It wasn't exactly how Matt Wieters envisioned the first game-ending home run of his big league career.
With barely 100 people in the stands after a long late-game rain delay, Wieters launched the first pitch he saw from Russ Springer into the left-field seats. His two-run, ninth-inning homer pushed the Orioles to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays before what remained of an announced 10,548 at wet Camden Yards.
When the game finally ended, there were seemingly as many Orioles at home plate to greet and pound on Wieters as there were fans in the crowd.
"It's still a great feeling," Wieters said. "That might be my first walk-off ever, even in the minors and in college. It's definitely a different feeling, and it's exciting to get a win and make sure we get out of here before it's too late."
Wieters' heroics - he had a game-winning hit the previous night, too - came after a 1-hour, 40-minute rain delay in the eighth inning, and after Orioles closer Jim Johnson had blown a one-run save try in the top half of the ninth by serving up a homer to Ben Zobrist. The long delay chased away most of the paying customers and created a surreal atmosphere, one more suited for a tennis match than a baseball game.
"I think at some point in time this year, I've signed an autograph for each and every one of them," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said of the precious few who braved the delay and the wet and cool conditions. "They all knew me by my name, and I knew who they were. No one offered to buy me anything, though. I was hoping somebody would say, 'Come on over, I've got a soda or a hot dog or something.' "
Trembley, instead, got what he really wanted - another Orioles victory. While the reeling Rays have dropped 13 of their past 14 games, the Orioles (60-85) have won four of their past six. They are 6-7 in September, a positive sign for an organization that hasn't had a winning September since 2004.
"We told the team the other day that one of the goals we had coming down here the last three weeks of the season was, let's leave here and make a positive impression on your teammates and on your coaches and the people in the league," Trembley said. "We've got an awful lot of young guys whose eyes have been open. I think they've learned a great deal. I think they understand a lot more about themselves and how difficult success comes in this game."
