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Let's set the scene: It's the bottom of the 10th inning at Camden Yards. The Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays are tied 6-6. The bases are full of O's: Nick Markakis, Manny Machado and Adam Jones. Nobody's out and cleanup hitter Matt Wieters is coming up. He's got this, right?
Time for some strategy from the Rays. Manager Joe Maddon calls for a five-man infield, leaving two in the outfield. If the Rays can stop the run at the plate and finish the double-play at first, they might just get out of this. Brandon Gomes delivers the pitch for the Rays ... and none of the strategy and none of the base runners even matter.
Wieters blasts a ball to right field that only fans are going to catch — a walk-off grand slam, the Orioles win 10-6.
Yes, it's more Orioles magic. Thursday makes 17 straight extra-inning games the O's have won, the most since the Pirates won 21 straight in 1959-1960. While we're rattling off dates: The walk-off grand slam was the first for an Oriole since 1999, when Harold Baines did it.
''I felt like it was going to go,'' Wieters said. ''I knew it was going to get a run in, whether it went out or not. I knew the game was going to be over. That was a good feeling.''
On the other side of this one, Rays ace David Price got a no-decision, keeping him winless thus far in 2013. He pitched six innings, gave up five runs and raised his ERA to 6.26. The Rays did get homers from Evan Longoria, Desmond Jennings and James Loney, whose eighth inning blast tied the game at six.
Gattis clutch for the Braves: Both Uptons homered for the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, but it was Evan Gattis who was the difference in the Braves' 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gattis hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning to propel the Braves to victory. They're 13-2 now. That's a league-best record, as is their +47 run differential.
Blue Jays win, but Dickey leaves game: The good news: R.A. Dickey looked back in Cy Young form against the Chicago White Sox. The bad news: He left the game after the sixth inning with soreness in his neck and back. Dickey didn't give up a run in those six innings, though, striking out seven with that dancing knuckler.
''I had a knuckleball tonight where I would have thrown a complete game,'' Dickey said, ''so it was unfortunate that (the injury) acted up on me.''
It's unsure what this means for Dickey's next start. Manager John Gibbons said Dickey's tough and he's "sure" we'll see Dickey five days. Keep an eye on that.
Cingrani, Reds win battle of young guns: Cincinnati Reds prospect Tony Cingrani, making his first big-league start, pitched five innings, striking out eight and giving up only one run to earn his first victory. Opposing Cingrani, 23, was Jose Fernandez, the 20-year-old Miami Marlins pitcher, who was making his third start. He got hit hard for the first time, surrendering five runs in four innings. While the pitchers were an intriguing storyline, it was the Reds offense that got the job done. Todd Frazier hit his fifth home run while Shin-Soo Choo and Zack Cozart each had two hits.
MORE SCORES
• Brewers 7, Giants 2: Yovani Gallardo homers and gets the win in first game since his DUI arrest.
• Mariners 2, Tigers 0: Justin Verlander strikes out 12, but Tigers can't muster any runs against M's starter Hisashi Iwakuma and reliever Carter Capps.
• Cardinals 4, Phillies 3: Carlos Beltran (pictured) hits an eighth inning go-ahead home run, Adam Wainwright improves to 3-1.
• Rockies 11, Mets 3: Colorado's bats were hot, despite 28-degree weather. Rockies get sixth straight win.
• Red Sox 6, Indians 3: Red Sox earn sixth straight win too, and Jon Lester improves to 3-0.
• Cubs 6, Rangers 2: Anthony Rizzo and Alfonso Soriano hit homers in the Cubs' four-run second inning, which was all they'd need.
• Diamondbacks 6, Yankees 2: Not a grand slam, but the D-backs get four in the 12th inning to top the Yankees.
"I didn't enjoy the series much. But I'll never get tired of seeing people I care about."
— Indians manager Terry Francona on getting swept by his ex-team, the Boston Red Sox
Todd Frazier celebrates his home run with Reds bat boy Teddy Kremer, who, as the story goes from C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, asked Frazier to hit a home run before that at-bat. Teddy, who has down syndrom, made a big impact with the team previously and joined the Reds again Thursday.
• The Reds have scored 10 runs in a game four times this season. They scored 10 runs four times all of last season.
• In 22 innings this season, Adam Wainwright has yet to walk a batter.
• The Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners combined for 82 strikeouts in their three-game series, a record according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Baseball is back. Don't miss anything.
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