Baltimore Orioles' Comeback: Take That Red Sox!!!

Remember the line from the old Baltimore Orioles promo that promised "Something Magic Happens, Every time You Go"?

Well, the magic moments have been few and far between over the last 12 years, but something magic sure happened at Camden Yards on Tuesday night.

When the Orioles trailed the Boston Red Sox 10-1 in the seventh inning of the second game of their three game series, no one could have imagined that the last place Orioles had the division leading Sox right where they wanted them.

A night after the Red Sox shutout the Birds 4-0, it looked like Boston was cruising to their sixth win in six games against the Orioles this season (and ninth straight dating back to last season) when they took a 9-1 lead after four innings.

It appeared that the story of the night would be the solid pitching performance of John Smoltz as he rebounded from a rough first outing this season to hold the Birds to one run and three hits in four innings.

However, Smoltz was deprived the victory when a rain shower delayed the game for more than an hour in the fifth inning and prematurely ended his night.

Hard-throwing Justin Masterson relieved Smoltz following the delay, and mowed down the first six Orioles he faced, including four strikeouts.

Things started to change in the seventh when Aubrey Huff and Nolan Reimold led off the inning with consecutive hits. A double by Luke Scott that just missed being a home run, as it hit the edge of the rightfield scoreboard, started to make things interesting.

The next batter, pinch-hitter Oscar Salazar did get the ball out of the park for the first pinch-hit home run by the Orioles this season. Baltimore finished the inning with five runs to make the score 10-6.

The Sox nearly answered in the top of the eighth as two hits and a walk looked like it would plate an important insurance run. However, centerfielder Felix Pie threw out George Kottaras at the plate to keep the game 10-6.

Facing the best bullpen in the American League, the Orioles kept coming in the eighth inning. Another single by Reimold and a second straight blast that hit the rightfield scoreboard by Scott got the Orioles going and they never looked back.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon entered the game with the score 10-9 and seemed to momentarily right the ship as he struck out Pie.

However, Nick Markakis laced a shot to the left-field gap to plate two runs and give the Orioles an improbable 11-10 lead.

As he likes to do, George Sherrill made things interesting in the ninth as he allowed one hit and then hit a batter, but he struck out Jason Bay to end the game and gave the Orioles an amazing come-from-behind victory.

The comeback from nine runs down is the greatest comeback since the Orioles rallied from eight runs down to ironically post an 11-10 victory over the Boston Red Sox on September 2, 1956.

The final tally for the amazing final two innings of this come-from-behind win was 10 runs, 13 hits, and 32,000 shocked and amazed fans.

While it is just one game, this win over the front-running Red Sox could be one of those springboard victories that gives the young Orioles some confidence and much needed swagger as they head into the second half of the season.

The Orioles aren’t ready to contend yet in the tough American League East, but every dramatic win like this sets another brick in the foundation of what could be a special future for the O’s.

And who knows, if they can string together a few more dramatic wins, it might be time to bring back that famous Orioles refrain “Orioles Magic, See it Happen!”