All I can say is “WOW!”

“Frustrated” doesn’t begin to do justice to how I felt in the 8^th inning last night in game two vs. the dreaded Red Sox.

If you follow me on Facebook you may understand. Last year, in a game that lasted 17 innings, we saw the magic come alive and never looked back. Last night proved no different.

I remember not long ago there was a game in which Jeremy Guthrie held a great Red Sox team down into the eighth inning, and the O’s led, on what is known in my mind as the “Mother’s Day Massacre.” That lead was destroyed by a weak overpaid bullpen.

With the 17-inning game, known now as the rebirth of Orioles Magic, and last night’s comeback, we have enshrined Manny Machado as the “Babyface Assassin”. There is proof that Something Magic Happens … in Fenway.

I for one lost a bit of faith when Buck kept sending in Flaherty and he still didn’t have a batting average. By the ninth inning I was sure that Casilla or even Steve Pearce would be up to pinch hit. Buck stuck to his guns and it proved to be the right move. Flaherty got the hit. Nolan and Nate both worked walks. Joel Hanrahan was flustered to the point that he stated overthrowing and a wild pitch later we had a tie game.

Enter Manny Machado. With a 0-1 count he waited for Hanrahan to do exactly what he did – overthrow a cutter low and away to end up high and inside. Manny, being the mature 20-year old that he is, didn’t miss it, sending us to a victory (official once Jim Johnson took the mound).

I took this as a sign that we may have lost a step in the early goings, but we still have a lot of baseball to play. Had we not pulled out the win I would find it easy to get a ticket to anywhere in Camden Yards on the return homestand. That being said it will most likely be the opposite. ‘Chado has brought something special to the table, and now no one will want to miss a pitch.

The rubber game will be a matchup of pitchers with ERA’s over the national debt, so we could be in for a slugfest, in stark contrast to what we saw in game one (Monday, Chen was not outmatched, just outpitched). Tillman will hopefully rebound and show us why he was put in the rotation.

A series win here changes the landscape of the AL East, knocking the retooled Sox back and propelling the Orioles back into the top spot. A three-game swing means a lot, when next we head to New York, where we will face an uncharacteristic Yankee team. They have had a three-game win streak and now threaten to climb back into the East race. There will be much to talk about as the weekend approaches, and I for one don’t want to miss any of it.