September 20 – Anthony Sanchez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, helping the Baltimore Orioles beat the San Francisco Giants 5–3 on Thursday afternoon.
Sanchez got four consecutive doubles off Ryan Walker before hitting his 42nd home run of the year. Gunnar Henderson, who had singled in a run earlier in the game, also scored.
Jackson Holliday hit a two-run home run and Jake Eflin pitched six strong innings to help the Orioles snap a three-game losing streak. Holliday was scoreless in nine consecutive games until getting a hit in the fourth inning and allowed only one run in September.
The Orioles (85-68) won for only the third time in their last 11 games. They were four games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East race, and the Yankees lost to Seattle in the second half.
Adley Rutschman had a run-scoring double, while Ryan O’Hearn and Henderson drove in two runs each on Baltimore’s 10 hits.
Trying to hold on to a 3-2 lead in the ninth, Baltimore closer Serrantny Domínguez gave up bases-loaded walks to Patrick Bailey and Heliot Ramos to lead off the inning. Casey Schmidt hit a single to right-center, striking out Baltimore outfielders Cedric Mullins and Austin Slater.
Brett Wisley, who replaced Bailey, equalised. Mullins and Slater remain in the game.
Gregory Soto (3-5) replaced Dominguez and got the final two outs.
Michael Conforto homered for the second consecutive day for the Giants (74-79), who are aiming to win the three-game series. Conforto, Tyler Fitzgerald and Gerald Enkenian had two hits each for San Francisco.
Giants starter Logan Webb allowed three runs on four hits in five innings with two walks and eight strikeouts. Walker (9-4) suffered the crushing loss.
Conforto’s 18th home run was a two-run shot in the top of the fourth inning that opened the scoring for the team.
The Orioles had only two runners on base in the first three innings, but scored three times in the fourth inning. Rutschman had a one-run double and Holliday had a two-run single.
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