General

Rays-Orioles Season Opener In Running For Game of the Year

Apr 7, 2010, 5:00 PM UTC

â†µYes, I know it was just the third day of the season – second for Marge Schott traditionalists – but Tuesday night's game between the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays is already on the short list for game of the year.â†µ

â†µâ†µKevin Kaduk from Yahoo’s Big League Stew had a post yesterday afternoon reminding readers that, for some reason, the only two teams who had yet to play a game before last night were the O’s and Rays. ‘Duk specifically mentioned that having the game on the second night, rather than the first when all other teams were playing and there was far greater focus on baseball, “robs some of the game’s better young stars, including Matt Wieters and Evan Longoria, of the opportunity to put up good performances when the national spotlight is shining brightest.”â†µ

â†µâ†µWhile I totally agree with his sentiment, it seems the game last night may stand out better on its own (note, there were some other good games last night, but this was the only season opener on the slate, so it deserved to stand out).â†µ

â†µâ†µThe game had all the elements of a classic. It had huge young stars like Evan Longoria and Matt Wieters. It had four home runs, including a shot by another young star Adam Jones, one by Wieters and an absolute bomb by Longoria that traveled 470 feet for the third-longest home run in Tropicana Field history.â†µ

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â†µThe game also had some spectacular defensive situations, including an over the head catch at the wall by B.J. Upton and three – three! – plays at the plate, with two of them going for outs. Nick Markakis, another young star, gunned down Dioner Navarro, who was trying to score from second on a Ben Zobrist single in the third inning. In the ninth, with the Rays down 3-2, Longoria knocked down a chopper to third and nailed Garrett Atkins at the plate to keep it to a one-run game.â†µ

â†µâ†µThen, of course, the prerequisite for all great games, a walk off hit to win the game for the home whites. This, however, was twice as good as a regular walk off, as Carl Crawford singled to right to plate the game-tying and winning runs as the throw from right field went up the third base line, allowing Sean Rodriguez to score. Honestly, the only thing that could have made the game better would have been if the throw came a little closer to the plate.â†µ

â†µâ†µFormer Braves relievers figured in both decisions as Rafael Soriano got the win for the Rays, despite loading the bases in the ninth and getting bailed out by good defense by Longoria and Crawford. New closer Mike Gonzalez got the blown save and the loss for the Orioles.â†µ

â†µâ†µI’m not sure what else you could want in a game: Young stars. Defense. Offense. Close plays. Comeback. A walk off. Dome. Wait, scratch that last one. Think I’m overstating it? Check out the highlights for yourself.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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