The Baltimore Orioles were a few unfortunate at-bats away from getting swept by the New York Yankees at home when outfielder Anthony Santander stepped up to the plate with two runners on in the bottom of the ninth.
Three days ago, Santander had a multi-home run game in a 6-2 loss and heading into the ninth, he was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
The timing seemed right and right it was as he launched a three-run walk-off home run, giving the Orioles a 9-6 win.
“It feels incredible finally having my first walk-off," Santander said to MLB.com "I dedicate it to my parents, who have been there supporting me the entire way through since I was a little kid.”
In just four games, Santander doubled his home run total, but most importantly on Thursday, he finished the series on a positive note with another AL East rival, the Tampa Bay Rays, coming to Camden Yards for a weekend series.
Baltimore fought hard against the Yankees, coming back from a 5-3 deficit with a three-run inning in the sixth.
Relief pitcher Jorge Lopez ended up blowing the save in the ninth after Baltimore came in with a 6-5 lead, walking two and giving up one earned run.
However, Santander's ninth-inning heroics shifted the mood going into the weekend.
"[We] lost two one-run games here against the Yankees, and then win the last game of the series," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MLB.com "Hopefully, we can start to continue to take these sorts of at-bats going forward.”
After the fifth inning, the Baltimore bullpen held down the fort against the best team in baseball, giving up three hits and one earned run in four innings of relief.
Bryan Baker and Dillon Tate each threw a scoreless inning of work and looked stellar on the mound for the Orioles.
Game 1 between the Orioles and Rays starts at 7:05 PM EST.
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