a guy like Vlady, who covers the ball down really well, it wasn't a good pitch. I wanted to bounce it in that situation and I got it down like I wanted to, just not low enough."
Matusz faced 10 batters while throwing 42 pitches in the third. He walked two and allowed three singles, a double and Guerrero's homer. Matt Albers replaced Matusz in the fourth and pitched superbly, allowing one hit and a walk in three shutout innings. His performance helped the Orioles creep back into the game.
It was a game Samuel believes was the best of his short managerial tenure.
"I would say yes," said Samuel, who is 12-20 since taking over June 4. "Being down like that and Corey coming up with a grand slam to tie the game and with Fox hitting that home run there, I'd say yes."
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