Hits and misses

On the field: Toronto third baseman Ed Sprague finally got his 100th RBI, reaching the plateau on his sixth-inning single to tie the game at 1. Sprague, who was stuck on 99 RBIs for nearly a week, is the ninth player in Blue Jays history to get 100 RBIs in a season.

In the dugout: Perhaps if Orioles manager Davey Johnson had left starter Mike Mussina in for another inning, Mussina may have notched his 20th win. Mussina was replaced by Armando Benitez to start the ninth inning, after allowing just four hits and one earned run up to then on 118 pitches. Benitez gave up a homer to Sprague, tying the game at 2, leaving Mussina with a no-decision.

In the clubhouse: The Orioles celebrated the wild-card berth enthusiastically, but reliever Alan Mills said he hopes it's not the last party of the season. "This is just the first stage," Mills said. "We've got three more of these to go."

Pub Date: 9/29/96