Melvin Mora hopped all the way down the third base line, his arms held high in the air. He crossed home plate first, and then came pinch runner Cesar Izturis to join the rest of the players who had gathered to greet the hero of the Orioles' 12-10 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, easily the most improbable win of their season.
Nolan Reimold, whose powerful three-run homer in the 11th inning had just turned a potential gut-wrenching loss into an exhilarating victory, jogged slowly toward home plate, awaiting one beating that he was happy to absorb. The rookie outfielder was jumped on and jabbed by teammates, then hugged by manager Dave Trembley. He was eventually the recipient of a shaving-cream pie in the face from shortstop Robert Andino, who also was targeted and doused with yogurt by catcher Gregg Zaun.
"Been a long time since we had a lot of fun like that," said Trembley, whose team secured its first three-game sweep - and winning streak of that length - of the season, and dealt the Blue Jays their ninth straight defeat before an announced 13,713 at Camden Yards. "That was a lot of fun."
The Orioles (21-26) survived a rocky outing by starter Rich Hill, who didn't make it out of the fourth inning. They battled Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay enough that he exited after seven innings. Entering the game 0-24 when trailing after seven innings, they erased a five-run deficit with five runs in the eighth inning before watching the potential game-winning run (Adam Jones) get thrown out at the plate.
And then, when they again found themselves down thanks to Aaron Hill's two-run homer off Danys Baez in the top of the 11th, they found the resolve to rally for a second time. Nick Markakis, whose RBI double in the eighth inning off Blue Jays closer Scott Downs tied the score, led off the bottom of the 11th with a single. After a popout by Aubrey Huff, Mora and Luke Scott, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs in his return from the disabled list, hit singles, Scott's making it a one-run game.
That brought up Reimold, who had entered the game as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and promptly struck out. He then came to the plate with men on first and second and one out in the ninth and fanned again.
"Those first two-at bats were pretty frustrating for me," said Reimold, 25, who made his major league debut less than two weeks ago. "I had two chances ... and I struck out both times. After my second one, I went out to the field, came back in and Dave [Trembley] sat me down and had a few words of advice for me. He said: 'Forget about it'; I'll get another shot.' "
